Night of Pleasure Read Online Free

away the sting of humiliation.” He rolled away then jumped to his feet, snapping out a hand toward her. “Allow me to help you up.”
    She gaped up at him, her braid swaying against her shoulder. “There is a sizable welt on your head.”
    He paused and dabbed a hand to it, unable to even feel it. “It’s nothing. It doesn’t even hurt. I’m fine.”
    She pushed herself up and straightened, several large breaths escaping her. “I shoved you a bit too hard.” There was still a slight quake lingering in that refined voice as she searched his face. “I’m so sorry. I truly am.”
    Touched by her genuine concern, he softened his voice. “Had I known my advances were going to keep you from breathing I would have asked you to sit down first.”
    Andrew coughed and glanced at the closed door across from them. “As I told you before, Miss Grey, my brother knows nothing about control.” Pushing up onto his feet, Andrew straightened and trudged across the corridor over to the closed door. “I don’t know about you, Derek, but I’m going in. It’s been over an hour.”
    Their mother would throw a boot at them for going in and interrupting her long list of questions for the doctor. “ Andrew .” Jogging up from behind, he grabbed the collar of his brother’s wool coat and yanked him back before he could get to the door. Derek released the collar. “You know full well Mother gets ruffled when we nag at her about her imaginings. Leave it be. The sooner the doctor can dispel whatever ails Father, the sooner we can get back to school.”
    Shoving his fists into his pockets, Andrew huffed out a breath. “Who says I want to go back to school? I hate it there.” He turned and scuffed his way down the tiled corridor, staring at his boots with each step. His dark hair fell into his eyes. He swiped at it, clearly annoyed.
    Falling into stride beside his brother, Derek nudged his shoulder into his. “Are the Lower Boys bothering you again? Or is it one of the Upper Boys from my side this time?”
    “No. I wasn’t thinking about that at all.” Andrew came to a halt, his sharp features tightening. “What if Father dies?”
    Derek’s stomach dropped. “Don’t be ridiculous. You heard him earlier. He was in there laughing.”
    “Yes. Exactly. He sometimes tries to laugh off even the worst. You know that. I started thinking about this entire situation.” Andrew chewed on his fingernail. “I mean…don’t you think it’s rather odd that this-this…Mr. Grey, a man our father hasn’t seen in ages, would suddenly show up in London with his daughter?”
    An amplified sense of dread and panic made Derek smack his brother’s hand away from his mouth. “Bad things only happen if you will it. So cease willing it.”
    Miss Grey rounded on them from behind, her skirts rustling. “Not to argue the point, but I’m afraid bad things happen even if you don’t will it, Mr. Holbrook.”
    Derek paused, capturing her gaze.
    “When my father and I were in Spain a few months ago,” she went on, “a bearded man tried to grab me at knifepoint outside of our hotel. Do you think I willed it? No. I didn’t. Fortunately, my father took that man’s head straight to the pavement and hit his skull enough times to paint it red. Apparently, he was a Prussian revolutionist who thought kidnapping me would somehow change a law he didn’t agree with. That idiot is still in prison.”
    Derek stared. “You were almost kidnapped? At knifepoint?”
    She nodded. “It happens quite a bit given who my father is. If it isn’t a knife coming at us, it’s a pistol. And if it isn’t a pistol coming at us, it’s a brick. As Papa says, people can’t keep their opinions to themselves. But beside that, my point is, bad things happen. All the time. That is why I like to spend most of my days in my room painting. That way, I assure my own safety.”
    By God. Who was she?
    Voices echoed, making them all turn in unison toward the now open bedchamber