She raised her eyes to him at last, looking as puzzled as he felt. “I only just rolled my ankle. There is no reason to summon anyone for such a common injury.”
“Common?”
“Very common.” She was angry at him; that much was clear. “A cold compress and some rest will see it righted by tomorrow.”
Another might have accepted the dismissal and left her to suffer alone, but Elias was damned if he would act like Lord Spencer.
“Let me see.” He knelt and lifted the muddied hem of her dress just a couple of inches to expose the riding boots. He carefully felt around her ankle through the leather. Lady May’s sharp intake of air brought him to a stop.
“Does this hurt?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “It hurts my pride. Also, this is the wrong leg.”
“Ah.” Elias carefully lifted her other leg when her fingers suddenly dug into his shoulder.
“Leave it, mil—Your Grace. You cannot just—”
Elias looked into her pained eyes. “If you wait any longer, the swelling could make the leather harder to remove. I’ve removed many a riding boot from a lady’s leg.” That might have been the wrong thing to say. Her shock caused him to add, “I promise I will make this as painless as possible.”
She nodded at last.
Elias slipped his hand under Lady May’s hem and trailed it to just under her knee, above the boot’s edge. His fingers tightened around her stockinged calf as his other hand firmly grasped just above the heel. He pulled the boot off slowly but without hesitation, watching her face for any pain. She winced, but the job was already done, and then Elias held her delicate leg in his grasp, staring into her eyes like a schoolboy.
She stared back with parted lips. Her collarbone rose and fell with each hastened breath.
A wave of want washed over him, sudden and uncompromising, and before his mind caught up, he trailed his fingers down her calf, stroking her. Her hand, which still rested on his shoulder, tightened again with enough fierceness for him to recover some presence of mind. The rest of the world flooded back in, illuminating the height of his insanity. Consumed as he was, Elias did not even notice his sister and Lord Spencer making their way down toward them. Lady May coughed and withdrew her leg as Elias rose to his feet so fast it nearly gave him vertigo.
“I shall call for the maid to bring you a poultice.” He looked away into the gardens as if they could erase his body’s treacherous reaction.
“Thank you, Your Grace, that is most kind.” She sounded just as stifled as he felt.
Then, Hannah was upon them, her damnable betrothed dogging her steps.
“Dear May, how are you feeling?” His sister’s face was warm with concern.
Elias did not miss Lady May smoothing her skirts over her bootless leg. Later, he would recall how flushed she looked, but now his undivided attention was on Spencer, who presented his hollow apologies once more.
“Give me a reason why I should trust you with my sister when I cannot even trust you with my cousin,” he snapped.
“Brother—”
“I will not lie, I am at fault here.” Though Hannah attempted to step in, Lord Spencer faced him head on. “However, I can promise you, I will never let anything happen to your sister.”
“And why is that?” Elias couldn’t wait to throw that opportunist out on his ear.
“Please, Cousin.” Lady May stood up with effort. “It truly was my fault. Lord Spencer is too hard on himself. Truth be told, I am a poor rider, but I was too embarrassed to admit it. I misled Lord Spencer to believe I could keep up and overestimated my abilities. The fault lies with me.”
As if that was in the least bit believable.
Elias narrowed his eyes. Was this part of her tactic to endear herself to the man? Had she fallen off on purpose in an attempt at capturing Spencer’s attentions?
Most clever.
Lady May wobbled, and he immediately offered her his arm. Her touch quieted his frustration.
“Please, let me make it up to you, Lady May. As for your words, Your Grace, I only hope for a chance to show you just what your sister means to me.”
“Yes,” Elias murmured, as he eyed the woman in his grasp. “I hope for that too.”
