Edith Layton Read Online Free PDF

you needn’t trouble your husband, or father, or brothers for theirs.”
    “I have no husband or father, and my brothers don’t shave yet,” she said. “But they will. This very morning. Because I’m not at all sure your hand’s steady enough to do the job yourself.”
    He smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ve done it under poorer conditions—in the dark, without water or soap, and aboard rocking ships. The worst I can do is lop off a bit of nose, and that might be an improvement.”
    It was a very long nose, with a high arch. But she thought it was impressive rather than ugly, and it suited him. “You’d look foolish with a button of a nose,” she said impulsively. Then, realizing how rude it was to make such a personal remark to a stranger, she quickly asked, “How do you feel, aside from untidy? And please,” she added, “What is your name, sir? We asked,but all you kept saying was that your head was drumming.”
    Now he laughed. And winced a second later. “Ouch. I still have a broken head, don’t I? If I’d said ‘trumpets,’ you’d have reason to call the doctor double quick. As it is, I was only telling the truth. The name’s Drummond, but everyone calls me Drum.”
    “Well then, welcome, Drum,” she said with relief, “We’ll find out more about you later, I’m sure. Speaking of that, is there anyone you’d like us to send for? Your wife, your family?”
    “I’ve no wife, and no desire to alarm my family. But if you bring me a pen and some paper, there are some people I’d like to write to, if I may.”
    “If you can, you may, or else I’ll do it for you,” she said. “I’m sorry you come to us under such circumstances, but we’ll try to make you as comfortable as possible. I’ll send the boys in.”
    She left quickly, glad it was a Sunday, so the boys weren’t at school. She was brave, resourceful, and competent. She ran the house and took care of three children. But she’d never shaved a man, and certainly never gone so near to a strange one. Shaving him would be an unsettling, intimate act. She didn’t know if her hands would have been any steadier than her patient’s. At least, not with those wise and knowing eyes of his on her every movement.
    She hurried down the narrow stair, and ducked her head into the kitchen. The boys were having their breakfast and looked up at her in alarm. “He’s awake and in his right mind!” she said, smiling. “But he needs some help. Kit and Vin, go up, please. He’s asked for his shaving tools. So bring him a basin, some warmwater, and soap, and make sure he doesn’t cut his throat trying to make himself presentable. And Rob? When you’re done eating, go tell the doctor. I’ll get dressed, then see what else we can do.”
    The house felt different, Alexandria thought, as she went up the narrow stair again. And not just because she then had to go up the next short flight of steps to the little room in the attic she’d taken since the injured man had been brought to her bed. The cottage was small. Suddenly, it felt smaller. His waking presence made him a true guest. They’d never had a guest before. How long would he stay with them? Their budget was carefully reckoned, but adequate. Still, a guest for weeks would surely call for new economies.
    She dismissed her worries as foolishness. He’d want to be gone as soon as he was able; he’d already asked to write to his friends. He seemed to be a gentleman. Why would he want to stay a second longer than necessary in a tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere? But first, he had to be well enough to leave. Alexandria was wildly curious to know exactly who he was and how he’d met his accident, but just as eager to get him on his way.
    She dressed quickly. It wasn’t easy. The room was tucked under a corner of the thatched roof, and she had to bend double to stand. But there was no sense in making Rob share his tiny room with his brothers. They’d offered, but she told them flatly that the