Love With A Stranger Read Online Free Page A

now?”
    “No, I’m too upset to eat. I’m so tense that it probably wouldn’t stay down. What I need is a long soak in the tub and a nap. I feel drained.”
    “Why don’t you take one of those pills Doctor Hines brought over to relax you? Maybe you should lie down and nap before your bath.”
    Cass stopped pacing like a caged animal and looked at the housekeeper who was acting in a pleasant manner for a change. “Perhaps you’re right, Inez; I feel totally out of sorts and exhausted.”
    “Would you like some fresh orange juice to take the pill with?”
    “Thanks, but I’ll get some water from the bathroom. I’ll turn off the ringer on my phone, so don’t disturb me unless it’s an emergency.”
    “Yes, ma’am. You rest and get to feeling better.”
    “Thank you, Inez, and I’ll let you know when I’m up again.”
    As Inez left the room, she concluded that the medicine Mr. Peter had told her to slip into his stepmother’s coffee or food this morning hadn’t worked. The near-crazed woman surely needed calming down and shouldn’t be so stubborn about taking the doctor’s advice. Perhaps the potent sedative she had suggested—as Mr. Peter had asked her to do—would do the trick. She certainly stood a better chance of keeping her job if she helped Mr. Peter and she got Mrs. Grantham out of an irrational and agitated mood.

Chapter Two
    From far away, Cass heard someone calling her name and felt someone shaking her left shoulder; it was a familiar voice, but it was so faint that she could not place it. She struggled to surface in the murky depths that held her captive. Her lids were so heavy and she felt so weak that she couldn’t seem to open her eyes. She kept wriggling her forehead and brows to help her part those stubborn lids. She needed water to soothe her dry throat and mouth. She wanted to turn over and go back to—
    “Cass…Cass, wake up! Inez said you’ve been asleep since this morning. It’s almost seven at night!”
    At those shouts and a rougher shaking, she finally managed to open her eyes and look up into Peter’s handsome face. The concerned expression in his hazel gaze registered, and, even with a foggy brain, she wondered if it was an honest show of worry or just an excellent pretense. “What did you say? What do you want?”
    Peter sat down beside her. “I just got home from work and Inez told me you’ve been asleep all day. She didn’t want toleave you alone until I got here. Are you all right or do I need to have Doctor Hines come over and take a look at you?”
    Still in a groggy state, Cass struggled to sit up and prop herself against the headboard, unmindful of her touseled brown hair, puffy eyes, and sensual sapphire nightgown.
    After Peter pulled the top sheet to her shoulders and pushed a stray strand of hair from her face, she took a deep breath to finish clearing her head. “I must look a wreck. I feel as if I’ve been run over by a fast train that reversed and took a second strike at me.”
    Peter chuckled and jested, “You’ve looked better on past occasions, but I don’t see any real damage. How do you feel?”
    Cass took another deep breath. “Like a lump of melting butter but at the same time as heavy as a rock. That Valium knocked me out cold; maybe I shouldn’t have taken two on an empty stomach. But, I’m awake and fine now. Or I will be as soon as I take a shower and drink some coffee.”
    “Inez said you haven’t eaten all day. She tried to wake you up for lunch and again late this afternoon, but you were out to the world. She figured you needed sleep more than food. Now, why don’t you take that shower and slip on some clothes while I prepare us some coffee and something to eat?”
    “You know how to cook?”
    “Rather well, I must say, so don’t look so skeptical. A bachelor can’t eat out all of the time and I have been on my own for years. What .about one of my special omelettes and some toast?”
    “It sounds wonderful to me; I’m