He studied her face, noting the shadows under her eyes. “Did you get any sleep?”
“A bit, and you’re not to worry about me. I’m perfectly fine.”
“I can’t help but worry. You’re looking a bit pulled around the edges, love.”
“That, sir, is your fault,” she wryly replied. “You’re the one who kept me up so late the previous night.”
“True, but let’s not forget the Kinloch Fiddler’s appearance,” Kade said. “You’ve been burning the candle at both ends, my darling, and sadly not with me.”
Charlie blushed a bit and gave him such a sweet smile that he was hard-pressed not to back her up against the door and start kissing her. Or pick her up and carry her off to his bed.
“Then the sooner we bring this to an end, the sooner I’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep,” she replied. “Since you’re up here, I take it that Angus is shadowing Sir Leslie.”
“Yes, although I’m afraid the old boy is in for a boring time of it. Morgan is being very careful.”
“Not for long, I suspect. He needs to get his hands on the brooch, which means he needs to get to my brother. We can’t keep Johnny locked up in his room indefinitely.”
“No, so we need to have a frank conversation with him. Do you think he’s ready to talk now?”
She waggled a hand. “I haven’t wanted to push him. I’m hoping you’ll have better luck.”
“I’m sure the poor lad is mortified. Whenever one of my brothers did something particularly idiotic, they invariably clammed up.”
“I suspect no one was trying to kill them, though.”
“You’d be surprised. I will say, however, that I don’t think Morgan is actually trying to kill Johnny.”
Charlie frowned. “He seems to be making a fairly good go of it.”
He reached around her and opened the door. “Patience, love. We’ll get to that.”
She blew out a frustrated breath but let him shepherd her into the room.
Johnny was ensconced in an armchair by the fire, covered in a blanket. He was awkwardly trying to manage a cup of tea with his injured arm.
“Charlie, could you help me with this blasted—” He broke off, his eyes going wide when he saw Kade.
“Of course, dearest.” She relieved him of the cup. “You’re not supposed to be using that hand, remember?”
He winced as he adjusted his arm in its sling. “I tried to use my left hand, but I ended up spilling a glass of water down the front of my nightshirt. Mamma had to help me change the stupid thing.”
“I injured my shoulder some weeks back,” Kade said, giving him a friendly smile. “It’s a bloody nuisance, isn’t it?”
Johnny grimaced. “Sorry, I don’t mean to complain, but I’m getting rather tired of being an invalid. First my collarbone, and now this stupid . . . well, me being stupid, I suppose.”
Kade studied him. “Except you weren’t being stupid, were you, Johnny?”
The lad blinked a few times and then looked away. “I . . . I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
Charlie crossed her arms and gave him a rather stern look. “Johnny, you didn’t dose yourself with laudanum, accidental or otherwise. And it certainly wasn’t Melissa. So that only leaves one other person.”
“You don’t know anything about it,” he replied in a chippy tone. “You should just leave it alone.”
Charlie shook her head. “Johnny—”
“You don’t know what he’s like!” her brother suddenly burst out as he struggled to his feet. “You need to stay out of it, Charlie. I can manage it.”
“Present circumstances would suggest otherwise,” she retorted.
