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She shot him a wry look and led him into the corridor. Giulia laughed dryly, shooting Nick an exasperated look. “Of course the secret passageway would empty into the room next to mine instead of my own. Heaven forbid an adventure actually goes my way for once.”
Nick shot a look at her bedroom door and she grabbed his hand, swinging him around and pulling him in the opposite direction. “Come, the tower is this way.”
He chuckled but did not resist. “What did you mean?” he asked. “Do things not usually go your way?”
Giulia smiled to herself. “How else would I have gained extensive knowledge about nursing? I, of course, hardly ever got ill or hurt, but everyone around me seemed to attract ailments or injuries constantly.” She released Nick’s hand and fingered the chain to her jeweled elephant. “Which meant, naturally, that I have spent far too much time in the sick room instead of on the adventures. When we visited Brazil, the hired help my father brought along contracted a deadly spider bite on our second day in the Amazon. I spent the duration of the trip tending to him until his death while my father and Ames explored the jungle. By the time the man died, Father was ready to return to London.”
She stopped as they reached the door to the tower and gazed at it, unseeing. “He really should have named that one The Adventures of Patrick Pepper and his Assistant Ames, but I doubt his readers would have appreciated the change.” Giulia laughed and turned to face Nick, ignoring the pity in his eyes. “In truth, he should have named most of the stories after Ames, but people liked reading about the delicate little girl and how her father heroically saved her from one scrape or another. I imagine it wouldn’t have been received quite the same way if he was saving another man.”
“A man?”
“Yes. Ames.” Giulia moved toward the door and picked up the iron ring before letting it drop, the clanging ringing in the small alcove.
A puzzled look crossed Nick’s brow. “How old is Ames?”
“Eight and twenty. It is not so very old, you know. He is only eight years my senior.”
There was a pregnant silence between them, and Giulia wanted to push it away. “Would you like to see the stairs?”
Nick’s mouth formed a smile, unveiling the crease beside his mouth. “Absolutely.”
Giulia slipped through the door and waited. She turned and poked her head through the door to where Nick was standing with his brow raised. “Are you coming?”
“Through that tiny crack, you mean?”
She stepped back into the hall and surveyed the space. Even if Nick’s arm was not trapped in a sling, he could hardly fit through the space. “The hinges are rusted shut; this is the best I could do.”
Nick stepped toward the door and wrapped his fingers around the handle in a firm grip before pulling. He got it open another finger’s width before Giulia clutched his hand to stop him. “We can come back when you are better. There is no sense in you spending all of your strength on this. It’s frivolous.”
Nick gently moved her aside and pulled again. “I am not dead yet.” He slid the door another hand’s length and turned to her with a gleam in his eye.
Giulia looked heavenward and slowly released a breath. “You are incorrigible.”
They slipped through the door one at a time and paused, shoulder to shoulder at the base of a set of curved, stone stairs. Light shone through the arrow holes that lined the staircase and glittered on the dust mites they’d disturbed. She faced Nick, noting the way the sun rays lit his golden hair. “Perhaps we should tackle the stairs another time.”
“Yes,” Nick muttered, his deep eyes locked on hers. “Perhaps we shall.” His hand came up, cupping her cheek while his eyes locked on hers. His thumb trailed the line of her jaw, causing her body to still except for the butterfly wings that flapped within her heart.
Her new friends had warned her about this. They had told her of Nick’s vile attempts to steal a kiss from each of them, all within his first month of knowing them. His intent gaze and soft, stroking fingers did not mean anything more than a man doing his best to conquer another lady.
Giulia placed her hand over his and held it still. She intended to remove it right away, but the feel of his fingers underneath hers caused her traitorous heart to leap. She held Nick’s gaze, reading a look within his eyes that spoke of anticipation. They stood close, hidden in the small, dim space, locked in time. A desire to forget Amelia’s warnings overcame her. No one would know…
But Giulia would. And she would not allow herself to be conquered by such a clever flirt. She pulled his hand away from her face and reluctantly stepped toward the door.
It was not lost on her that regardless of his motives, Nick stirred a feeling deep within her which Ames had never invited. Ames had given her butterflies, but he had never made her feel warm all over in this way. He had never made her heart gallop or robbed her of breath.
No, she could not compare them. It was not a safe thing to do.
Nick followed her in silence as they made their way back to his chamber. Giulia busied herself with plumping Nick’s pillows and helping him back into bed, successfully avoiding eye contact.
“Do you think,” Giulia said matter-of-factly, her voice hoarse, “that the earl is hiding something beyond that locked door at the top of the tower? As I think more upon it, I’m not sure he is. It is quite apparent the door has not been in use for some time. Perhaps Lord Hart does not even know about it. The alcove does hide the door quite well.”
“I considered that. But unlike the door, it is rather difficult to hide the tower. I am sure that in his sixty years of life he has, at one point, been apprised of whatever is at the top. As far as whether or not he is hiding something,”—Nick leaned back on his pillows and closed his eyes—“I doubt it. At least, he is not hiding anything of value, for the room has not been accessed in years if that rusty door is any sign.”
“Yes.” Giulia nodded, her brow furrowed. “I suppose I agree.”
Giulia stood behind the wingback chair and folded her hands over the top. Anxiety made her feel skittish and she knew the desire to be up and doing something with her hands. She’d had entirely enough adventure for one morning. “If you will excuse me, I will fetch a fresh pot of tea. Would you like a new book as well?”
“Not right now, thank you.” Nick kept his eyes closed as he spoke, and she hesitated.
“Would you like me to wait on tea?”
“No,” he murmured, “tea sounds lovely.” He still did not move, and she paused, drinking in the sight of his relaxed face. There was no flirtation lining his eyes, no quirk of his mouth as he lay still on the bed; it was refreshing. She found herself smiling at him, but quickly wiped it from her mouth.
This man was wreaking havoc on her nerves, and she needed to get a handle on them right away.
