A Rake's Redemption (Rake Trilogy) by Cynthia Breeding

Author:Cynthia Breeding
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Entangled, Amara, historical, historical romance, romance, regency, regency romance, rake, gambling, horses, disguise, pretending, Dublin, secret
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC (Amara)
Published: 2018-06-27T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Alex was reaching for his shirt to finish dressing when he heard a shrill cry and a series of thumps from somewhere above his second-floor bedchamber. He thrust his arms inside the sleeves and ran out the door toward the back of the hall where the servants’ stairs were.

He rushed up the steps and peered down the third-floor hall. Nothing seemed amiss, but at the same time the hair at his nape prickled. Inis? He started up the last flight to the fourth floor and halted so suddenly, he nearly pitched forward onto his nose.

Inis was lying in a crumpled heap at the mid-landing.

He dropped to the floor beside her. Thank God, her eyes were open, but she looked stunned. She tried to rise, and he pushed her back gently. “Lie still. Let me check if anything is broken.” He slipped his hands over her collarbones, down her arms, and over her ribs. Then, as he followed the curve of her waist over her hips and down her thighs, his mind niggled at him that he was touching her the way he’d wanted to for days. He pushed the thought away. Right now, his only concern was that she was all right.

“Nothing seems to be broken,” he said and helped her to sit. She gave him a dazed look and then slumped on his shoulder. He could feel her trembling. “Are you hurt somewhere?”

She rubbed her face against him, which he took to be a “no.” He had the strange urge to sit there and hold her for hours, but he could hear footsteps ascending. Reluctantly, he shifted position so he could stand, and lifted her with him. As soon as Inis put weight on one ankle, she winced. Alex picked her up and carried her up the last few steps back to her chamber. Kicking the door open, he laid her gently on the bed.

“What happened?” Mrs. Bradley hurried inside while the chambermaids crowded into the doorway.

“She fell on the stairs,” Alex said, sitting on the bed beside a chalk-faced Inis and tucking her hair back from her face. “Get the physician.”

Mrs. Bradley turned and motioned to Elsie. “Go tell Evans to bring Dr. Baxter here.”

The maid, who was almost as pale as Inis, turned and left the room without a word. The housekeeper walked over to the dresser, dipped a washcloth into the water in the basin and brought it back to the bed. She started to place it on Inis’s forehead when Alex took it from her.

“I will do it.”

Mrs. Bradley nodded and then coughed discreetly. Alex looked up, and she shifted her gaze subtly to his shirt, which was hanging open. He glanced at the chambermaids in the doorway. Their mouths were gaping, too. He grimaced and fastened two buttons, then turned back to Inis.

“How are you feeling?”

Her eyes moved from his fingers to his face. “A little sore.”

“To be expected. Can you tell me what happened?”

“The carpet came loose,” Inis replied. “I did nae see it until my foot slipped.

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