Dominic's Nemesis (5 page)

“Here,” he cupped the back of her head and
put a mug to her lips. “Take a sip. Your throat is on fire.”

Eden wondered how he knew that, as she
allowed herself several soothing swallows of the spicy-sweet
elixir.

“How do you feel?” The dark-haired gentleman
asked.

“Groggy, I-”

Eden stared to answer when something stirred.
Her eyes collided first with a floor-mounted avian roost adjacent
the window. Then, she gasped as the olive-skinned Adonis uncoiled
from the window seat into her line of sight. The gentleman at her
side might as well have vanished, so arresting was the
other
’
s presence. His
attire, complete with coat, matching waistcoat and trousers,
conveyed a stiff formality belied by his lithe movements and unruly
wavy locks. He remained silent, seeming content to impress upon her
the knowledge of his existence. Tinted glasses obscured his eyes,
but Eden still felt their piercing stare. Though she was sure she
had never met the man, he was the one thing in the room acutely
familiar to her.

“What is your name?”

Eden snapped back to the man at her side.
“What?”

“Your name, do you remember it?”

“Yes.” Her eyes darted back to the window
seat before she identified herself. “
Eden Prescott.
”

He smiled back at her with eyes that reminded
her of warm chocolate. “Good to make your acquaintance Miss…or is
it
Lady
Prescott?
”

“Lady, however, I prefer
Miss
. I am
American and unmarried.” The silent one stirred at this revelation,
but he neither spoke nor moved from his perch.

“Dr. Ethan Raine, and that is my brother
Dominic Ambrosi. Aside from the sore throat and lead chest, how do
you feel?”

Making a concerted effort to keep her eyes
from straying, Eden did her best to describe the rung out feeling
in her limbs. A well-placed growl from her stomach announced her
hunger. When she glanced down at her hands, she was embarrassed to
find them wrinkly and pale from her ‘swim
’…
more pale than normal even for her.

She hadn’t gained her weight back from the
three-month bout of seasickness from the crossing and now she had
nearly drowned. Cringing, she realized she must look ghastly. No
wonder the silent one stared at her so. He probably had never seen
a more pathetic creature in all his life.

* * *

His spectacles in place and the length of the
room between them, Dominic watched Ethan tend to the woman. His
thoughts ranged from the perverse to the profane. Despite the
visceral reaction her presence claimed on his senses, even she was
a welcome reprieve from his grandmother’s dominating ways. Ahhh,
hazel. Her eyes were hazel, he realized with a burning satisfaction
he did not understand. If she knew the true direction of his
thoughts then she would probably cringe.

* * *

“Do not worry.” The doctor was saying. “I
have already sent for a light soup. Now then, can you remember what
happened? Were you alone? How did you land here?”

Her throat felt better, less scratchy, when
she spoke. “Where is here?”

“My brother
’
s country estate.”

One quick glance, then Eden took a deep
breath and launched into her story, her lungs not so heavy anymore.
“I went for a walk on my cousin’s grounds back of the house. I
suppose it must border this estate. Perhaps you know him, Reginald
St. James, Marquis of Linley. My cousin is…” She trailed off, not
able to finish.

“I am familiar with the family name, yes. The
wife recently died in childbirth. A physician friend of mine
attended the…birth.” The doctor paused awkwardly as if just
realizing something. “Please allow me to convey my condolences on
your loss.”

“Thank you.”

He eyed her, brow arched for her to
continue.

“Eh…” Eden faltered, not sure how far she
wanted to take her explanation. She wasn
’
t sure she knew what happened to her at
the pond or why she’d jumped in. “I, eh…lost my way and then dusk
began to settle. The clearing seemed a god sent, but then I saw…a
woman, in the water. She was drowning, I think.”

The doctor exchanged a glance with the other
one. Eden didn
’
t know
what to make of it since she saw neither man’s expression. “I leapt
in on impulse to save her.”

“Can you swim?” The doctor asked bluntly.
“Because from what we could ascertain, it did not appear so.”

Eden donned a sheepish expression. Best to
straddle the fence on this one, she decided. “Yes, but I am not a
strong swimmer. I became disoriented, looking for her. My skirts
weighed me down. I did not think to cast them off beforehand.”

Her story must have sounded at least
plausible because he nodded. “Well, I am glad my brother was
present to attend you. It would have been a shame to lose one so
young. May we contact St. James? He must be quite concerned for
you.”

Eden
sighed.
“I doubt Linley would care to be saddled with an
ailing in-law who
’
s
existence he just became aware of two months ago. Besides which, I
have already made plans to relocate to town as I am unmarried and
now so is he.”

“Your father and mother then?” He
offered.

“Mama…” She averted her eyes and took another
fortifying breath. “…died just before Michaelmas last year. A fever
that lingered too long, the doctors said. Papa passed not two years
before of an arrest of the heart. It was sudden.”

“More distant relatives, an aunt or uncle
perhaps?”

“There was a carriage accident last summer
before mama took sick. My aunts…I do not know the particulars
except to say that it was fatal for everyone involved.”

“Oh dear.”

The good doctor seemed perturbed by her
plight. Eden sensed in him a compassion man, given to great acts of
kindness. His brother, her attention migrated back to the window
seat, emanated power mingled with a sort of aloofness that set her
on edge. A strange tension was building between them, since she
first became aware of him. He felt it too, she knew. Why
couldn
’
t he at least
speak? Seated there so still and mute, yet she sensed him tracking
her every movement behind the tinted glass. He gave her the
impression of a predator stalking the runt of the litter.

A faint knocking broke the thread of silence.
“Yes, that will be Nell with your breakfast.” With that the doctor
stood from the bed. “We will leave you to dine and rest. And when
you are ready, Nell will attend to your bath.”

His brother took the cue and straightened
from the window seat to follow him out as a nervous maid hovered
with the tray.

Seized by an impulse, Eden addressed the
silent one. “
Ahem. Mr.
Ambrosi.
”

He halted. She thought for a moment that he
would ignore her and resume walking. Instead, he turned.

Seconds ticked by and Eden fumbled with her
hands trying to think of something to say. Why had she called his
name? Besides rabid curiosity and blind impulse.

“Thank you.” She shifted her eyes to include
Dr. Raine in her statement. “Thank you both for saving me.”

Nothing. No smile. Nor did he remove the
spectacles when he did speak. “Thank Ethan and Cael. I had no hand
in it.” With that, he resumed his exit.

His voice flowed over her like a hot breath.
She almost sighed.

“Who is Cael?” She thought to ask just as he
crossed the threshold. He continued out the door as if he
hadn
’
t heard.

So, naturally, Eden took up questioning the
maid the second the door closed behind them. Eden deemed her
‘Nervous
’
Nellie. She
would certainly need a bath when Nellie finished feeding her. As
much of the soup went down her nightshirt as went into her mouth.
Eden feared the poor girl would faint.

“Is there a lady of the house?”

“No, Miss.” Plop! Another spoonful of
soup.

“Mr. Ambrosi, what manner of man is he?” Eden
mopped up the damage with her napkin as she spoke.

“A strange one, for sure.” Her voice lowered
to a hush. “Keeps company with a hawk, fierce eyes and a nasty
sharp beak. Talks more to it than any other.”

“Mr. Ambrosi mentioned someone by the name of
‘Cael’. Do you know him?”

“A sibling I think, Miss. Master Ambrosi has
quite a few.”
Nellie
’
s hand
faltered. Eden
’
s
gown got doused with another spoonful of soup. This time, Nellie
hurried to dab a napkin at the increasingly transparent cotton.
“Sorry, Miss, but I shouldn
’
t be telling ya private things about the master. He
won
’
t like it none.
Dismissed three maids just last month for gossip-mongering and
invading the restricted areas.”

“Oh please, just one more question.”

Her brow furrowed as if she longed to say no,
but could not quite bring herself to deny her betters. “What is it
you wish to know, Miss?”

“His eyes. What color are they?”

She shrugged. “Always wears the specs. Cook
says his vision must be very poor; uses the hawk to see for
him.”

“But I haven
’
t seen him with a bird.”

“If you stay around long enough you
will.”

Then why wear
tinted
spectacles? Eden
mused. She feigned a headache and let poor Nellie off the hook.

“Yes, Miss. I
’
ll come up in an hour or so with warm water for a
bath.”

“No need, just show me where…” Eden scanned
the room, frowning when she saw nothing.

“There is no bell pull.” Nellie informed her.
“The master does not allow strangers in his private suite. Even us
servants are allotted specific times and days to clean them.”

“Is this the bed…er, the chamber I mean where
Mr. Ambrosi sleeps?”

“I dare say it is, Miss.”

* * *

“You seem unsettled by her.”

“
Weren
’
t
you?” Sans his spectacles, Dominic avoided his brother
’
s gaze.

“Not over much.”

He pivoted on the pianoforte seat to let his
fingers flit over a familiar composition of Verdi
’
s. His music room, like his bed, reflected
non-traditional taste. The grand pianoforte occupied the central
space in the room, and was bathed in direct sunlight from the
circular glass section of ceiling. The rest of the room lay in
shades of light and shadow, with no other windows or wall-mounted
torches to illuminate the corners. The pianoforte served as a
private island, a safe haven away from the darkness. The effect at
night was even more dramatic.

“There are no undercurrents in the pond.”
Dominic informed his brother. “She should not have been in any
danger of drowning.”

“Yes, I know. Cael said she stood gazing in
the clearing and then leapt in the water and sank like a
stone.”

“An attempted suicide.”

“Most like. She has lost her entire family in
the space of two seasons. Alone, the world can be a scary place.
Awash with so much grief, death must have seemed like the perfect
solution.”

Dom eyed the other man askance, wondering if
his brother knew just how well he identified with the
woman
’
s situation. There
was a time when he would have gladly taken his own life if he
thought it would have afforded him some peace.

“Let
’
s not contact the Marquis just yet.” Ethan
continued. “At least not until Cael returns and he can assess her
mental stability. She may well succeed the second go round.”

“So, you think she will try again.”

“Her situation has not changed. She is still
alone and grieving.”

“Whatever you think is best.”

“She
will
have to remain here, for a time at least.” He
clarified, seeming to expect something.

Dominic shrugged, cutting his eyes to catch
the reaction to his next words. “Send for Kathleen.”

Ethan
’
s brow rose. “
Three
houseguests inside of a
week. Should we have the ballroom aired?”

He ignored his brother
’
s wit and pivoted back to the musical
piece in front of him. “Nonna was not invited. She will be leaving
within the hour. And your wife is hardly a guest. She will serve a
purpose. The woman is unmarried. She needs a chaperon and a
diligent watchdog. I
’
ll
not have her harming herself under my roof.” The mere thought of
her coming to further harm put him in a tetchy mood. Dominic was
anxious for her safety, annoyed with himself for caring, and angry
at her for affecting him so. He was loathe to explain how or why
his signature indifference, cultivated over a span of years,
crumbled at the thought of one slip of a girl with sad hazel eyes
and a name that literally meant heaven.

“You could always watch her yourself.”

A wave of heat hit him at his brother’s
suggestion. Lascivious images exploded in his mind. A wall of
silken white blond hair cascading down around naked alabaster skin
as she stepped unawares from his nightshirt and into a waiting
steam bath… Something broke open deep within him, some primal
craving betrayed only by a staccato tick in his jaw.

“You
’ve
a queer sense of humor, Ethan.”

His brother shrugged. “I will bring Kathleen
with me tomorrow.”

“Yes, and see to it that the woman is removed
from my chamber and housed in one of the guest rooms.”

Eden had taken to bathing in the evenings
before dinner. Now that her voice was back and she had more color
in her cheeks, she was allowed out of bed and took dinner with the
doctor and his wife in the dining hall. Mr. Ambrosi did not join
them. In fact, Eden had not laid eyes on him in the three days
since she
’
d awakened
from her ordeal. He was avoiding her of course. The thought
depressed her. She found herself longing to see him again. Each
night at dinner she bathed and dressed as best she could under the
circumstances. There weren
’
t a lot of flattering options to employ with
widow
’
s weeds. Kathleen
was gracious enough to procure the proper mourning attire for her.
The wardrobe brimmed with black crape and bombazine.