Never Less Than A Lady | Herophine

Chapter Twenty Eight

Hero

Since a hip bath full of water was available, Hero had a quick wash before he poured two glasses of port, donned nightclothes, and rejoined Josephine in the bed. Her blonde hair was in a neat braid falling over one shoulder and a modest muslin nightgown covered her thoroughly, but she was still distractingly attractive.

In fact, knowing what lay beneath the muslin made her even more irresistible. Perhaps the reverse was also true, since she watched him with unabashed enjoyment even though he was now as thoroughly covered as she was.

He handed her the wine, then slid under the covers next to her. Leaning back against the piled pillows, he draped an arm around her. “Drinking wine in bed with a beautiful woman is a soldier’s dream, especially when slogging through the mud of a military campaign.”

She smiled. “Is wine the first thought on a soldier’s mind?”

“The second.” He kissed her lingeringly, ending it with great reluctance. Now that the barriers to intimacy had been annihilated, he wanted to make love to Josephine until he was too weak to even crawl out of the bed.

Reminding himself that there would be other nights, he asked, “Has Felix found any witnesses to the carriage incident?”

“Yes, but so far, nothing that proves whether or not it was deliberate.” She sipped at her port, her brows furrowed. “If it was an attempt to kill me, I don’t see how it could have been planned. Even Rose and I didn’t know we’d be at that place at that time.”

“A man who was following you might have seen an unexpected opportunity to attack, and acted on impulse,” Hero said slowly.

“Perhaps that’s it,” she agreed. “Usually those streets are too crowded for a carriage to build up much speed, but the incident took place during one of the lulls in traffic that sometimes happen. A stalker might have decided to seize the chance to run me down.” Her fingers tightened on her goblet. “He might have killed Rose, too.”

Rose, and the child she was carrying. If the two women had been hurt, Hero and Felix would have been fighting each other for the chance to administer justice to the culprit. “You knew Arthur. Might he ignore Damien’s order to leave you alone if he still wanted vengeance?”

“It’s possible. Arthur’s loyalty was to Xander. They had a strange attachment that I never understood.” Her expression was troubled.

Hero tightened his arm around her shoulders. “While Felix is investigating the accident, perhaps I’ll start at the other end by tracing Arthur’s movements. He seems the most likely to want to do you harm.”

Josephine sighed. “I’d like to think that the carriage really was an accidental runaway and Arthur was nowhere near London. I don’t want to have to be afraid for my life.”

“I shouldn’t have left you here alone.”

“Since I’m firmly planted in the middle of Ashton House, I was hardly alone,” she pointed out. “No harm was done except to a very nice bonnet, and I ordered another like it as a replacement. But what about you? You also had something to discuss, I think?”

Hero swirled his goblet, watching the lamplight reflect through the red gold liquid. “At Roscombe, I received a letter from Rob Carmichael. He believes he’s found Xander's son near Upton. He also recommended that the boy be removed from his present situation immediately.”

Josephine straightened so abruptly that she almost spilled her port. She didn’t even notice when Hero rescued the goblet. “What else did he say? What kind of bad situation is the child in?”