Confessions at Midnight

patient's mind off their injuries.

'Yes, milady.'

'You're very brave. And by the looks of these knuckles, you planted the ruffian a few good knocks.'

'A few. But it weren't enough. He still made off with all me money, little though it were.' As Carolyn continued her ministrations, Katie whispered in a shaky voice, 'Do ye think Samuel was right? That Lord Surbrooke will hire me? I can't imagine he would, what with me bein' all cut up and bruised like this.' Her swollen eyes welled up with tears. 'I looked in the mirror. I know how awful I look.'

'I'm certain Samuel wouldn't have said that if Lord Surbrooke hadn't told him so. As for your cuts and bruises, they'll heal.'

Katie seemed to relax a bit at that. 'I couldn't believe it when Samuel came into that alley. At first I thought he were another footpad, or bent on mischief as men are wont to be. But instead he turned out to be an angel of mercy.'

'I heard him say his lordship is the one who saved him. Do you know what he meant?'

'Oh yes, milady. Samuel told me all about it in the hack he hired to drive us here. Talked the entire way, he did. Never in my life have I met a man who talks so much. Usually it's impossible to drag more than a grunt or single word out of 'em.'

Carolyn thought of her kindly but taciturn father and smiled. 'Men can be frustratingly incommunicative,' she agreed.

Katie nodded. 'Yes, milady. But not Samuel. Told me all about a cold, rainy night in Bristol, about how he were sick and starvin' and tried to rob the earl, if ye can imagine. 'Cept he didn't get any blunt 'cause he collapsed, right at the earl's feet. But instead of turnin' him in, or just leavin' him in the street like anybody else would have done, the earl picked Samuel up and carried him back to the inn where he was stayin'. Ain't that somethin'?'

Before Carolyn could answer that it was indeed, Katie continued, 'The earl got doctors for Samuel and saw to it he got well. And when he did, he offered Samuel a job-provided Samuel never stole again. And he hasn't. Not once. Might not believe just anybody who told me that, but somethin' 'bout Samuel inspires trust. Given the way he's helped me, I believe him.'

Carolyn looked up from bandaging Katie's hand, her mind swirling with this surprising information. 'And now Lord Surbrooke has offered you a job as well.'

'So it would seem, thanks to Samuel.'

Finished with Katie's hands, Carolyn wet a clean cloth and gently dabbed at the young woman's face. 'How long has Samuel been Lord Surbrooke's footman?' she asked.

''Bout a year. Sang Lord Surbrooke's praises he did. Not only about savin' him, but then there are the dogs.'

'The dogs?' Carolyn repeated, bewildered.

'Stubby, Limpy, and Droopy he called them, all named for their… problems.'

'Problems?'

'Yes, milady. Stubby lost his tail, Limpy's missin' a leg, and Droopy only has one ear that's-'

'Droopy?' Carolyn guessed.

'Yes. All were abandoned or left fer dead. Samuel finds the beasts and brings 'em to his lordship and together they save 'em.'

With each passing minute Carolyn's amazement grew. She'd had no idea of this aspect of Lord Surbrooke's character. That he was a man who would not only rescue a former thief, but open his home to the young man, and now to Katie. That he would aid in the rescuing of injured and abandoned animals. She hadn't considered Lord Surbrooke to be anything more than a gentleman of leisure who sought his own pleasures.

Such was her amazement, she couldn't help but voice it. 'I had no idea Lord Surbrooke devoted his time and resources in such a way.'

''Tis a surprise,' Katie agreed. Then her expression hardened. 'From wot I've seen, not many men in his position would.'

She couldn't argue with that statement. 'What else did Samuel tell you?'

'That he just found a new puppy and named him Baldy. And there're other dogs but because they'd gotten so many, they live at his lordship's country estate in Kent. Then there are the cats-Blinky and Tippy.'

She recalled the one-eyed cat in the foyer. 'I believe I saw Blinky. What is Tippy's ailment?'

'One leg shorter than the others, I believe. Besides the cats there've been a few squirrels and a rabbit. Who quickly popped out several more rabbits.'

'That must have been a surprise,' Carolyn said with a smile, dabbing salve on a shallow cut over Katie's brow.

'No doubt. And then there's the parrot. His name is Naughty. Don't know why he's named that-we arrived here before Samuel could tell me.'

'It makes for interesting speculation,' Carolyn murmured.

Katie winced when Carolyn dabbed at a bruise on her cheek. 'I'm sorry,' Carolyn said. 'Does it hurt terribly?' The swollen dark purple skin looked tender and painful.

'No, milady. Certainly not in comparison to some of the hurts I've had.'

Carolyn's stomach plummeted at the young woman's bleak words. Before she could find her voice, a knock sounded at the door. Lord Surbrooke entered, followed by her maid Gertrude, whose motherly face was wreathed with concern as she looked at Katie.

'Katie, this is Gertrude, my abigail,' Carolyn said. 'She's taken care of me for years and is one of the kindest people I've ever known.'

'I brought one of my own night rails for ye, my dear, so we can get ye comfortable,' said Gertrude, tufts of gray hair sticking out of her obviously hastily donned cap. 'Then I'll see to cleanin' yer clothes.'

Katie blinked her swollen eyes. 'Ain't never had nobody wait on me before.'

'I've instructed my butler, Barkley, to show you to one of the guest rooms,' Lord Surbrooke said. 'I'll send up my maid as soon as she arrives and have Cook prepare some broth.'

'Don't you worry, my lord, we'll be just fine,' Gertrude said, gently helping Katie to stand. 'I'll watch over the young lady.'

Barkley stood at attention in the doorway. The butler had clearly been warned about Katie's aversion to strange men, for he made no attempt to assist her, rather just led Gertrude and Katie from the room.

Standing next to the fireplace, Carolyn watched Lord Surbrooke close the door after them. The soft click reverberated in the quiet room. For several seconds he remained facing the door, his head bowed, as if by some weight too heavy to bear. Then he turned and their gazes met. All the unexpected things Katie had told her rushed through Carolyn's mind, and she felt as if she were seeing him for the first time.

He dragged his hands down his face and offered her a ghost of a smile. 'Quite an eventful evening.'

'Yes…'

Her reply trailed off as he walked slowly toward her, halting when an arm's length separated them. Her body seemed to strain toward him and she braced her knees to keep from stepping forward to erase that slice of space that simultaneously felt like too much and not nearly enough of a distance. She was about to curl her fingers inward so as not to reach out and brush back the errant lock of hair spilling onto his forehead, when he lightly clasped her hands.

Warmth engulfed her fingers. The sensation of his bare hands on hers rippled tingles of pleasure through her. 'Thank you,' he said, his serious blue eyes steady on hers. 'It was very kind of you to help.'

'It was my pleasure to do so. That poor girl. She's very fortunate her injuries weren't more severe.' Her gaze searched his. 'Are you going to take her on as a maid?'

'Yes.'

'Do you need another maid?'

He shrugged. 'A house this size can always use more help.'

His nonchalance proved to her what she'd suspected-that he didn't need another maid at all. Yet he was willing to give an unfortunate young woman a job. Something inside her seemed to shift, but before she could define the sensation, he gently squeezed her hands then released them. She immediately missed the warmth of his skin pressed against hers.