“This is most extraordinary. How did you learn to do this?” he asked in fascination.
Ariadne shrugged. “My father taught me. Besides, I’ve had sewing lessons as part of my education. Never thought it would come handy in such a way.”
It didn’t surprise him at all that she was educated. What surprised him was that she was living here, in these drastic conditions. Edward cleared his throat and said, “Why did you save me?”
The why of it was still unclear to her. She was poor and the consequences of bringing a stranger in when a crime was so obviously involved was nothing less than calling trouble upon themselves. She had done a brave thing indeed.
“I couldn’t leave you there, all alone on the wet and empty street,” Ariadne said softly. Her words warmed his heart.
“Last night, I—“
“Last night?” Ariadne said, frowning. “No, good Sir. I found you the night before. You’ve slept through the entire day yesterday. Don’t you remember?”
He didn’t. The last thing he remembered was lying in the cold, dark street. No, that wasn’t true. He remembered someone pulling him awake, someone bringing him back to the warmth of a bed. And there was something else. Someone putting water to his lips that brought cool to his otherwise hot body.
“How did you even find your way here?”
“It’s a long story,” he said. He was too embarrassed to repeat it. She didn’t ask him to elaborate.
A younger girl walked into the room, giving him a small curtsy. “Good morning, Sir.” Even though the two women had different features, Edward could tell right away that they were sisters.
“I’m Leda, Ariadne’s younger sister,” she said blushing. The sister appeared to be as meek as her sister was forthcoming. “Pray, can you tell us who you are?”
“I’m Edward Remington, the Mar—” he began but thought better of it. Something inside him stopped him from revealing his true identity. “I’m a sea merchant.”
The two sisters exchanged a look. The younger one spoke. “We thought you were a Lord,” she said. “I would say this worked out fine for us. Imagine an aristocrat in our home! We were thoroughly convinced by the clothes you wore.”
“Well, I’m rich to some extent but I’m no member of the aristocracy.”
“Well, our uncle, the Earl of—” Leda began. Ariadne turned around and shook her head at her sister who promptly fell silent. This made Edward even more curious. If their uncle was an Earl, what were they doing in such impoverished quarters?
“I’ll be outside having a word with my sister,” Ariadne said. She caught her by the sleeve of her dress and almost dragged her out. Edward chuckled at that and then stopped as another wave of pain overcame him.
An older woman entered the room. She had an apron tied around her waist and reminded him of the matron he had at Eton. “Oh good, you’re awake. How are you feeling, Sir?”
“I’m fine now,” he said. The woman must be their mother even though she looked nothing like the sisters.
“You look much better today. I’m afraid you looked quite like death when Ariadne brought you in,” Emma said with a small smile.
Edward’s brow rose in surprise. “She was alone?”
Emma nodded. “Carried you in herself. It’s a miracle she made it without injuring herself.”
Edward couldn’t believe it. She was alone when she found him. He couldn’t blame her if she had, in fact, left him on the road to his fate. Instead, she had brought him all the way here. The memory of the night became clear to him now. The thieves had taken his jacket and purse and left him to die.
If she hadn’t come along—
Adriane came back a few moments after Emma left, carrying a tray and a bowl of soup on it. She placed the tray beside his table and sat down on his bed. Again, Edward was extremely aware of how she smelled. Like flowers and something sweeter. He wanted to bury his nose in her hair.
He mentally chastised himself at the thought. His tutors had taught him to control his emotional state since boyhood. “Emotions give a man an advantage over you. Never show them what you are feeling inside. Show them a mirror instead.”
“How do you feel?” she asked with some concern.
“Not good,” Edward said honestly. He wanted to take a nap and keep taking it until eternity. His bones ached with any movement. The soreness of his abdomen made him remember the ghost of the knife twisted into it.
Ariadne nodded in understanding. “You will get better with time. Now you must eat this. I bought it from the kitchen next door. I’ve heard they make it excellent.”
“Heard it?”