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A splash came down over Nick’s face and he coughed out a spray of water. He hadn’t been expecting it. He brought up his good hand and wiped it over his face before looking to his valet with a wry expression.
Jack was the picture of innocence.
Nick sighed. “Just a little fun, Jack. No harm done.”
“She is different,” Jack warned. “She’s had a tough life. Don’t play with this one.”
That got his hackles up. “Who said I have any intentions of playing with her?” Though, that didn’t sound like such a bad idea. Regardless of his parentage, Nick was a perfect gentleman and he would never compromise a woman—whether she was a milkmaid or an earl’s niece. But that didn’t mean he had to quit teasing her.
“Don’t forget who you are talking to,” Jack reminded him before moving to pick up a towel. He gripped Nick’s good arm and heaved him up before draping the towel over his shoulders and retrieving his dressing gown. They’d been playmates as children; Jack’s father acted as bailiff for Nick’s father’s farm, which had put the boys in proximity. Children did not feel the constraints of status as keenly as adults.
They had grown up learning from their own fathers. Nick, how to manage his father’s land, and Jack, the duties required of a bailiff. When Nick’s father died and he inherited the farm, he kept Jack’s father on as bailiff with the understanding that Jack would take over the role one day. When Nick had been uprooted from the life he knew and dragged to Halstead, he had offered the position of valet to Jack instead.
“Don’t bother with that.” Nick nodded to the dressing gown. “It is hard enough getting my arm in and out of sleeves. Let’s keep to necessary clothes.”
They moved through the familiar process of dressing Nick in breeches and a shirt. Once Jack had him safely deposited in his bed and propped upright on pillows, he began cleaning up the bath.
“How well do you know her, anyway?” Nick prodded.
“Better than anyone else in this house, I’d gather. She’s hardly left your bedside these past weeks. And since I took care of your physical…well, I helped her.”
“She didn’t take meals with the others?”
“Who would she eat with?” Jack countered, gathering Nick’s discarded night clothes. “She’s the earl’s niece so it wouldn’t be proper to eat with the servants. And Lord Hart won’t speak to her.”
Nick grumbled. Then his stomach followed suit.
Jack must have heard the sound from across the room. “Shall I fetch your dinner?”
Nick leaned back, rubbing his eyes. He hated feeling so weak. “Yes. And fetch Robert as well.”
“Fetch Robert?” Jack looked incredulous. “You want me to fetch an earl?”
“I need him. Send a maid if you are too scared.”
Jack bristled. He muttered, “Scared, indeed,” and left the room.
Nick smiled to himself while a plan formulated in his mind. Now he only needed to force himself to stay awake long enough to put the plan into action. Who knew taking a bath could be so utterly exhausting? Gaining his strength back was going to be a long and slow process. But as long as he had the beautiful, dark-haired angel to care for him, it would surely prove enjoyable.
Hmmm. Miss Pepper. Never before had he imagined his own surname would sound so enticing.
She was different, though. She hadn’t even had the decency to blush when he had caught her staring. Weren’t proper ladies supposed to blush when they were found in such an indecent situation? Weren’t they supposed to blush at the mere mention of an indecent situation?
Nick smiled to himself. This was going to be fun, indeed.
