“Son, I will take over. You change out of those wet clothes.” His mother placed her hands on his shoulders and squeezed lightly.
Nodding, Max agreed. “I shall change and be right back.” His hand lightly grazed Maggie’s. “It would be best not to move her further until the doctor examines her. She has burns on her wrists, and I am most concerned there could be hidden injuries.”
“My God! She does.” His mother said, her tone one of alarm as she gently rolled Maggie’s wrist and leaned in to look more closely. “They appear to be rope burns. Who would have placed ropes on Maggie?”
Shep lifted his head and started to growl, but a sharp, reproachful look from his mother squelched that. Max swallowed a chuckle as he started to leave.
“It is Shep, is it not?” His mother’s inquiry stopped him.
“Yes. You recall that? I almost did not recognize him. He is a protective little chap.” He walked over and ruffled the dog’s head affectionately.
“I do.” She smiled. “I confess, these last three years, I have had a hard time thinking of her as Lady Tipton. She was to be my daughter, but she has not been part of society. I just can’t imagine…” Her voice trailed off as her hand gently moved a little wet and bloodied hair from Meg’s face. “Something drastic has happened. We shall help her all we can.”
Max paused a moment to regard the bedraggled woman he had just placed in his sister’s bed. Her eyes were shuttered closed. Thick dark lashes brushed the tops of her cheekbones in their resting state. Long blonde hair framed her face and covered her shoulders. Even wet, the color reminded him of sunshine and yellow roses. She was beautiful. His traitorous arms ached to hold her, to comfort her, but he would not.
She is married, he reminded himself. Max’s gaze held her sleeping form a moment longer before he again noticed the angry red abrasions on her wrists. His body stiffened in anger. Mother is right. I need time to regroup my thoughts.
“Thank you, Mother.” He stopped just before leaving the room and turned back. “The dog…” He paused and looked at the white bundle of fur curled up next to Maggie. “I must allow Shep to stay here with her. Please make sure the doctor tries to accommodate. She keeps reaching for him. I fear that whatever has transpired, Shep may be Meg’s only witness and her biggest comfort.”
Acknowledgments
There are always many people to thank when a book gets written. There are my friends who always cheer me on…Elizabeth Johns, who gave me the push I needed to get started writing, and Betty Phillips, Heather King, Myra Platt, Lauren Smith, and Amanda Mariel, who help in immeasurable ways.
A great big thank you goes to my team of readers who spent time and gave up evenings to help me smooth out the rough edges. Thank you, Theresa, Heather, Pat, and Lori! Your help is always greatly appreciated.
And last but never least, my own hero—my husband and best friend, Roger. He reads every one of my stories.
About the Author
Anna St. Claire is a big believer that nothing is impossible if you believe in yourself. She is an emerging author of historical romance and sprinkles her stories with laughter, romance, mystery and lots of possibilities, adhering to the belief that goodness and love will win the day.
Anna is both an avid reader author of American and British historical romance. She and her husband live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their two dogs and often their two beautiful granddaughters, who live nearby. Daughter, sister, wife, mother, and Mimi—all life roles that Anna St. Claire relishes and feels blessed to still enjoy. And she loves her pets – dogs and cats alike, and often inserts them into her books as secondary characters.
Anna relocated from New York City to the Carolinas as a small child. Her mother, a retired English and History teacher, always encouraged Anna’s interest in writing, after discovering short stories she would write in her spare time.
As a child, she loved mysteries and checked out every Encyclopedia Brown story that came into the school library. Before too long, her fascination with history and reading led her to her first historical romance—Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With The Wind, now a treasured, but weathered book from being read multiple times. When she discovered Kathleen Woodiwiss,’ books, Shanna and Ashes In The Wind, Anna became hooked. She read every historical romance that came her way and dreams of writing her own historical romances took seed.
Today, her focus is primarily the Regency and Civil War eras, although Anna enjoys almost any period in American and British history. She would love to connect with any of her readers on her website – www.annastclaire.com, through email—[email protected], Instagram – annastclaire_author, BookBub – www.bookbub.com/profile/anna-st-claire,Twitter – @1AnnaStClaire, Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorannastclaire/ or on Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Anna-St-Claire/e/B078WMRHHF?ref=.
Also by Anna St. Claire
The Earl She Left Behind
Embers of Anger
Earl of Weston
Silver Bells And Mistletoe
Earl of Bergen
Romancing a Wallflower Page 18
