As he climbed, Colin took note of the condition of the household items. Upstairs wasn’t as nice as down. By all appearances, the old man had had money issues. He stopped a maid and got the room he had been given, ignoring the blatant offer in her eyes. It was warm, a fire burned in the hearth yet the rugs were worn thin in places.
He glanced up in surprise when the door opened and he heard Berry’s voice. Lines of strain were around his face as he directed the placing of Colin’s luggage.
“Trip okay, Berry?” he asked once they were alone.
“Yes, my lord.”
Biting back his instinctive response to that phrase he nodded. “Nothing else to be done tonight. Get some rest.”
“Aye commander.” Berry left as the tub and water came up.
Commander? He’d not been that in a very long time. Something must have been on Berry’s mind for that slip to occur. Another fact he filed away to deal with later.
He was exhausted. The past few days had been wearing to be sure. The trip, the news, the ride here and the time with Najja. He needed a bed.
Which he got to with rapid succession. Najja was the last thing he thought about and the first when Berry woke him the following morning.
The next couple of days kept him even busier causing him to fall into bed exhausted every night. Finally the day of the funerals arrived. Snow fell, dusting his black coat as he stood ramrod straight beside his mother.
Back at the house, he remained near his mother, accepting the condolences and ignoring the whispers his presence created. He had just buried two brothers and a father and yet some people still watched him, almost unsure of what he would do next.
“Lord Clifton,” a soft voice said from beside him.
He pleasantly found Lady Adrys there. “Lady Adrys. Thank you for coming.”
She took his hand and squeezed. “If I can be of
any
help.”
“Thank you.” He peered about the room, getting snatches of muted conversations before meeting her gaze again. He had no practice or patience for these kinds of things. Disappointment filled him when he didn’t see either Najja or Jo. Lord Adrys was across the room speaking with the Duke of Kelley.
“Jo sends her regards.”
What about Najj
a?
“Thank you. Please excuse me, I should check on my mother.”
“Of course.” One final squeeze and she released his hand, heading off to seek her husband’s side.
He melted through the gathering to his mother, running his hands down his black waistcoat. As she rose, Bolton announced the meal was ready. Henrietta took his hand briefly before sliding hers to the crook of his arm. He escorted her to the table and waited until she’d been seated along with the other women before taking his own seat, at the head of the table.
As the clanking of silver combined with the din of conversation, he tried to pay attention. However, his mind streamed through the information he’d uncovered since arriving in London. And that was continued once the house was again silent and her occupants abed with the single expectation of him.
He went to the study and sat at the large teak desk his father had used, recalling how he’d felt standing before it as a frightened boy then a defiant young man. Colin stared at the number of bank notes that had been piling up. Creditors had pounced like vultures when they learned he had come to town.
The amount of debt had staggered him. How had his father let this happen? Not to mention his brothers. He had meetings with the two mistresses tomorrow where he would inform them their lines of credit were subsequently cut off. Even his mother spent like everything was fine.
He ran a hand over his mouth and sighed. This was a huge mess and would take a bit to get out of. Shoving back from the pile of unpaid bills, he stalked to the fire then to the window. The moonlight shone down across the backyard, shimmered upon the hard crust and made him, for once, admire the beauty of his surroundings.
As before his night was filled with dreams of him and Najja. When he woke he hungered for her even more. He missed his country life, the estate work. The estate itself. Correction, his previous estate for he had another now. And he missed his Najja.
His.
Chapter Nine
Najja wiped the blood from her sais and returned them to her boots. Her heart pounded and she stared at the scene before her. She ached. Ignoring her own injuries, she moved with deliberate steps to the man who had yet to perish. He had a stomach wound, which he futilely tried to stop the bleeding on.
Anger churned in her gut. This had been close. Too close. Whomever was after Lord Adrys and his family had decidedly upped their game. More disguised accidents toward Jo had really begun to infuriate her. They’d stepped up the ones on Jo’s parents as well. She was exhausted. It was hard keeping all three of them safe.
Surveying the man who tried to pull himself from her, she willed herself calm. He had small eyes, weasel-like. His mouth, which had held a sneer at the beginning, showed panic and true fear. She blinked away the blood that dripped into her eye.
“Who?” she demanded standing over him.
“He will kill me.”
“You are already dead,” she stated dispassionately. “The question is will you suffer out here, unsure if you will succumb first to blood loss, the cold or an animal. Or,” she paused, “do you get a merciful death?”
“I have a family,” he sputtered, skin paling even more.
She felt no sympathy. “So did the one you tried to kill.”
The blood began to congeal in the cold and the man shivered even more. She saw the look on his face and crouched down.
“Who?”
“Sod off,” he spit with a bit of spirit.
Her own vision flickered and she stood. A final dismissive perusal of his form and she presented him with her back. Once on Fineas she directed him back to Kittle Manor and rode off without a look back at the trio of men who lay dead or dying.
Najja was weak upon their return. She had her hood up and kept her head down doing her best to hide her injuries. Her wounded arm hidden beneath the cloak. She turned the reins over to a waiting stable lad and began the walk up to the house.
Lord Adrys met her before she reached the warmth of Kittle Manor. He appeared harried and concerned. “Najja!” He hurried to her side and glanced at her face. “Oh no,” he said before sweeping her up into his arms. She opened her mouth to argue and the darkness took over.
Lids heavy, she dragged them open and saw green silk swags that hung from the thick posts of the large four-poster bed. Slow and cautious, she rotated her head and found Jo sound asleep beside her, the expression on her face explained why they shared a bed. Jo was worried.
With a deep breath she sat up. The room shifted a bit and she waited it out. Once everything calmed to rights, she swung her legs over, grateful to find she wore clothes.
With a dry throat and gritty eyes, she edged her legs closer to the floor. The chilly air caused her to shiver. Feet on the carpet she pushed away from the bed and headed for the chair which had her sais on it.
“Where do you think you are going?” Jo’s question stopped her. “Get back in bed, Najja,” Jo ordered.
She squeezed her eyes shut and opened them to see Jo directly in front of her. Blue eyes emblazoned with a mixture of concern and anger.
“Bed.” The command fell like ice.
Najja wanted to argue but the room began to spin again. Casting a final glance past Jo’s shoulder to where her weapons lay, she returned to the bed. Jo propped up some pillows behind her then without a word went and retrieved the sais, placing them at her side. She breathed a bit easier when her fingers travelled over the familiar leathered hilts.
“Why did you keep it from me?” Jo demanded, her voice tinged with hurt.
There was no point in lying, Jo knew now. Readjusting her body against the pillows, Najja sighed. “Lord Adrys asked me not to tell. He had no wish to worry either of you.”
Eyes glittered with indignation as she snapped, “I thought
we
were friends.”
“We are, Jo,” she replied with kindness. “But your father employed me.” She closed her eyes briefly. “If Father had not agreed for me to come this way, would you still be saying such things?”
“No,” Jo admitted. “I just thought…” she trailed off.
Najja didn’t respond. There was no need. She knew what Jo meant but it would be best if the young woman never forgot who--or what--she truly was.
“I will go get a tray for you.” Jo sounded defeated as she made her way to the door. She disappeared before Najja could conjure up a response.
Alone in the room, Najja gripped one sai and blinked away furious tears. Crying was not her forte. It wasn’t for the pain and suffering she’d experienced, it was for the pain caused by hurting Jo. A friend. Her one true one.
With angry flicks at her eyes, she erased any evidence of tears. Calling upon the fortitude, which had gotten her through twenty-six years of her life, she calmed herself. She turned her head and stared out the window. More snow fell and she got swamped with the craving--need--to get to a place she called home. To relax on a thick branch while the heat of the day sank into her. Where there weren’t black skies from burning coal as she would encounter in London. Where the danger was from certain wildlife, not other humans.
A sharp knock preceded the entire trio of Adryses. Hayworth entered first followed by his wife and daughter. Jo with a tray in her hand that she carried to the bed and set beside her. Lady Adrys wrung her hands and her face displayed her vexation. No flicker of emotion allowed, Najja met the sharp blue eyes of Lord Adrys.
The women joined her on the bed but she refused to drop the gaze that saw so much. For a brief spot in time the eyes were businesslike, not unlike Father’s. Until they softened.
“How are you feeling?” Hayworth questioned, drawing a large chair close and seating himself in it.
“Fine, my lord. Thank you.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, Najja,” Lady Adrys said, “you just saved my husband’s life and risked your own. And I am not wrong in assuming it was not the first time either. You are family, stop being so bloody formal.”
The words snapped her gaze from husband to wife. One, Lady Adrys said “bloody” and two, she’d never heard such ferocity from her before.
Blonde hair normally drawn back in an elegant coif had been loosely gathered at the base of her neck. Lady Adrys also had circles under her eyes. The viscountess crossed her arms and shot glares between her and Hayworth.
How long have I been asleep?
“No more secrets, Hayworth. Tell us what is going on. All of it.”
Najja had never known Lady Adrys to have such grit. As Hayworth adhered to his wife’s decree, Najja closed her eyes and allowed his deep voice to flow over her. A slender hand took the place of the sai handle. She knew it was Jo. The girl was extremely tactile. Regardless, the contact comforted her.
The conversation went on around her and while she wasn’t required to talk it was nice to be included. Sleep raced upon her and she finally succumbed as Lady Adrys continued to tell her husband just how upset she was for his high handed way of handling things.
She woke later to find Jo asleep beside her and Lady Adrys seated in the chair Lord Adrys had occupied previously. Her hair hung over her right shoulder in a thick braid. The room lit by firelight and candles felt comfortable.
Blue eyes stared unblinkingly at her. With another look at Jo, Najja faced the woman in the chair. The Viscountess, Lady Honoria Adrys.
“Are you hungry?” she asked with soft articulation. “Or thirsty? You fell back asleep before eating before.”
“No my lady, thank you though.”
“Najja,” she shifted on the seat, moving toward the edge. “What you did…what you sacrificed.”
Najja began to feel uncomfortable. “I did my job,” she insisted wanting there to be no gratitude. Those traitorous tears began threatening again.
Honoria compressed her lips into a thin line. “I know we are not that close but even I can see how important you are to our family. I have known you for years, Najja, and never once in all that time, have I ever expressed my gratitude for keeping my daughter safe. I am ashamed of that.”
Najja began to shake her head only to stop when Lady Adrys pinned a look on her that she knew to mean hush and listen. Adjoined to her uninjured side lay a still Jo. So Najja listened.
Not that Lady A would have it any other way,
she observed.
“You are a part of our family, Najja. Our second daughter. No matter what you say that is how it is. So thank you, for not letting them take my family from me,” a pointed glare at her, “
any
of them.” She got up and approached the bed. “Do not
ever
scare me like this again, or I will…well, not sure what but it will be something.”
Najja sat there speechless as Honoria Adrys pressed a kiss to her cheek and left the room.
“Told you Mama loved you,” Jo murmured her voice laced with sleepy humor.