An Impetuous Abduction. Patricia Rowell Frances

them as attendants.

      Oh, no!

      “Lord Hades, I… Uh… I…”

      He turned to her and grinned. “Be of good cheer, Miss Hathersage, your modesty will be preserved.”

      He pulled a chair into place near the table with the basin, then wrestled the heavy, carved screen from the corner of the room to shelter them. Hades turned and looked closely at her. “Why, Miss Hathersage, you are blushing.”

      “I am not!” Phona turned her face away.

      Hades came to the bed and, with a hand on her chin, pulled it toward him. “Yes, you are.” He smiled. “But it is a very becoming blush. It makes you appear very… innocent.” He paused thoughtfully for a moment. “Just as you should.”

      She thought he might have said more, but Aelfred came through the door carrying a can of hot water. He poured part of it into the basin and put in a cautious finger.

      Which he quickly jerked out. “Too hot, me lo…er, sir. Best wait a bit.”

      “That is just as well. By the time I get our lady situated, it will no doubt have cooled.”

      Phona gazed at him warily. He advanced on her, purpose in his eye. She grabbed the bedclothes and pulled them to her chin. “Um, one moment, my lord. Perhaps I can…”

      Hades began to laugh, firmly seizing the covers. “Miss Hathersage, you have not even the strength to raise yourself on the pillows successfully. Here, let me have the quilts.”

      He separated the quilts from the sheet and pulled them back. She clutched the sheet desperately to her chin. He shook his head. She need have no worry. The last thing he wanted to deal with was the sight of her nubile body. The temptation hovering in the air was burden enough. “Are you ready?”

      She nodded and gamely lifted her chin. “Yes. I would like to be clean. Proceed, sir.”

      “That’s my brave lady.” He tucked the sheet around her and lifted her off the bed. He carried her to the chair behind the screen and settled her into it. For a moment Leo feared she would not be able to sit, but she rallied and straightened.

      “Thank you, sir. I can manage now.”

      “Not so fast, Miss Hathersage. I am not sure of that at all.” Leo tested the water again, stirring it with his finger. The fragrance of lavender wafted into the room. “It is still too warm. I don’t want a burn to add to your miseries. Shall I brush your hair while it cools?”

      “You don’t mind playing the lady’s maid?”

      “Not at all.” In fact, he relished the idea of feeling the silky warmth in his hand. He retrieved a brush he had thrust into his back pocket, and set to work.

      “My hair must be very nasty after lying on the ground.” The lady sighed. “Yesterday I could barely manage the comb.”

      “Not that bad.” Leo flicked a dusting of soil from the sheet. “But you still have a few leaves and twigs caught in the curls.”

      “How humiliating! These hateful curls!”

      “What?” He quit brushing and leaned over to look at her face. “I cannot allow that, miss. Your curls are delightful.”

      “You are very kind, sir, if untruthful. I own a mirror.”

      Leo resumed brushing. “Apparently a very poor one. I must bring you one that shows your beauty accurately.”

      “How gallant you are! Who would have thought it?”

      She chuckled softly. He liked her laugh. He had not heard enough of it.

      “Even rogues can speak the truth.” He closed his hand around a cluster of ringlets. “You are quite lovely.” Before that remark could linger, he added, “There. All done. Let us see about the water. Ah, just right. I shall be within call.”

      Suiting action to the words, he stepped around the edge of the screen and waited. Hearing no sound of water sloshing, he ventured a question. “Miss Hathersage, do you need help?”

      Her voice sounded near to frustrated tears. “No. It…it is just that I can’t get the sheet off.”

      Deciding that meant she was still covered, Leo went back to the fireside. She slumped a bit to one side, leaning her elbow on the arm of the chair, a ghastly pallor draining her color. She would not last much longer. “I fear we must take the bull by the horns, Miss Hathersage. I will help you remove it—and the nightshirt.”

      “Sir…Oh, dear. I suppose…” She rubbed her brow.

      “We’d best just do it.” Leo took hold of the sheet.

      “I am so tired. Perhaps I should just go back to bed.”

      “I promise not to look.” He covered his mouth to hide a smile.

      She gave him a suspicious glance. “How can you not? Oh, very well. Why should I draw back now? I have come this far. Close your eyes.”

      A laugh escaped him. “Yes, miss.”

      He dutifully closed his eyes, peeled away the sheet and tugged the nightshirt over her head.

      “Are your eyes closed?”

      He strongly suspected that her own were squeezed tight. “Yes, Miss Hathersage, they are quite sealed.” He dropped the sheet to the floor. Blindly, he inched backward a few steps, groping behind him for the edge of the screen.

      And promptly tripped right over it. It crashed to the floor with a resounding clatter.

      So did Leo.

      The lady shrieked.

      Leo cursed.

      Hell and damnation, he could not separate himself from the blasted screen! It had fallen on top of him. As he tried to find his feet, his eyes flew open. Working frantically, he finally shoved the screen away and stood.

      Miss Hathersage would be beside herself once more—this time with outrage. Leo risked a quick glance. She was reaching in vain for the sheet. He took a step toward her.

      “Would ye be needing assistance, sir?” Aelfred spoke from the door, his voice carefully neutral.

      Leo dived for the sheet and whipped it over the lady’s white form. He also carefully controlled his voice.

      “Just right the damned screen, please, Aelfred.”

      Leo stood, silent, holding the sheet while Aelfred set the shelter back up. His henchman’s face revealed not a single thought. Leo knew he was suppressing laughter. At Leo’s expense. He clenched his teeth and kept firm hold of the sheet.

      Aelfred finished his task and vanished through the door. Leo knew he had stopped on the staircase, awaiting further emergencies. He sighed. “Well, let us move on before you tire completely. Call when you need me to help you dress.”

      “Thank you, sir.” He thought he detected a small giggle. “But I think we should make the next attempt with your eyes open. I shall try to restrain my maidenly blushes.”

      Leo’s laughter burst out of him. “Don’t do that, Miss Hathersage. I should very much miss your lovely blushes.”

      She had surely blushed aplenty when his lordship returned to hastily slip the fresh nightshirt over her. Her whole body burned with it. But he had accomplished the task so quickly she felt sure his gaze had not lingered on her nakedness. Perhaps he was, after all, a more civilized pirate than she had previously believed.

      Hades set her gently on the bed and pulled the cover up to her chin. He lowered himself into the chair with a plop. “My God! I’m as tired as though I had hauled canvas in a storm. Who would have thought giving one small lady a bath would be so exhausting?”

      “You must think me a