In the Barrister's Bed by Tina Gabrielle

Author:Tina Gabrielle [Gabrielle, Tina]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2012-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

Three days after Dr. Grimsby’s arrival, Bella’s prayers were answered and James’s fever subsided. He would survive, thank the Lord, and for the first time Bella could breathe easy. Another week later, James’s color and appetite had returned, along with his arrogance, pride, and surly disposition after having remained in bed for so long.

Bella opened the door to his bedchamber to find James struggling to kick the covers from his legs. Coates was frantically trying to dissuade his master from rising.

“I want out of this damned bed!” James boomed.

“But Dr. Grimsby’s orders, Your Grace!”

“Tell him to sod off. I feel better, good enough to rise.”

Bella shut the door behind her and Coates looked up, his gaze desperate and pleading at once. “Mrs. Sinclair! Perhaps you can talk some sense into the duke.”

Bella nodded at Coates. They had grown fond of each other over the course of James’s illness. Dr. Grimsby continued to check on his patient daily, but it was Bella and Coates who had shared the main burden of caring for James, and most importantly, the goal of wanting to see him healed.

Their motives, however, were of an entirely different nature. Coates was a dedicated manservant, while she felt guilty and responsible for the duke’s suffering. But if she was truthful to herself, she knew there was more behind her altruistic behavior. She cared for James, genuinely cared.

“Hiding behind a woman’s skirts, are you, Coates?” James said gruffly.

“Give me the jar and I will apply the salve and bandage him,” Bella offered.

The relief was so evident in Coates’s expression that Bella bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing.

“You’re an angel in disguise, Mrs. Sinclair,” Coates said as he rushed to hand her the salve on his way out of the room.

A chuckle came from the bed. “I suppose Coates knows you will have no problem keeping me in bed,” James said, the unmistakable gleam back in his eyes.

Bella’s grip on the jar tightened a fraction. “I see you truly are feeling better. Allow me to spare your manservant and see to your wound myself.”

“The wound is closed and healed.”

Bella placed her hands on her hips. “Perhaps, but at the moment I fear Dr. Grimsby more than you.”

He grinned, and Bella’s heart lurched at the devastating effect.

“Never let it be said I denied a lady,” James said.

She set the jar down beside the bed and pulled up a chair. His charm had returned with his health, and she feared she was even more affected by it. He wrapped his hands behind his head and eased back down on the pillows.

James wore a loose white shirt and breeches, and Bella was thankful that Coates had had the foresight to dress his master before her arrival. Now that the danger of the fever had passed and James was lucid, she realized it was improper for her to tend him much longer in the privacy of his bedchamber. A fevered and deathly ill duke was one thing; a healthy virile duke was quite another.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.