At the boarding house, as she drudged to her patient’s room, her mind still tied up with Wright’s death, all precautions to keep her activity quiet from the landlady fled her mind as she gave a slight rap to the rebel’s door and opened it. What she saw before her made her gasp and the cane hit the floor.
Sitting on his bed, the traitor was laughing with the young housemaid who’d brought him a pitcher of water. Ada glared. The girl was giggling.
“I say, I like your accent, monsieur.” More giggling. Ada wanted to slap her.
“Merci, ma petite,” he replied, taking her glass from her. Over her shoulder, he caught Ada’s optical daggers, so he straightened and gave the maid a wink. “Now, Mary, if you’ll let me rest, I’ll see you later, ma chère.”
Mary glanced over her shoulder and caught Ada. “Oh, yes Mr. Francis, I mean, monsieur.” She bobbed before him, then spun and nearly fled from the room, blushing.
Ada frowned. “Truly?”
Francois tilted his head, looking surprised. “I was thirsty. She came to bring me more water. Is that wrong?”
She wanted to throttle him, but just like Mary, his accent and the Southern drawl worked wonders and unraveled her anger. Perhaps it was exhaustion of dealing with him and the hospital…or the loss of young men like Robert that always took a toll on her. His sweet face looked so clear when he passed told her how peace looked. Then she returns to this patient and her blood boiled.
“The thought was to keep quiet and not alert our housekeeper a rebel was here.”
The man chuckled. “I doubt that’ll be her first thought. A Frenchman yes, but prisoner
no.”
That raised her brows skeptically as she chewed that thought. “A Frenchman? Yes, well, I heard you speak and you did very well, but your Southern drawl embraces every syllable.” She sighed and pulled her nursing cap off as one of the pins had been stabbing her neck for the last two hours. “Besides, she’s too young to notice, since you put on a vile manner to hopefully seduce her, despite your injury.”
“Seduce her? My, daresay it was a long day for you?”
He wasn’t going to distract her that easily. “I’ve stayed here for nigh longer than you, and have never seen her outside the kitchen below. How did you get her up here?”
He blinked in surprise, then shrugged. “Perhaps my fall made a slight noise.”
She bit back the snarl in her throat but couldn’t erase the fear he hurt himself more than he appeared at the moment. “Let us take a look at how we’re are progressing.” And she threw the cover back, exposing his damaged leg. As she reached for the linen wrap, his limb trembled. With a frown, she looked up at him.
“It appears slightly red and a touch swollen.” Moving the foot slightly, she noticed he clenched his fingers in the sheets. “How did you fall?” He had to have moved it, tried standing or something.
“I tried to stand.”
That made her jerk upright. “You did what?”
“You heard me. It wasn’t throbbing and I grow tired of just laying here with nothing to do, so I thought I’d stand up, test it out.”
Ada hadn’t realized how her jaw had dropped open, but it had and now, she slammed it shut. She wanted to roar until another notion came to her. “Tell me, dear sir, just how did that go?”
With a disgusted snort, he sank back to the pillows. “Not well.”
She nodded then went to her satchel and withdrew the vial of laudanum. In an empty cup, she poured three droplets and filled it with tea from the pot near the fireplace.
“Here, drink this.”
“I really do not like that brew.”
That made her laugh. “The tea itself, or the laudanum?”
Her laughter lightened the mood because he gave her a lopsided smile. “The latter. It gives a rather sour taste to the tea.”
“Well, in this case, I want you to try something.” She pressed the cup rim to his lips, just like she’d done to hundreds of wounded men recently, her mind argued, as if this was everyday chore. “But I think a little pain killer may aid us, since you obviously did not achieve flight.”
His brows furrowed as he swallowed the poison. His blue gaze did not falter, holding her attention fully. She sighed. No wonder the house servant gave into his whims. A small voice in the back of her head mockingly taunted her, would she do the same? Stomping that noise out, she yanked the cup back.
“Let us not down the entire cup, sir. It is only to take in small measures.”
He scowled. “Do make up your mind, doctor.”
The title rolled off his tongue and sent a shiver down her spine, one that was warm and enticing. Finally, a patient who accepted what she was….unless it was in jest. Another stab she shoved aside while putting the cup on the table. She pushed the bed sheet to the side.
“Please put your legs over the side of the bed.”
Dutifully, he did. He bare feet slightly brushed the carpet next to the bed. Ada went back to the doorway and picked up the walking cane.
“Here.” She handed one to him. “Put it next to the wounded foot and stand, weight on the good one, please.”
He grappled with the cane, trying to put his hand on it so it was stable. His good foot hit the carpet and with one hand on the mattress, the other on the walking stick, he rocked to stand. But he couldn’t raise himself.
“Let me help.” She bullied her way under his right arm, wrapping her arm around his waist and urged him up. He was heavier, she discovered, than she’d imagined. Or perhaps, her long hours at the hospital and worrying here had drained her more than she knew, but as he leaned on her, she
