Damsel In Distress?. Kristina O'Grady
Shivers ran up and down Harriet’s spine with each kiss Philip brushed upon her skin. Her head fell back onto the pillows with a sigh, her fists clenching the sheets at her side.
He stopped.
She sat up and looked at him. What the hell was he stopping for?
His forehead was resting on her knee, one hand gently clasping her foot and the other fisted the covers, the only evidence that he too was struggling to maintain control.
She lowered herself back down so she was lying flat. Her body was exhausted from all the activity today. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing and fight away the desire skating through her system.
“Philip?” she called after a few moments.
He raised his head off her knee and quirked an eyebrow at her.
“Come here,” she beckoned.
Flutters erupted in her chest as he crawled up the bed towards her. He poised himself over her, a boyish grin upon his face. “Yes, my lady, you called?”
“My head hurts, could you lie with me a little while?”
Concern replaced his smile and he lay down next to her before gathering her into his arms, resting her head on his shoulder. “Rest, my lady,” he whispered into her hair and dropped a kiss onto her forehead.
Harriet snuggled closer to his warmth, closed her eyes and fell back to sleep.
***
Her head hurt less when she awoke. She was alone in her bed, the space beside her more empty than it had ever been before. Harriet turned her head and looked out the window. She was glad they had finally opened the curtains. It must be early morning with the way the light hung in the air and cast shadows on the ground. A large tree outside her window cast shadows from its leaves throughout the room. She was watching them shift in the breeze when there was a small knock on her door. She managed to roll so that she was looking at the doorway when it cracked open.
Cressandra’s head poked in. “Oh, you’re awake,” she said with a bright smile. “I was hoping to find you up.” She came the rest of the way into the room and took up residence in the chair her brother had been spending his nights in…except last night. A flush of heat covered her face.
Harriet looked at her guest. She was wearing a beautiful flowing gown that set off her light auburn hair and accentuated her curves. Harriet found herself wishing she too could look as nice as Cressandra, but supposed she would have to forego the option due to being confined to bed.
“Philip has finally allowed me to come and visit you. I’ve been dying to come ever since you arrived but I suppose he is right to let you recover and rest.” Cressandra scooted the chair closer to the edge of the bed and leaned in. “How are you feeling? I imagine you have such a sore head, what with what happened to you and all. Imagine getting chased down by madmen and nearly shot! Lucky thing my brother was out carousing that night, not that he’ll ever hear me admit such a thing, but all the same, lucky for you.”
Harriet decided that she was wrong. Her head did hurt today. “What do you mean, almost shot?”
“Oh! Ummm…hasn’t Philip told you? Well. I must be going now.” Cressandra jumped up from the chair and patted Harriet on the hand. “You feel better now. I’ll come back tomorrow.” She practically ran from the room.
Harriet lay there watching the shadows of leaves float along the ceiling and tried to remember. She tried to remember the night she was found and brought here and she tried to remember anything before that. Nothing. Her mind remained frustratingly blank. She still couldn’t even remember her last name, although there seemed to be a word dancing just out of her reach and try as she might to catch it, it drifted past her tongue.
The door opened again and without even looking she knew who it was. Philip came into view as he sat in the chair his sister had recently vacated. He sat in silence for a long time and finally Harriet brought her eyes to his face. She felt the now familiar jump in her chest as her eyes made contact with his. Would this always happen? The electric charge that jumped between them on contact? His eyes bore into hers. They seemed sad today and if she concentrated she was sure she would be able to pluck his thoughts out of his head into hers. She wasn’t certain that she wanted to.
“Are you all right?” She hated that he asked her so gently. His understanding almost undid her and she struggled to keep in her tears. She managed a nod and looked back up at the ceiling of her room. She couldn’t maintain eye contact with him any longer. If she could feel his thoughts, then surely he could feel hers.
“Cressandra told me she thinks she may have upset you.” Harriet sensed him run his hands through his hair. Over the last few days she had become very aware of his habits and this was one done regularly in her presence, as though she was a source of concern.
“She didn’t upset me.”
“I should have told you earlier.” His hand touched her face gently and she turned to once again look into his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said and she could see the regret on his face. “I didn’t want to upset you by telling you everything that happened that night. Dr Brown agreed with me.” Philip raised his hand as though to stop any comment from her. “It’s no excuse, I know, but I was trying to protect you as much as I could. You have to understand that I feel responsible for you now. I should have been able to stop those men before they hurt you like they did, but I didn’t and for that I will be forever sorry.”
He placed his hand gently on her arm and lightly rubbed it up and down. Sparks flew along her skin at his touch and warmth spread throughout her body. She pulled her arm away but forced herself to look directly into his eyes. She wished he’d lie with her again.
“Please tell me what happened. I want to know. I want to remember. You have no idea what it’s like to lie here and not know anything about yourself…not even your own name. Please tell me,” she begged him.
“Are you sure you want to know?”
She nodded. “Yes.”
Philip leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. Harriet was glad for the extra space between them. If he wasn’t going to hold her and make her safe, she’d rather he kept his distance. She couldn’t think with him so close.
“I’ll start from the beginning,” he said, settling deeper into his chair as though they were in for a long story. She hoped it would jar her mind and unleash the memories hiding in there. “We went through this yesterday, do you remember?”
“Some…I think. Maybe you should tell me again. Why can’t I even recall conversations from yesterday?”
“It’s all right; you had quite a bump to your head. I suspect you will have a bit of problem with your memory for a while yet.” He reached over and brushed her hair away from the bandage on her head. “Very well, here we go. I attended a ball earlier in the night; I’ll admit I was a bit deep into my cups.” He grinned. “Deep enough I thought it was a good idea to follow my ex-mistress into the gardens of our host. I had obviously drunk far too much as any sane person would instantly know the error of that decision.” His smile had disappeared and Philip shifted uncomfortably in his seat, a red stain working its way up his neck. “Let’s just say she had her way with me and I felt the need to depart the party early. Unfortunately, she decided to come along with me and after further refreshment and uh…recreation at her residence, I managed to escape and head towards home. I was taking a short cut through the park since I had let my driver go home earlier. It was such a fine night and I’m not such a dandy that I can’t walk on my own two feet.” Philip sat up slightly in the chair and looked the part of a self-important peer for a moment before his shoulders drooped and he continued with his tale. “It was while I was walking home that I found you. You were running from three other horsemen and I must admit at first I thought you were a man from the way you were riding. You weren’t sitting side-saddle. It wasn’t long before I knew the truth, however. You screamed when they shot your horse.”