Chapter Five
Lord Warwick felt his cheeks burn with embarrassment as Miss Amanda, his angel, bent over him to check the bandage on his hip. The soft scent of lavender and rose washed over him.
Peering intently at his wound, she scrunched up her nose to keep her spectacles from falling off. She was just too adorable, he thought.
She had been kind enough to leave the blanket placed to provide him with some sense of modesty. But after ten days of nursing. He felt as if this woman knew his body better than he did himself.
“They are looking good,” she said as she gently probed and touched. He cringed internally as he fought to maintain control of his body. Something about her touch made him forget he was a gentleman and just want to sink into a heaven where Amanda’s touch was all he felt.
“The infection is going away.” She said without looking up. “I think that ointment the doctor gave us really helped. The wounds are closing.”
All he could do was grit his teeth and wait until she was done. God, please hurry he thought. If he became physically aroused at that moment, he would never be able to look her in the eye again.
At last, she pulled the blanket and sheets back over him. He sighed internally.
“I need clothes,” he said as he adjusted himself in the bed.
“Clothes,? Why? You are not well enough yet.”
He glanced up at her, there were times he could swear that she enjoyed keeping him there. Helpless, under her control.
“Regardless. I need clothes. I need to be up and about. There are things I must do. Besides, I have been a burden long enough.
She stepped back and placed both hands on her hips. “John, you have not been a burden. And I refuse to allow you to damage what we have accomplished. No, it is too soon.”
He bit the inside of his lip to stop himself from barking at her. No one told him what he could or could not do. Even if she was his angel. But instead, he tried to smile sweetly.
“Amanda, tomorrow I will be getting up. Hopefully, in a few days, I will be leaving this house. If you want me to do so naked. I will. But I believe your neighbors might be shocked. I know that Molly will be.”
Amanda frowned fiercely, she obviously hated being thwarted. One of the many things he liked about her. But in this matter, there would be no discussion.
At last, she threw up her hands and said. “Fine, but it is on your head.” Then she turned and stormed out of the room. Slamming the door a little more than she intended to.
He felt a twinge of guilt. The woman had done so much for him. He wouldn’t be alive without her. The last thing he wanted was to upset her. But she needed to understand that he would not be dictated to.
Sighing, he started working his right shoulder. Rolling it, lifting the arm slightly off the bed. After ten minutes he was able to raise the arm almost three inches before having to let it sink back onto the bed.
“A half-drowned kitten has more strength,” he muttered to himself as the recurring fear ate at the pit of his stomach. What would he do if he didn’t regain the strength of his arm? What if he couldn’t walk again? How could he finish the things he wanted to accomplish.
And what would the women of the ton think? Oh, how attractive, a crippled Lord. No, that was not how he wanted to be thought of. He could well imagine the snickers and rolled eyes.
His wandering thoughts were interrupted by Molly barging into the room without knockings.
“What did you do to Miss Amanda?” she demanded as she half dropped his food tray onto the table next to the bed.
“Good afternoon to you too Molly,” Warwick said as he pulled himself up into a sitting position.
Molly frowned at him, “Don’t you be using that charm on me.” She said, continuing to look at him as if he were dirt on her shoes. “What did you do? That woman is a saint and I won’t have you upsetting her.”
Warwick studied the young maid. The girl was barely sixteen yet she was standing up to him like a lioness protecting her cub. He smiled to himself. It pleased him to realize that Amanda inspired such loyalty.
“I assure you, Molly, All I did was ask for some clothes. I think it is time I started trying to get up and about.”
“Clothes?” she asked with a frown. “You should have asked me. Miss Amanda wouldn’t know the first thing about getting clothes for a man. She only shops in those fancy lady stores. And yes, it is time you were up and about,” she added as she placed the food tray on his lap. “If I had my way, you would have been up and about and away from here days ago.”
He laughed as he began to spread butter on his bread. “It is nice to know that we are of the same mind,” he told her.
She frowned for a moment. “I don’t know what that means, but if it gets you out of here sooner, then I agree.”
As she muttered to herself, she reached over him to tuck the blanket under his legs and then, pulled a pillow from the other side of the bed to prop it behind his back.
“Miss Amanda’s life hasn’t been the same since you came in here, bleeding all over my nice clean floor,” she said with a shake of her head.
“Yes, I am aware,” he answered trying hard not to laugh. The girl wanted him away, yet she went out of her way to make sure he was comfortable. He knew that like Amanda, he owed his life to her.
“Have you worked for Miss Amanda long?” he asked as he took a bite of food.
“Over a year,” she answered as she went to the foot of the bed and made sure the blankets were lined up perfectly. “I was headed for the streets, I was. And you know what that means for a young girl in this town. There is no telling where I would be if it weren’t for Miss Amanda.”.
“Really, how did that come about,” he asked, suddenly consumed with wanting to know a lot more about his angel.
Molly paused in her fidgeting as she looked out the window into the far distance. Her face took on a sad frown.
“My father worked for her father’s bank before her father died a few years ago, a clerk. He died of the influenza early last winter.” The young woman paused for a moment and Warwick knew she was reliving that hell.
Taking a deep breath, she continued. “I didn’t have no other family. And we never had no money. The landlord. He wouldn’t let me stay.” She stopped for a moment and shot Warwick a quick look “Not unless I let him have his way.” Her shudder let him know exactly what she was saying.
He nodded for her to go on.
“Miss Amanda was the only one to worry about me. Somehow, she received word of my father’s death. And came to me. All the way to our house. In a carriage. Took me right away and brought me here.”
The maid returned to straightening the bed but Warwick saw that hint of fear behind her eyes. And that fierce loyalty as well. This girl would do anything for her employer. Up to and including backing down a British Nobleman if necessary.
“I understand your loyalty, Molly. I promise I do. And I can assure you. I will do nothing to ever cause Miss Amanda distress.”
The young maid studied him for a moment then started to say something, then stopped herself and shook her head. “Just so we understand each other My … I mean John.”
“Yes, I think we do.”
“Good,” she said as she started for the door. “And I will get you the clothes you need. They’ll be rough. Not like those Lordly clothes your kind normally wear. But more like what you arrived in.”
He smiled at her. “That would be wonderful. Thank you.”
The maid returned his nod then said, “You know, there is more than one way to hurt a woman. And the worse is hurting her heart.”
He frowned as he tried to understand her meaning, but the girl was gone before he could delve into the matter.
Sitting back, he smiled to himself. It made him feel good knowing that Amanda had such a loyal friend.
What a remarkable woman, he thought. So different than the women he knew. His mind searched for the perfect description. That one word that would capture the true essence of Miss Amanda Waters.
Beautiful? Of course, but not enough. Intelligent? Again, rather obvious. No, Miss Waters, but even more, she was competent, he thought. That was it. The woman was competent in everything she did.
Satisfied that he had order once again in his world, he allowed himself to fall asleep. Sleep and dream.