his identity from him. She was going to have to speak with Jasper, and soon.
“You needn’t fret over it,” she hastened to assure him. “After the blows you took to the head, it is a miracle you are alive.”
“You didn’t like when I said what I did,” he observed.
How wrong he was. She had liked it far too much, and that was the problem.
Her fingers, still bereft of an occupation, clenched on the light muslin of her gown. “You surprised me.”
“Shocked you.”
Pleased me.
She cleared her throat. “Regardless of the sentiment, you needn’t worry yourself on my account. Have you finished eating?”
The longer she lingered here with Gavin, that powerful chest of his on display, those emerald eyes glinting into hers, his low voice teasing and flirtatious and like a balm upon her tattered heart, the more dangerous it was for the both of them. She was deceiving this man, and Winters were the enemy, despite the fragile truce which had been recently struck between their families. Moreover, her brothers were incredibly protective of her after what had happened with Philip.
You’ve landed yourself in enough trouble because of one man, Caro Sutton, she told herself sternly. No need to make it two.
“I have finished,” he said, shaking her from her tumultuous thoughts. “Breakfast was delicious, thank you.”
How polite he was, aside from his flirtatious ways. She wondered if he was always thus. From her reading, she understood that blows to the head could cause all manner of reactions. Mayhap she would need to make some discreet inquiries and discover whether or not Gavin Winter was a rake and a scoundrel. If he was, avoiding him would be so much easier. And the defenses she was struggling to keep around herself would be far stronger. Taller. Hell, after Philip, they would be insurmountable.
She moved nearer to him, taking the tray, trying not to stare at his chest but to focus instead upon his wound. “It is healing nicely. Have you soreness?”
He tentatively moved his arm. She would need to snip the stitches soon. A day or two, no more, from her assessment of the time that had passed.
“I feel as if I have known worse pain,” he said. “I shall live.”
She suspected he had, after the fights he had fought and won. “I am glad of it. That you shall live, of course. Not that you may have suffered worse in the past.”
“You have a good heart, Caro.” His gaze was earnest upon hers.
She had to look away, to break the connection. “Is there anything else you will be needing?”
“Some fresh water in the pitcher when it can be had would be lovely,” he said.
And then a strange expression overtook his handsome face.
“What is the matter?” she asked, thinking he was experiencing some sudden pain to which she must tend.
“I don’t think I would say lovely. Feels odd.” He frowned.
Oh, how she hated herself. She did not know what manner of phrasing he would have chosen, but she did know who he was.
“I will see that Randall brings you some fresh water,” she said instead of giving voice to any of the emotions truly plaguing her. “I shall check on you later, sir.”
With that, she hurried from the chamber.
Chapter 2
Caro went to the kitchens first, returning the empty tray she had taken to Gavin. But she did not linger, as she ordinarily was wont to do, chatting with the cantankerous chef, who always beamed when he saw her. Instead, she left, on a mission, not stopping until she burst through the door of her eldest brother’s office.
As the leader of the Sutton clan, he oversaw the daily operations of The Sinner’s Palace. But they each had their part in the running of their small empire. And she was about to remind him of hers.
Her brother’s head was lowered, and he was poring over something on his desk when she stalked toward him.
“Caro,” he greeted when he looked up, rising to his feet from behind his desk with the massive, carved lion legs. “How is our forgetful patient?”
“I cannot keep the truth from him for much longer, Jasper,” she blurted. “It is unfair, not just to Gavin, but to me as well.”
Jasper quirked a dark brow and stroked his jaw. “Gavin is he? That is just a bit too familiar, do you not think, sister?”
His unspoken words were heavy between them. Considering what had happened with Philip, he may as well have said. She was glad he had not, for it did not