same room was scandalous. Especially since she’d be completely naked. She’d catch her death if she tried to sleep in any of her soaked garments. She draped her wet clothing, careful to hide her underthings, on the chair so they would dry by the fire. Then she rushed to the bed, crawled inside, and pulled the covers up to her chin.
The sheets were cool and slightly rough against her bare skin. Her nipples pebbled against the fabric, which made her all too aware of the current state of her body. She’d never before been in a bed without wearing anything. Gooseflesh covered every inch of her skin. She’d never been anywhere but the bath naked, too, now that she thought about it.
A knock came to the door and Sullivan cracked it open. “May I come in?” he asked in a hushed voice.
“Yes.” She clutched the blankets tighter to her body.
He stepped inside, carrying a tray covered with dishes. The heady aroma of herbs and vegetables and meat followed him as he closed the door behind him. Her stomach growled loudly in response to the warm food. He set the tray down on the table next to the bed, then his eyes fell to her. His brows rose and a grin slid into place.
“Are you comfortable?”
“I’m naked.” She squeezed her eyes closed for a moment. Oh God, why had she said that? It was the truth, but there was no reason to announce it.
He visibly swallowed, then turned away from her. “Your clothes are drying?”
“Yes. I don’t know why I said that. About my being naked. I mean it’s true, I am naked, but I shouldn’t have said it. It was inappropriate.”
“Freckles, it’s just the two of us.” He still faced away from her and his voice sounded more clipped, tighter than usual. “You should eat something. It will help you warm up.”
She eyed the tray of food next to the bed. Aromatic steam wafted off the bowl, some sort of stew, from the looks of it. But how was she to hold the covers in place, as well as the bowl, and feed herself?
“I have a problem,” she said.
He removed his waistcoat and draped it over the second chair. Next he pulled off his boots. “What is the problem?”
“I don’t believe I can sit up and simultaneously hold the blanket in place and eat.”
“I would offer to feed you while you continue to cover yourself up, but alas I’m afraid I am too lazy to do so.” He gave her a cocky smile.
“I should have stayed in the carriage. A highwayman would certainly have better humor than you.” She looked down to hide her confusion. She hadn’t expected him to be funny. Or kind. Or to come to her rescue, yet he had done all of those things. “I was not asking you to feed me.”
He looked around the room, then moved to the far corner where an old dressing screen leaned against the wall. He pulled it over to the bed and set it up, then moved to the other side. “Now you are safe to eat without hiding behind the covers, and I won’t be able to see a thing.”
“Are you certain? Where will you sit?”
“The floor.”
She sat up in the bed, still clutching the fabric to her chest, then reached around the screen to grab a bowl and chunk of bread. “Sullivan?”
“Yes?”
“Thank you.”
Chapter Two
It was official. Someone was most assuredly trying to torment him.
He didn’t even have to ask why. He knew that whatever anguish fell upon him, he deserved it. Still, why did the punishment have to come in the form of the spirited and now very naked Matilda?
He sat on the floor with his food and stretched his legs in front of him. He was cold, chilled to the bone, mostly because his clothes were damp and he hadn’t yet taken everything off. He’d have to wait until the lamps were doused and Tilly was asleep lest he scandalize her further. He leaned his head against the wall, then looked across the room to the screen that now blocked the bed.
The very old, and it would seem, rather threadbare screen. Damnation. Though he couldn’t see Tilly, at least not her skin, the shadows lit by the fire to the right of the bed left very little to his imagination. His mouth went dry and he told himself to look away, but his eyes would not obey.
His eyes followed the curve of her neck down her