Chapter Two
Sophia Camden swung open the door and dashed into the Earl of Westfield’s opulent bedchamber. The dark room didn’t smell like a typical sickroom. It was absent the stale odors of sweat, liniment, and excrement. No, the air smelled of soap, fresh linen, and beeswax—of wealth and servants and immunity to the ravages besieging the poor.
As she made her way across the room, she held up a small paraffin lamp, illuminating his lordship thrashing about in a massive four-poster bed. He tossed and turned as if he wrestled with the devil himself, and the profanity he spewed would have scorched even Lucifer’s ears.
Fever? A knot settled in her stomach. She should have checked on the gentleman when she arrived late last night—ignored the housekeeper’s warning not to disturb him until morning. With a sense of dread racing up her spine, she placed the lamp and her black medical bag upon a low chest of drawers and rushed to the bed. In the near darkness, shadows marred Westfield’s features, but she discerned his eyes were closed.
“Shhh . . . relax, Lord Westfield.” As if she’d uttered some magical incantation, his rambling ceased, and his flailing body stilled. She pressed her palm against the moist skin of his brow. Warm, but not feverish. A tense breath eased out from between her lips.
Thank goodness. Just a nightmare. Understandable after being shot. The newspapers had reported a cloaked woman fled the scene. Westfield claimed to have not known his assailant.
She leaned forward and straightened his tangled blankets. A masculine scent drifted upward. It reminded her of pomanders, the clove-studded oranges she’d placed about her grandfather’s studio to mask the pungent odor of turpentine and paint. The spicy, familiar scent was soothing.
Soothing? What little she’d learned about his lordship since arriving here remained far from that. The housekeeper had offered little information. However, after Mrs. Beecham led her upstairs to a bedchamber across the corridor from Westfield’s suite of rooms, she’d sent in a young maid with fresh sheets. Alice had been much more disposed to gossiping, softly chirping away like a young skylark who’d suddenly realized God had blessed it with the melodious gift of song.
Alice informed her she was Westfield’s third attendant in less than three days—a fact Westfield’s sister had omitted when she’d hired Sophia.
She pinched her lips into a straight line and smoothed the richly textured navy damask counterpane.
Westfield’s large hand shot out and caught her wrist.
Her breath snagged in her throat.
His eyes blinked open. Westfield’s viselike grip eased as his fingers skimmed the sensitive skin of her wrist. The gentle, almost lover-like touch scattered gooseflesh over her body and a spark of current fluttered in her belly.
“Who are you?” he asked.
The deep, raspy tone of his voice added to the odd sensations barraging her. She willed the unsettling feelings aside. “It’s only five in the morning, Lord Westfield. Try to sleep.”
He released her and shifted up on his elbows, allowing more light to shine on his face. Not enough to clearly see much more than the dark stubble that shadowed his square jaw, giving him a dangerous, almost piratical look.
“I asked you a question, madam.”
“Miss Sophia Camden, my lord. I’m to tend to you during your convalescence . . . to act as your nurse.”
“Nurse? What happened to that fool-headed attendant who was here yesterday?”
“Attendant?” she prevaricated, not wishing to repeat the story Alice disclosed.
“Come, Miss Camden, surely you’ve heard something.”
Oh, yes, I’ve heard plenty. Enough to know you’re beyond wicked.
“Miss Camden?” His voice was softer now, more compelling. She had a feeling his tone could change like the wind or the seasons, depending on his mood. And that he could wheedle the truth from even the most obstinate person, if he so chose.
She sighed. Best to get this revelation over with. “It’s rumored he resigned late yesterday evening after you placed him in a headlock while threatening to shove his face into your bedpan.”
“He deserved it.” There was no hesitation in his voice. No remorse.
“I’m sure he did, my lord.” Unless Westfield was a ninny, he couldn’t miss the disbelief and condemnation dripping from her tone.
He expelled a heavy breath. “I don’t need to explain my actions to you, Miss Camden.”
“Indeed, you do not.”
“You are not needed here, madam.” He waved a dismissive hand toward the door.
“Sir, you’ve had two attendants. One stayed barely a day before resigning, and the man we just discussed supposedly left with nary a word except some nonsensical rambling he uttered as he fled down the stairs. It was believed you might show less distress to a female nurse.”
“And what dunce thought that?”
“That would be your sister, Lady Prescott.”
“Edith. Confounded woman. I should have known.”
“It would be best if you returned to sleep. I have a medicine that will help calm you.”
“I don’t need calming,” he snapped.
“You were tossing and turning in your bed, and if you continue to do so, you might tear the stitches in your thigh.” She strode to her medical bag and removed an amber bottle of tincture, along with an inventive little utensil called a Gibson spoon. It was designed with a clever lid so one could avoid spillage when one’s patient was not in an agreeable mood. Apparently, it was needed here. After filling it, she returned to the bedside and inched the spoon to his mouth.
His head jerked back. “What in God’s name is that?”
“The medicine I spoke of. I assure you Dr. Trimble prescribed it. Please open your mouth.”
Settling against the headboard, he folded his arms over his chest.
Stubborn man. Without further thought, she pinched his nose closed.
He opened his mouth—most likely intent on giving her a piece of his mind—but before he uttered a word, she slipped the spoon between his lips, tipped it back, and withdrew it in one fluid movement.
Coughing, he drew the back of his large hand across his mouth and gaped at her.
His sister had said to use a firm hand. Perhaps that had been a bit extreme. But it was done and there was nothing she could do to take it back. She spun around, retrieved her lamp, and strode to the door. As if the devil prodded her further, she lifted the medicinal spoon in the air in a bold gesture of fond farewell. “Good night, my lord, I bid you pleasant dreams.”
“Why you insolent little . . . imp,” he bellowed, his obvious shock flaring to rage.
She pulled the door closed.
“You’re dismissed, Miss Camden!” His raised voice carried easily through the wooden door. “Do you hear me, madam? You are fired. Discharged. Bloody well sacked!”
* * *
Hayden lowered the sheet off his face and narrowed his eyes against the bright deluge of light streaming through the bedchamber’s windows. Who dared to draw the curtains open so early?
Celia? No, his sister had taken the child to her town house, insisting he needed to rest. Mathews? Tugging down his nightshirt, he opened his mouth to call to his valet. He snapped it shut. Standing before the hearth, with her back to him, stood a slender woman dressed in a dark navy gown topped with a white pinafore. She wore what appeared to be a starched doily with wings atop her head.
He frowned. What was Mrs. Beecham doing dressing the maids in such odd-looking hats? What had happened to those old thingamabobs they’d been wearing before . . . mobhats or mobcaps? Whatever one chose to call them, they were as ugly as sin, but this starched atrocity lacked improvement.
A foggy memory of an insolent nurse tugged at him. The fine hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Surely, that had been a nightmare. His gaze swung to the chest of drawers and the amber bottle and medical bag set atop it.
Hell, not a dream! He cleared his throat.
The woman spun around.
The first thing that caught his attention was the porcelain bedpan clasped in her hands. The second thing was her eyes. They were dusted with long lashes that swept outward, elongating their almond shape, and so dark, that at this distance, he couldn’t discern her pupils from her irises.
He examined the rest of her face with its straight nose and full, wide mouth. Her skin was far from fair, and her hair, pulled into a chignon, was as black as a moonless night. She looked Mediterranean. Lovely in a foreign, exotic way.
A sharp pain shot up his leg, reminding him of the last time he’d allowed himself to become involved with a woman with unusual eyes set in an attractive face. He ran his hand over his bandaged thigh and silently cursed that lunatic Adele.
He bestowed the woman with a scowl meant to terrify.
She smiled.
He narrowed his eyes.
She stepped closer.
Baffled, he scratched his head. Perhaps it wasn’t the same woman. She didn’t appear the least bit repentant, and he was doing everything to intimidate her—short of baring his teeth and snarling like a rabid dog.
“Good morning, Lord Westfield. I hope you slept well.”
By God, the she-devil! He recognized her soft, cultured voice and the faint, enticing scent of lavender and lemon drifting off her skin.
“Didn’t I sack you?”
Laying the bedpan upon the counterpane, she tipped her head sideways. Her dark, expressive eyes widened. “Did you?”
“You bloody well know I did.”
“Are you ready for your breakfast, my lord?”
Didn’t this woman realize he was the Earl of Westfield? A man one dealt with quite prudently, if one had to deal with him at all. A man revered by some, despised by others, and feared by many. He cocked a brow. The affectation usually sent his servants scattering like marbles across the prow of a heaving ship.
Her serene smile didn’t waver. “Before you breakfast, I’d like to redress your wound.”
“Are you hard of hearing?” he asked in an elevated voice.
“No, my lord.”
This had to be someone’s idea of a wicked joke. “Ah,” he said, feeling enlightened. He peered beyond her to the open doorway. “Lord Simon Adler is hiding in the corridor and having a jolly good laugh over this, isn’t he, the bounder?”
She followed his gaze to the door. “If he is, I’m not aware of it.”
He raked his hands through his hair and slumped deeper into his pillows. He’d not prayed in years, but he contemplated asking for divine intervention or, better yet, a lightning bolt.
“Listen carefully to what I’m going to say, madam. You—are—sacked.”
“You cannot dismiss me.”
He inspected her attire. Though her hat was an oddity, her other garments didn’t contradict her sanity. Her dress was not on backward, her buttons were correctly fastened, and she didn’t wear her drawers atop her head. Nevertheless, she suffered some disorder of the mind if she thought he lacked the authority to discharge her.
“This is my house, madam. I assure you I can dismiss you. Now remove yourself from my premises.”
“My lord, your sister retained me, and Lady Prescott informed me that only she may dismiss me.” She started to fold back his counterpane.
“What the devil do you think you’re about, Miss . . . ?” Damn, the woman had him so rattled her name eluded him.
A wan smile settled over her visage. “Miss Sophia Camden.”
“Miss Camden, my sister is apparently trying to cast me into an early grave by sending you here. Furthermore, she has no authority in my house. She cannot force your services upon me. Moreover, if you touch my bedding again I’m going to pull you down, brace you over my legs, and set my open palm to your derrière.”
Red suffused her honey-colored cheeks. “Y-you wouldn’t dare.”
“It would be a grave error on your part to dare me. I have a terrible weakness for them.”
She stepped back and placed her hands on her hips. “Your wound is in need of re-dressing, and since I’m the only one here qualified, I implore you to let me attend to it. Dr. Trimble will not call on you today.”
He pointed at the door. “Out!”
With an exasperated expression, she turned and picked up her medical bag.
“Miss Camden.”
She spun around.
He jerked his chin toward the medicinal bottle. “Take that bitter concoction with you.”
She slowly shook her head. “No, I wish you to keep it. For if your wound festers and septicemia sets in Dr. Trimble will need to amputate your leg, and once the anesthesia wears off you’ll be pleased to have it. Indeed, you’ll take a fancy to that concoction.” She strode to the door.
The devil take her. The conniver attempted to manipulate him. As if taunting him, another knifelike pain stabbed at his thigh. He gritted his teeth. “Miss Camden,” he called as she stepped over the threshold.
She pivoted around.
“I wish you to attend to my leg before you leave.”
Her expression remained impassive as she set the medical bag down, returned to the bed, and folded back his blankets, exposing his legs. Her adept hands began removing the bandages.
“Have you experienced any numbness in your leg or foot?” she asked.
“No.”
Her fingers removed the last strip of cloth. She examined the thin cotton that covered the ghastliest area of his puckered and sutured skin. She didn’t appear repulsed.
“Do you work on a surgical ward, madam?”
“I do not.”
“Then tell me what medical training you’ve received.”
“I have spent the last couple of years working with Dr. Trimble. It is from that employment, along with reading in his extensive library, that I have gained my knowledge. I am Dr. Trimble’s medical assistant.”
“I’ve met Trimble’s assistant. Pudgy man with a crag-laden face and leathery skin.” He swept his gaze over her. “You’ve had a miraculous transformation.”
“That is Mr. Bailey. He’s Dr. Trimble’s surgical assistant. I assist Thomas . . . I mean Dr. Trimble with his female patients.”
A woman assistant? He’d never heard of such a thing. The warmth of her fingers skimming his thigh and the heat they evoked drew Hayden’s gaze back to the wound. He reached out to scratch the marred skin.
“No, no, do not touch.” She elbowed his hand away. “I’ve read Dr. Joseph Lister’s study on antiseptic principles. Keeping the wound clean is imperative. I only uncovered the dressing to discern if the injury was seeping. Fortunately, it is not.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Hayden nodded. Not only had God endowed Miss Camden with stunning eyes, she was intelligent. His gaze slid over her. She wore a gown devoid of embellishments, and if her starched collar went any higher it would be lethal. Worse, not a single tendril escaped the stranglehold of her chignon. It looked too austere, more suited to a matron of advanced years, and though not in the first blush of youth, she wasn’t much older than twenty-three, possibly twenty-four.
She bent a little farther over his leg, and he cocked his head to the side to get a better view of her shapely bum. A favorable asset, indeed. That single sight, alone, tempted him to let her stay. His gaze shifted to the bedpan. No, he’d not have her shoving that deuced thing under his arse every day, let alone removing it. He still had some pride left.
“I shall dispatch a note to Dr. Trimble informing him I’d prefer a male attendant.”
“My lord, why not give me the opportunity to prove my competency? A so-called trial period. Shall we say ten days?”
“No, Miss Camden, no trial period.”
She finished bandaging his leg and looked him squarely in the eye. “Consider it a dare.”
Wasn’t she a sly little imp with a great deal of cheek, using his own words against him? The mischievous glint in her dark eyes sent an odd, nearly forgotten jolt of excitement through him.
“A dare, you say?”
Her tongue darted out to wet her lips, and she smiled—a pretty, full-mouthed smile that dimpled her cheeks. “Yes, my lord.”
Hayden scrubbed a hand over his chin while contemplating her. He always fancied a battle of wits against a worthy adversary, and this was possibly just what he needed, since lying in this godforsaken bed bored the hell out of him. And he could always have his valet assist him with his more personal needs.
“I accept your dare, madam.”
As if she’d outsmarted him, her smile grew wider.
“Miss Camden, you understand a dare is only entertaining when the loser offers a forfeit. We must make this interesting and place a bet on the outcome.”
“A bet?”
“Indeed. If you complete the ten days, I will add a substantial bonus to the pay my sister has promised you. Furthermore, I will not dismiss you until your services are no longer required. However, if you resign before the allotted time . . .” He tapped his finger to his chin. “I’m not sure what my prize should be, but I shall think of something worthy of my victory.”
“I have no desire to place a wager on the outcome, but if you insist, we could make a gentleman’s bet.”
Had she not heard that contrary to his birth, he was not a gentleman? “Ah, apparently, you are not so sure of yourself,” he goaded.
She nibbled her lower lip.
“Forget it, Miss Camden. You would lose anyway.”
A spark of anger flashed in her eyes. She thrust out her hand for him to shake. “I’m quite sure of my abilities. I agree to your terms.”
He grasped her delicate hand. A pleasant warmth settled against his palm. He was going to enjoy giving the efficient Miss Camden a go-around she would never forget and ultimately claim the victory and his forfeit.
“May God be with you, Miss Camden.”