Just One Touch Read Online Free

sweetness.
    He glanced back at the carriage just as someone opened the door to the house. Light spilled out into the night, illuminating the well-sprung conveyance, glittering off the ducal crest mounted on the door.
    A reminder of what could never be.
    He turned back to see young Dr. Raines standing in the doorway, his brown hair mussed and spectacles hanging off his nose as he haphazardly shoved his shirttails into the waist of his trousers. “Yes, what is it?”
    “I’m Rogan Hunt. A man’s been shot.”
    “Rogan…Hunt?” The physician cleared his throat, clearly recognizing Rogan’s name and the reputation that went with it, then nervously pushed the spectacles up with his finger and stepped outside. “Shot, you say? You didn’t…?” He shut his mouth with an audible click. “Where is he?”
    Unfazed by the man’s distrust, Rogan turned to indicate the carriage. “In there. It’s a chest wound.”
    Immediately the doctor’s uncertainty vanished, and he strode purposefully toward the coach. “Let’s get him inside then.” He reached for the carriage door. Rogan stayed his hand.
    “I want to warn you that there’s a lady in there as well,” he said in a low voice. “She’s been through an ordeal tonight.”
    “A lady?” The doctor glanced at the coat of arms on the door of the conveyance and blanched. “Good God, Lady Caroline!” He jerked open the door. “Lady Caroline, are you all right?”
    Caroline knelt right where he’d left her, keeping pressure on Denton’s wound. She’d pulled her cloak more snugly around her, and her long hair hung in tangles around her shoulders, giving her more the look of a madwoman than a duke’sdaughter. Yet she gave the physician a welcoming smile as if she were serving tea and not staunching the blood from a chest wound. “Good evening, Dr. Raines. I’m afraid my coachman has been shot by highwaymen.”
    “Are you injured?” The physician hopped into the carriage beside her, taking in her shocking state of undress. He glanced back at Rogan, suspicion flickering across his face.
    “No, Mr. Hunt came along in the nick of time.” Her eyes met Rogan’s in an instant of warm communication before she sent a concerned glance at her coachman. “But I fear for Denton.”
    The doctor bent over the man and lifted the bloody bandages. “How long ago was he shot?”
    “Less than half an hour.” Rogan stepped forward. “I can help you carry him.”
    “Absolutely. We must get him inside at once. Lady Caroline, if I may—” The doctor pushed past her to take Denton’s feet as Rogan squeezed his broad-shouldered frame into the doorway to grab his arms. Caroline sat back in the opposite seat and tried to make herself as small as possible so the two men had room to move.
    “One…two… three !” The physician gave a soft grunt as they lifted the coachman and maneuvered him out of the coach. Caroline climbed out and hastened after them.
    “To your left,” Dr. Raines directed as they entered his home. “Now lie him on the table. And if you would please remove his clothing, Mr. Hunt?”
    Caroline peered into the doctor’s examining room. Rogan had begun to strip off Denton’s garments, and Dr. Raines stood at a basin, scrubbing his hands. The sound of footsteps drew her attention as Mrs. Raines hurried down the stairs.
    “Wesley, do you need me?” the pretty blond called. She had thrown on a serviceable gray dress and was tying her long hair back with a ribbon as she hurried toward the examining room. Her gaze fell on Caroline, and she stopped short in the hallway.
    Dr. Raines appeared in the doorway, drying his hands off with a towel. “Amanda, please see to Lady Caroline. Her coach was attacked by highwaymen.”
    “Good heavens!” The doctor’s wife came forward, taking one of Caroline’s hands in both of hers. “Are you hurt?”
    “No.” She fingered her cloak, suddenly embarrassed. “Though if you have something I could wear…”
    “Of