Nicola Cornick Collection: The Last Rake In London / Notorious / Desired. Nicola Cornick
but now she realised with a pang of shock that she must have been sitting there a long time; the bath water was cooling and he had come into the bathroom to find her and once again she was shaking and shaking as though she could not stop. Jack gave an oath, grabbed a towel and plucked her bodily from the water, wrapping the material around her and holding her close as he carried her into the bedroom and dropped her on to the bed. A second later he was back at her side with a glass of brandy in his hands. He held it to her lips.
‘You’re in shock,’ he said harshly. ‘I should have realised.’
Sally shook her head. ‘No—’
‘Drink this, then we’ll talk.’
The spirit burned Sally’s throat and helped her to pull her thoughts back from the brink. She put the glass down and drew the towel more closely and protectively about her, reaching for the eiderdown and drawing it up to her chin.
‘I am sorry,’ she said. ‘I think I am more shaken than I realised. It is true that the accident reminded me of my father. He died of drowning.’
Jack swore again. ‘I did not realise. I am sorry.’
‘I do not speak of it,’ Sally said, burrowing beneath the covers and feeling the warmth gradually banish the chill in her bones. ‘It was a long time ago now. We were punting on the river and he lost his footing and fell. I thought he would swim ashore and I tried to grab his hand, but he disappeared. I waited and waited—and only realised too late that there was something dreadfully wrong.’
‘What happened?’ Jack asked. He sat down on the edge of the bed and sought her hand beneath the covers, holding it in a comforting grasp.
‘When I realised he had not come up to the surface again, I screamed and screamed,’ Sally said. ‘Some of the other boatmen came then and helped me search, but it was too late. The police recovered his body from the river that evening. He had hit his head on the edge of the punt as he fell and sank like a stone.’ Another shudder racked her. ‘I have been terrified of water ever since.’
‘And yet you jumped in without hesitation to rescue Lucy,’ Jack said, his grip tightening on her hand.
‘I could not let it happen again,’ Sally said. ‘It was my fault that Papa died. I learned to swim after that, in case I ever needed it.’
Jack was very still. ‘What do you mean when you say that it was your fault your father died?’
Sally freed herself from his grip and fidgeted a little with the edge of the eiderdown. She avoided his eyes.
‘I could have saved him,’ she said.
‘And then Nell and Connie would not have had to fend for themselves?’ Jack suggested. ‘I had wondered at your determination to take care of them.’
Sally was shocked by his perception. She had not intended to say so much. She had not wanted to reveal her innermost fear and guilt.
‘I am the eldest,’ she excused.
‘But that is not why you struggle so hard to defend them,’ Jack said. Sally saw something change in his face. ‘You feel guilt for something that is not your fault.’ Abruptly, Jack stood up. He walked across to the window before turning back to look at her.
‘Do you remember telling me last night that I should not take the blame for something that was not my fault?’ he said conversationally.
‘That was different,’ Sally said.
Jack smiled. ‘Was it? Strange how it is always easier to see the beam in someone else’s eye. Think about it.’ His smile broadened. ‘And at the least you need not worry about taking care of Connie any longer. That is Bertie’s responsibility now.’
He came back to her and bent to kiss her, a kiss for once that was gentle and devoid of the tempestuous passion that had characterised their relationship.
‘Oh, Sally Bowes,’ he said, against her lips, ‘don’t let the past haunt you. You are too sweet and generous for that to happen.’
The tenderness of his kiss undermined Sally’s defences completely. She felt a sudden, huge and surprising rush of relief because the fear had gone and with Jack she felt safe. She drew him to her, sliding her hands over his shoulders and it was only then that she realised his shirt was still damp and clinging to his body. In his hurry to care for her he had certainly neglected his own comfort.
‘You’ll catch a chill!’ she protested, drawing back, and he smiled at her and pulled the shirt over his head in one fluid movement before joining her on the bed again.
His skin was warm beneath her fingertips and he felt so vital and alive that Sally drank in the scent and the taste and the strength of him, giving him back kiss for gentle kiss, wanting to feel closer still. Their tongues tangled, delicate at first, then bold and searching. Both of them were too intent on each other to hear the commotion in the bedroom doorway until Charlotte gave a muffled squeak.
‘We did knock!’ she said.
‘Are you lost to all sense of propriety, nephew?’ Lady Ottoline demanded, bustling into the bedroom and thrusting Jack’s wet shirt towards him.
‘Absolutely, Aunt Ottoline,’ Jack said. ‘Utterly and completely.’
For a second even Lady Ottoline was silenced. ‘When I spoke to you of setting up your nursery,’ she said, with a ferocious glare in Sally’s direction, ‘I did not mean for you to start immediately. I shall call the bishop and arrange a special licence at once!’
‘That,’ Jack said pleasantly, pulling his shirt on, ‘is Sally’s decision, Aunt, not yours.’ He bent to place a final kiss on her lips. ‘I will see you later, darling. For now I think I should leave you to rest.’ He paused, his eyes still very close to hers. ‘Despite our conversation last night,’ he said in a low voice, ‘I would like you to reconsider, Sally. Please do not reject me out of hand.’
‘Out!’ Lady Ottoline ordered, shooing him through the door and closing it firmly behind them.
Charley gave a giggle and sat down on the end of the bed. ‘I only came to thank you, Sally, and to make sure that in saving Lucy you did not take hurt yourself,’ she said, ‘but now I see that you are in such good health I shall have no more concerns on that score!’
‘I hope,’ Sally said hastily, ‘that Lucy is recovering?’
‘Oh, yes,’ Charley said. ‘The doctor thinks there is no real harm done and she is sleeping now. Stephen is sitting with her.’ She looked at Sally. ‘But for your prompt actions though, Sally …’ She shuddered. ‘Well, I do not like to think what might have happened. What a blessing that you can swim!’ A frown puckered her forehead. ‘One thing puzzles me though.’ She made a slight, embarrassed gesture with her hands. ‘When we came in and you and Jack were … well, you know …’
‘Kissing,’ Sally said helpfully.
‘Yes!’ Charley said. ‘And sort of lying on the bed together and—’
‘Yes,’ Sally said, ‘anyway …’
‘Well …’ Charley blushed. ‘I am a little confused as I am sure that when you arrived on Friday your engagement was only a ruse and yet now …’ Her voice tailed away uncertainly.
‘Yes, of course.’ Sally had forgotten that Charley had been party to the original deception. ‘I am sorry to give you concern, Charley. The truth is that your brother has proposed to me in earnest, and—’
She was unable to say anything else as Charley launched herself at her and gave her a bear hug.
‘How marvellous!’ Charley gasped. ‘I knew it! I knew that Jack was in love with you. All that posturing around over Greg Holt’s attentions to you, and pretending that he did not care. I knew from the start that you were meant to be together.’
Sally extracted