Page 63 of A Lady's Dangerous Secret

James caught her hand and gently lowered it.

“You were hurt very badly.”

She squinted at him as fragments of memories tried to form in her mind. She thought she had heardLottiein the darkness.

“What happened?” her dry voice croaked.

James soothingly rubbed circles on the top of Charlotte’s hand with his thumb.

“You went out to the gardens where a man shot you.”

Charlotte eased herself back against the headboard and tried to piece together her memories.

“What happened before that?”

“I saw you rush across the Rowley’s ballroom, but I didn’t know why. It looked as if you were running away from something.”

Rowley Ball, Rowley Ball, Rowley Ball.

She furrowed her brow. “There was something important about the Rowley Ball.”

James stroked her hand. “Did it have to do with the Duke of Westcliffe?”

The name of her almost-betrothed triggered a flood of memories and images from that night.

A crowded ballroom.

Fresh air.

The gardens.

A man in the shadows.

A gun.

Her stomach dropped. “I shot him.”

James glanced around the room and lowered his voice. “I told the magistrate it was me,” he reassured her and continued to rub her hand.

“But did I?” her voice cracked.

“Yes. You looked distressed in the ballroom, so I followed you outside. You were already down in the gardens with a gun trained on you. I distracted the man, and you got off your shot. His gun went off as he fell.”

“Is he dead?” Charlotte whispered.

“Yes.”

“Good.”

James chuckled. “Lady Charlotte Tipton, this is the second time you have approved of a killing.”

Charlotte felt his hand on her chin. She had been looking at the wall while she sorted through her muddled mind, but she now felt her head being turned. Sable hair and silver eyes dominated her vision.

“You’re amazing,” James murmured.

“I knew you were on the balcony. I could feel you, and then I sneaked a glimpse, and there you were.”

A smile spread across his face. His handsomeness when he was not scowling still made her breath catch.