Page 90 of Again, Scoundrel

Unfortunately, at the same moment that he said yes, Violet said, “No.”

Of course, she did.

The barmaid raised her eyebrows.

“No,” Violet said again firmly. “But thank you. Time is of the essence.” She shot the woman a smile which was roundly ignored.

“She’s all charm, that one,” Violet whispered when she woman left.

“You’ve shocked her with your prurient dress,” Alistair said, taking a sip of his ale.

“It’s only a pair of trousers. How else would you suppose I ride?”

“Oh, I quite like you in breeches.” The rakish, wolfish grin spread across his face. “No need to defend them to me.”

Violet glanced over at the waitress staring at Alistair from behind the bar. “I don’t think it’s the trousers she begrudges me. She seems quite taken with you.”

“Does she?”

He hadn’t noticed, and he didn’t care. He cared about reaching his brother in time. He cared about Violet.

“You ought to rest here tonight. It’s a long journey.”

“I’ll be fine. And the sooner we arrive, the better.”

“Why are you here, Violet?”

Alistair hadn’t known the words were coming until they landed with a soft thump on the table between them, although the question had been burning in his mind. He knew. Or he thought he knew. But he wanted to hear her say the words.

“To help Darius,” Violet said and took a sip of her drink instead of meeting his eyes. “I can be of help. I know a great deal about fevers.”

“We have surgeons in Kent that can help.”

“You have barbers in Kent. We’ve discussed this already.”

“You’ve never even met my brother.”

“I made his acquaintance at the Somerville dinner, not that it matters one jot if I’ve met the man or not. I’ll treat everyone, Alistair, marquesses and unpleasant barmaids alike. All of them deserve the same kind of care.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

He should stop pressing her, but he didn’t want to. He wanted to hear her say that she’d come for him. That she wanted to be with him. That what she felt for him might even be close to what he felt for her.

Violet lifted her blue eyes to his, finally, and he smothered the instinct to compare them to the sea or the sky or any other fool thing.

“Tell me, Violet.” He kept his voice steady which he felt was rather a remarkable feat, given the way his insides were swirling around. “There must be some reason you are riding all this way through the night to care for my brother.”

He waited, breath held and body tense. She loved him. And she either didn’t know it or she was too scared to admit it. Violet, he realized, who was so brave in all other aspects, was an utter coward when it came to love.

She took a deep breath and he thought, this is it.

But then she said, “Because I can help. As I told you.”

“Mmph,” he grunted, right before the barmaid arrived to drop the two bowls of beef stew on the table, and the moment was gone.

Chapter

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