Page 18 of Wolfhaven

“I was cutting it in two. Half for you and your grandmother. The other half for me.” Pain stabbed his eye like an ice pick. He pressed the heel of his palm into the right socket.

“Let me.”

Miss Ballard bumped into him, nudging him aside with her hip. “You should go and lie down. You have a head injury. Symptoms of a concussion can include dizziness, poor concentration, headaches, nausea, mood and sleep disruptions⁠—”

“I am not moody,” he insisted moodily. He knew he was acting even grumpier than usual. Being around a beautiful woman was having a deleterious effect upon his personality.

“I am not going to bother arguing the point. You should rest.” A smile twitched around the corners of her lush mouth. He kept glancing over. Small, pale, strong hands wielded the knife, cutting neatly through the meat where he had sawed at it like a savage. Instead of leaving her alone, he lingered, sorting through the contents of the hamper Cogswell had left on his counter. Potatoes. Carrots. Onions. Celery root. A green leafy vegetable he couldn’t identify. Cherries. He adored the sweet and tangy red fruit. Red like Miss Ballard’s lips…

“Here,” he said, thrusting the hamper at her. “You should take this. There are eggs, tinned milk, and a bag of flour inside, too. Should be enough to last you the week.”

“I—”

“Just go.” He glanced at the window. Past the dust and the accumulated filth, the sky was darkening with the impending storm. “You should go back to your cottage before it starts to rain.”

“But you⁠—”

“I’ll be fine. We’ve done enough today.” He had to get her out of here before he did anything else embarrassing.

“I could come back after lunch,” she offered. “I can work alone, you know. It would be faster.”

“No. I’ve already told you I won’t let you wander around this place alone.”

“Because you don’t want me to find a valuable item and pocket it,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Because I don’t want you to get hurt, you imbecile. She was being stubborn and obtuse. How many ways could he say get out of my house without resorting to outright rudeness?

“Correct,” he lied. “I need to extract every shilling I can from this estate before I relinquish its carcass. Now go.”

“Only if you promise to lie down.”

“Fine. I will.” God, he was barely standing as it was. The pain stabbing him in the eyeball increased with every passing second. He needed her to leave. Now. Before he fell again.

“Fine. I will return once I’ve checked on Gran.” To his relief, she collected her cloak, hefted the hamper, and began striding toward the exit.

“Tomorrow is soon enough.”

“I thought you wanted to be gone from this place as soon as humanly possible. Don’t you want your money’s worth out of me?” She hesitated at the doorway with one brow lifted. Tormenting him.

“I do,” he gritted out. “With all due respect, Miss Ballard, I am paying you two shillings a day. Consider your work for today concluded.”

Her lips pursed, but finally she turned on her heel and was gone.

He wavered on his feet. Exhaled in a long groan of relief and agony when the latch clicked shut behind her.

Collapsed in a pile on the stone floor and lay there, feeling the cold seep comfortingly into his bones.

Chapter 10

Evaine

The duke had been right about the rain. Fat drops splashed onto her shoulders as she hurried back to the cottage. The gnarled trees overhead provided some protection, but her red cloak was maroon with dampness by the time she let herself into the small cottage.

“There you are,” Gran said. “I was wondering if you were returning today.”

“I’m sorry I’m late for lunch.” Arms aching, she hefted the heavy hamper onto the scuffed wooden countertop. “But look at all this bounty. Savoy cabbage. Eggs. Ham. Cheese, Gran. An entire wedge of good cheddar.”

“Where did you get all of that?” her grandmother gasped.