Read Online Trapped by Scandal by Jane Feather - Free Book Online

you want clean clothes, you can see what’s in there. You’ll have to roll the britches up, and the shirt will swamp you, but at least they’re clean.”
    She sat up. He was fully dressed now, fastening the buckle of his belt. “Is there any fresh water?”
    â€œI’ll send your brother up with a jug.” He picked up the basin he’d been using and tipped its contents out of the window with an alerting shout of “ Gardez l’eau, ” in case any unwary pedestrian was passing below. “There’ll be coffee in the kitchen.”
    The door closed behind him, and Hero got out of bed, stretching. She felt amazingly refreshed, although she could smell her own sweat and feel the dirt ingrained in her skin. Soap and hot water and clean garments would be wonderful. She was examining the contents of the chest when Alec came in on a brisk alerting knock. He carried a steaming jug.
    â€œHow did you sleep?”
    â€œRemarkably well. I dare swear better than you in that chair,” she replied, straightening from the chest. She saw that her brother was surveying the small chamber with a questioning eye.
    â€œYou slept on the truckle?”
    â€œYes, my dear. And William slept like a monk in the bed. You didn’t really imagine he would ravish me, did you?”
    Alec shook his head with a rueful grin. “No, he’s too honorable . . . not so sure about you, though, sister dear.”He set the jug on the washstand. “I’ll see you in the kitchen.”
    Hero stripped to her skin, wondering whether William was so honorable that he would refuse a little love play if it were offered him. It was a shocking reflection, she thought, surprising even herself with its lack of modesty. But then, nothing about her present circumstances could be anything but shocking. She probed the idea as delicately as if it were a nagging tooth. Perhaps just telling him about Tom had released in her some kind of pent-up need, because she certainly found the idea exciting. The thought of such love play sent little prickles of arousal across her skin and caused a familiar sinking jolt in the base of her belly. And why not? she thought defiantly, although whom she was defying she didn’t know. The one thing she did know was that Tom would not mind. He had had far too generous a soul to condemn her to a life of chastity.
    The hot water and harsh lye soap felt wonderful as she scrubbed her body vigorously with a scrap of toweling until her skin glowed red. She rubbed herself dry as best she could with the only dry corner of a towel she could find and then returned to the chest. She found a clean shirt of coarse linen. It swamped her as expected, but it smelled fresh. The trousers were more of a problem; the waist was too big, and they slid to her hips while the legs flapped off her feet.
    The door opened on a brisk knock while she was contemplating her swamped lower limbs somewhat plaintively. William burst into laughter as he came in. “Evenworse than I thought,” he said, setting down the mug of coffee he held. “Let’s see what we can do to improve matters.”
    â€œI was using a strip of cloth before.” Hero indicated the strip she’d discarded with her old clothes. She couldn’t move to get it herself without tripping over her feet or letting go of the waist of the britches.
    â€œI think we can do better than that.” William looked through the chest. “Here.” He took out a narrow belt and wrapped it around Hero’s waist, pulling it tight. “I’ll put a new hole in it . . . about here, I think.” Marking the place with his finger, he drew his knife from the sheath at his waist and punctured the leather. “Now try it.” He buckled the belt and stood back.
    Hero sighed with relief. “Thank you. But what do I do about this?” She flapped a leg in illustration.
    â€œSit on the bed, and