All About Seduction(89)

Jack groaned and flipped to his side, facing the empty fireplace, but taking care not to let the blanket slide off his shoulder.

“Would you like your medicine, sir?” The girl rose to a knee.

“No!” He wasn’t taking the laudanum after Broadhurst had been near it. Not even if his leg was screaming and he was in agony.

The maid stared back at him, no doubt confused by his vehemence.

Jack let his lips curl up as if nothing were wrong. He gave her a warm sleepy look that worked on most women. Except of course Caroline. Nothing seemed to work on her. Damn, he wanted so much more than the coldly functional encounter they’d had. “I’d much prefer the fire lit, miss.”

“Oh, of course,” the girl fluttered, and then went back to work.

The whistle at the mill blasted. Jack tried to sort in his mind if he’d heard it the day before. “What day is it?”

“Tuesday, sir.”

He had to be in London Friday morning, and it was a full day of train travel to get there from Manchester, which meant he had to be in Manchester by Thursday morning. Getting to Manchester might not be as easy as it once was when he had two good legs. Damn, he hadn’t been thinking of getting to London last night. He hadn’t been thinking the appointment would interfere in his offer to get Caroline with child. He’d been so eager to have her, he never considered having to abandon his dream to help her. How could he have been so stupid? He groaned again.

“Are you certain you wouldn’t like your medicine?” asked the maid.

Not only was he concerned that Broadhurst had added something to it, but the laudanum had been clouding his thinking, making the passage of time seem unimportant. He had to get home, retrieve his money, and make arrangements to get to London. He couldn’t risk taking the laudanum anymore.

“I’m all right,” he said softly.

The maid looked young and uncertain. Perhaps easily manipulated. He’d need her to do his bidding to get out of here. He hated that he would be abandoning his deal with Caroline, but if he didn’t get to London on Friday, he’d never be worthy of her. And he wanted more than the cold impersonal business of getting her pregnant, which might have been accomplished last night. “Could you find me clothes? If I have to spend another day in bed, I will go mad. Surely there is a footman or groom close to my size.”

Her mouth twisted. “I don’t know as I should.”

Jack gave her his best smile. “Please. I know your mistress thinks I should remain abed, but I only want a little exercise.”

She looked uncertain. “You should ask her.”

Cursing in his head, Jack tried to keep his expression pleasant. “Would you see if I could speak with her, then?”

How would he explain this to her? The words twisted in his head and felt ineffectual and wrong, but dammit, he’d sworn nothing would keep him from London this time.

The maid twisted her hands in her apron. “She’s gone to the mill for the day.”

When did Caroline sleep? Jack pressed harder, “The doctor said yesterday it is time I walk farther than I can manage in this room. It would mean a lot to me if I could show Mrs. Broadhurst I am getting well, thanks to her kind hospitality and care.”

The girl chewed her lip and Jack added a silent entreaty.

She dipped her head as she picked up the empty coal bucket. “I’ll see what I can do, sir.”

With luck he would be dressed and out of the house before any of the servants had any inkling of his intentions. He could get home, retrieve his money, and see if he could hitch a ride or hire conveyance to Manchester. He swiped his hand over his face.

He would have to go to the mill and ask to speak to Caroline and hope he could make her understand. But then again, it wasn’t as if she’d exhibited any softer feelings toward him. He was a convenience to her. The yearning for a deeper connection between them was all on his side.

Less than a half hour later Jack stood at the top of the wide stone staircase at the front of the Broadhurst house. His heart pounding and his mouth dry, he considered how best to get down without tumbling to the ground.

Caroline wasn’t here to hold onto him if he stumbled or lost his balance. The stone walls, to each side, didn’t give him anything to hold like the railing on the inside staircase. The stairs might thwart him yet.

Sucking in a deep breath, he lowered his crutches to the next elongated step and inched his foot forward to the edge, took a little hop and landed on the step below.