stared at each other—she from her reclined position against the pillows and he from his great height as he stood alongside the bed—while the sound of Frederick’s footsteps receded down the hall.
Once assured her brother was out of hearing range, Katherine spoke. “I’ll not allow you to bully my brother, Mr. Hale. Though I appreciate what you did for him, you have no authority over him...or me.”
The man responded to her declaration with a lifted brow as he crossed his thick arms over his chest. “What happened?”
She closed her eyes for a second. What had happened? She wasn’t even entirely sure, but as the incident replayed through her mind, she got a horrible, heavy sinking feeling in her stomach. When she opened her eyes again, it was to find Mr. Hale staring intently down at her, his arms crossed over his great chest.
Then he arched a tawny brow. “Did you fall from a cliff? Tumble down a flight of stairs? Leap from a galloping horse?”
Not liking his flippant tone, she retorted, “A carriage, actually. And then I was kicked by a horse.”
His countenance darkened. “That wasn’t very smart.”
She clenched her teeth. The man’s insistence on chiding her while her ankle throbbed and pain shot through her shoulder down to her fingertips was working over her last nerve. “If you must know, we were accosted while out shopping.”
His tawny brow went higher and he tilted his head. “Accosted?”
Katherine adjusted her arm into a more comfortable position, wincing at the pain the slight movement caused. “Two men commandeered our carriage. Thieves, I imagine.” Even as she made the suggestion, something inside her rejected it. “We had to leap free in order to escape.”
A frown deepened the lines between his brows. “You seriously jumped from a moving carriage?”
“It was entirely necessary, I assure you,” she retorted.
When she said nothing else, Hale flicked a glance at her shoulder. “It’s dislocated.”
“I know.”
The corner of his mouth pulled back. “Then you know what has to be done.”
“Yes, and if you would just call for a doctor to attend me, we’ll be on our way all the faster.”
“There’s no telling how long it’ll take for a doctor to come round and no guarantee he’ll be fit to do his job.”
Katherine frowned. “Then perhaps you could obtain a hack? I’ll call for a doctor once I’m home.”
“You can’t wait that long.”
“Just what do you suggest?” she snapped, losing patience with the argument and the painful discomfort of her situation.
“I’ll take care of it.”
She looked up in surprise. “No. You will not.”
His sigh was heavy with annoyance. “I’ve tended more injuries during my years in the ring than most doctors do in their entire careers. The longer you suffer in your current state the more chance there is for lasting damage. I’ll tend to you.”
The thought of him putting his large, calloused hands on her person, even to relieve her significant pain, caused her body to flush with heat and resistance.
But he was right. She couldn’t remain as she was.
Before she could voice her agreement, Frederick strode back into the room. He handed the glass of water to Katherine before turning to give the bottle of whiskey to Hale.
“Go visit with Claire.” Hale nodded toward the door. “She’ll be happy to see you.”
“But...” the boy began as he glanced toward Katherine.
Before she could assure him herself, Hale stated gruffly, “You brought her to me. I’ll see to her.”
Turning to the bed, Frederick carefully took a seat beside her. She had to grind her back teeth to keep from showing how even that slight movement caused pain.
“I’m sorry, Kit, I should’ve—”
“No,” she interrupted quietly. Refusing to look past her brother to the giant man behind him, she leaned forward to whisper, “You have nothing to be sorry about. If not for your knowledge of the city, we’d still be lost. Go on. Visit with Claire,” she insisted gently. “I’ll soon be myself again and then we’ll go home.”
He glanced down as though wanting to avoid her gaze. But then he stood. With another nod toward Hale, he once again left the two of them alone in the bedroom.
She sat in silence, watching from the corner of her eye as Hale opened the bottle of liquor by pulling the cork with his teeth, before stepping forward to offer it to her.
“You’ll need it.”
Wanting to argue but knowing he was right, she set the glass of water on the bedside table and took the bottle in her good hand.
Hale watched as she