Petra gave them to him, too tired to resist. He turned them over and washed the blood from her palms, observing, “Well, it’s not all Aldershot’s blood. You must have scraped them when you fell, bruised them too.” He pushed back onto his heels and stood up. “You’ll need to treat yourself gently for the next day or two, my dear.”

“The carriage is here, sir.”

“Thank you, Babbit . . . come, Petra.” He put an arm around her waist and half lifted her from her chair.

“I can walk,” she said, pulling away from him.

“Of course you can.” But he kept a steadying hand on her waist as he steered her out to the Square.

A blackbird’s full-throated song filled the air and Petra paused, listening. “It’s such a joyous sound,” she said. “He’s calling for a mate. Listen.” She held up an arresting hand and almost immediately the blackbird’s song was answered with another paean of joy. They listened to the duet for a few moments before Guy lifted her into the waiting carriage.

He took up the reins and the sleepy groom climbed onto the step at the rear of the two-wheeled carriage. When they reached Brook Street Guy handed the reins to the groom and stepped down, catching Petra as she attempted to jump to the pavement. “You don’t have to prove anything to me,” he chided. “Where’s your key?”

She didn’t have anything to prove, of course, Petra acknowledged. It was just that she felt if she was to stay on equal footing with Guy she couldn’t afford to show any weakness. The problem now was that she felt as weak as a kitten, the shock of the accident and Charlie’s injuries finally taking their toll. She gave Guy her drawstring purse without a word.

Inside the dimly lit hall, Guy looked around. “Is your maid waiting up for you?”

“No, of course not. It’s gone three in the morning,” she said, shocked. “Everyone’s asleep.”

“Well, we need to wake someone up,” he said. “You need help getting to bed.”

“Nonsense,” she protested. “I’m quite capable of looking after myself.”

“Unfortunately, dear girl, on this particular night I beg to differ.” He looked at her with a measure of exasperation. “You are so stubborn. However, so am I. I’ll give you a choice, either you wake someone to help you to bed, or you accept my help. Which is it to be?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Petra glared at him. He merely looked back at her, unmoving. “Very well,” she said after a long moment. “I’ll ring for Dottie when I get upstairs.”

He nodded. “Then let’s go.” He turned to the stairs, his hand on her arm.

Petra pulled away. “You don’t have to come with me, Guy.”