Benedict's Challenge - Carole Mortimer Page 0,9
He instantly put a stop to any more speculation on that subject. “And I have no intention of allowing you to leave me—here,” he corrected harshly, “before I have received a full explanation as to how you came here in this condition, wearing only an inappropriately thin gown against the cold and wet weather outside.”
Chloe felt another wave of dizziness, one that threatened to sweep her into darkness for a second time today.
“But first I would like you to tell me your name,” he added in a gentler voice.
She swallowed. “It is Chloe.”
Benedict believed that to be another name for the Greek goddess Demeter, patron of new growth and fertility. He was also aware Chloe had not supplied him with a surname.
“Do you know my name?” he prompted gently when she offered no surname.
“Doctor Lord Benedict Winter,” she recited in parrot-like fashion.
His expression was rueful. “I believe Benedict will do.”
She blinked. “Is such informality allowed?”
He smiled. “If the only name I have to call you is Chloe, then you may call me Benedict.”
She swallowed. “I will try to do so.”
“Good.” He nodded his satisfaction. “I repeat, who is Lord Henry Gordon to you, and why were you living in his household? Do not be afraid.” He placed a hand gently upon her shoulder when Chloe flinched with apprehension. “I will not let anyone take you away from here against your will.”
She gave a sad shake of her head. “You said that before, but I know it is not a promise you can keep.”
His jaw tightened. “You would not have come to me at all if you had not believed I could protect you.”
Her lashes lowered. “I came here because I heard your name that day and had nowhere else to go.” A tear slid from beneath those long lashes and down her pallid cheek.
Knew of nowhere else to go or had no one else to go to, Benedict wondered.
But these were questions that would have to wait for another time. The immediacy of assuring Chloe of her continued safety was paramount. “I have very powerful friends, in both high and low places,” he added the latter ruefully.
As Gordon had accused, Benedict had long been a friend of the Prince Regent, and Prinny was the highest power in the land. Jimmy Brown was now also Benedict’s friend, and he knew that Jimmy had been given his beating the previous week because he acted as a Robin Hood to those he believed to be under his care: London’s poor and those unable to help themselves. Benedict was aware Jimmy now included Chloe in that protective care.
Indeed, even now, Jimmy had his cohorts standing by waiting for the instruction to seek out Lord Henry Gordon and ensure that the man received as many painful blows to his over-bloated body as this young lady had stripes upon her slender bottom and thighs.
Not that Benedict had allowed Jimmy to see those stripes, but Jimmy’s admission regarding his own violent past ensured the younger man could guess at their severity. Nor had Jimmy shared knowledge of Chloe’s injuries with his friends. The younger man was, Benedict had learned, both discreet and mindful of a lady’s reputation. All Jimmy had needed to know to offer Chloe his protection was that a defenseless woman had been subjected to a horrific beating.
Benedict knew that Jimmy would give permission for his friends to release the fullness of their retribution upon Lord Henry Gordon the moment Benedict said he could.
For the moment, Benedict needed to continue to reassure his guest as to her safety here, after which he would ensure she was fed so as to start regaining her strength.
He had been deeply shocked at how thin she was once he had removed all her clothes. So slender, in fact, it appeared as if the slightest breeze might carry her away from him.
Something Benedict could certainly not allow to happen.
This young woman—Chloe—had haunted his thoughts and dreams since the moment he first saw her. He had no intention now of allowing her out of his sight again until he knew exactly what Lord Henry Gordon was to her and why the older man had injured her so cruelly.
“We will talk of this again once you are feeling stronger,” Benedict reassured.
Because Benedict fully intended making it his mission in life to discover who Chloe was and how best she might be removed from Lord Gordon’s home for good.
Chloe’s first thought, once she had eaten as much of the hot broth and fresh