Rose Gardner's Florist (The Providence Street Shops #2) - Bonnie Dee Page 0,50

throbbed so badly she could scarcely open her eyes, and someone was demanding she wake up. Desperate to sink back into the comfort of oblivion, she batted away the annoying voice.

“Rose! Wake up. Are you all right?”

I would be if you’d let me sleep, she thought. Then memories of why her head ached so badly flooded in. Her eyelid creaked open and she beheld Will’s concerned face hovering above her.

“They’ve taken Candace. A pair of…of men sent by Edward Merker. We fought them, but they dragged her away.” She tried to rise and blackness swirled at the edges of her vision. Touching her forehead, her fingers came away with blood.

“Shh. You’re hurt. You must rest. When I arrived the door was open and you were lying unconscious.” Will, crouched beside her, laid her gently back on the floor.

It spun and nausea almost overtook her. “This is worse. Help me to sit. We have to—”

He interrupted, “I will get a cloth to staunch the wound and take you to my physician.”

“I’ll be all right, but Miss Sweet’s situation is dire. Heaven knows what Merker will do once she’s back in his clutches. Help me sit,” Rose insisted.

Will carefully guided her upright, then fetched a glass of water and a cloth for her head.

Rose sipped gratefully, while telling in greater detail about the encounter with Merker’s men. “We have to do something!”

“I’ll handle it. Once I’m certain you’re all right, I will deal with this Mr. Merker.” With clenched jaw and steely eyes, mild-mannered William Carmody looked quite dangerous.

Rose felt too weak to argue. Truthfully, it was a relief to have Will take charge. He pressed the damp cloth to her head and went to telephone his physician.

Rose rested her eyes, and listened to the exchange from a sleepy distance.

Seconds later, Will returned to her side. “I was not able to reach him, but will drive you to the hospital for treatment.”

Rose forced the fog away. “No. A doctor would only dispense an aspirin for the pain. We must go to Merker’s home right now and demand her release.”

“We have legal grounds,” Will pointed out. “And are you certain that is where these thugs have taken her?”

“I don’t know, but it is a good guess. We can’t rely on a constable for help. We must rescue her,” Rose wailed. “Please don’t argue.

Will nodded curtly. “Right. I shall go then. But you must remain here.”

“I will not. Two of us might stand a better chance, and I wish to be there for Candace.” Her friend might even now be suffering intimate physical abuse at the hands of her caretaker.

Will did not argue further, but lifted her body in his arms and rose as if she weighed nothing. He carried her through the open doorway and did not set her on her feet until they were beside his motorcar, where he helped her inside.

As he drove toward the address Rose gave him, they maintained silence. Rose had managed to sound confident in convincing him of the urgency of helping Candace, but how would they gain entry into Merker’s house if he didn’t want them there?

When Will drew up in front of the residence, he addressed Rose with a severe expression. “I will go to the door. You will remain in the vehicle. If the man calls a constable, you aren’t likely to be arrested since you will not have trespassed.”

Arrested! The word brought her to earth with a jolt, as she realized what he sacrificed by offering his aid. “What do you intend to do?”

“Free Miss Sweet,” he replied grimly, then got out of the vehicle and closed the door.

Rose watched his tall figure stride up the steps to the front door of a townhouse in a row of respectable homes. Lights shone from the windows, but no one answered the door after Will rang the bell. Perhaps the staff had been given instructions to ignore any visitors that evening.

What might the servants think of a young woman carried unconscious to her bedroom and locked in, if that is where she was? Just how dangerous were these thugs, and did they possess firearms? She could not sit idly by while Will walked into potential danger alone. Rose found a closed umbrella with a stout handle beneath the seat. She grabbed it up, ready to go to his aid.

Just then the front door finally opened and light spilled out to illuminate Will on the stoop. The fellow who had answered said something then began to