This bit comes near the beginning of Chapter 2. Okay. It IS the beginning of Chapter 2. Aggie has fled Scotland Yard, pursued by something dark, dangerous, ugly, and unseen. The last thing she remembers is pulling the trigger of a pistol. Caveat…Victorian England is foreign territory so ignore any slip ups in forms of address, etc. ‘kay? This is a very rough first draft and nowhere near ready for public consumption. Good thing you guys aren’t public, right? I’ll update my word count here in a bit. I hope you enjoy…

The voice, warm and comforting, wrapped around her like a favorite quilt and Aggie wanted to snuggle into it like she had as a child on a cold winter’s morn at school. Her lids fluttered despite her best efforts to remain asleep. A little part of her brain, painful and niggling, nudged her consciousness. She gave it a mental swat.

“Go away.” She mumbled the words, hoping to snuggle deeper into her quilt.

“Beg pardon?”

Her brain poked her again, sharper this time, more insistent. She raised her right arm, vaguely pushed at the muscular chest hovering nearby, and frowned when its mass didn’t move. Not in the slightest. Her eyelids blinked and she tried to keep them propped open so her eyes could focus. She blinked slowly. Then rapidly. Her pupils dilated. Her forehead crinkled. Her mouth gaped open and a scream gathered low in her throat ready to leap out. Bugging eyes surrounded by copper stared at her, their depths glowing red and sinister. Something black covered the upper portion of the face and head. Her throat closed around the scream and it strangled in mid-yeep. Panic threatened to choke off her breath.

“Oh dear. I am sorry.” The lips moved and that comforting voice washed over her again. A strong hand with long, supple fingers brushed across the back of her hand as it traveled up to the face. In a flash, the glowing metal eyes disappeared.

For a very long moment, Aggie stared into seemingly fathomless eyes. The nearest streetlight was too far away for her to tell the color but the inherent kindness in them surprised her.

“Don’t move now. You took a nasty bump to the head and your left arm and shoulder have been damaged. I do believe I’ve managed to stop the bleeding but I don’t want to jostle you any more than necessary.”

“D-damaged?” She glanced down and almost swooned again. Shredded and bloodied, the bodice and sleeve of her dress hung in tatters. Had claws or teeth raked her skin? She couldn’t remember. She shivered and shook the cobwebs from her head. The horror of the night struck her full force as her memory returned. “Geoff.” His name hung between her and her rescuer. “I tripped over his body.” She leaned around his rather wide—and muscular body—to look back toward the direction of the Yard. “I need to report it.”

“No,” her rescuer countermanded. “You need to get to hospital to be treated by a doctor. I fear my medical skills are rudimentary at best.”

“No.” She remained insistent. “I need to report it. And I am a doctor. My medical skills are top notch at worst.”

He smiled, one corner of his mouth curling in a devastatingly handsome if slightly distracted grin. “You sound rather sure of yourself.” He glanced at her shoulder and arm. “Especially given the circumstances.”

She tried to get up and grimaced as pain shot through her left side. She suspected damaged was a rather mild word for her injuries. “May I have a hand up, please?” It galled her that she had to depend on this stranger’s help.

As if reading her mind, he extended his hand. “Jack. Jack Somerset.”

She swallowed. Which was the wrong thing to do. Choking and hacking, she tried to breathe. Her benefactor pounded on her back, albeit somewhat gently. When Aggie could finally catch her breath, she cleared her throat. “Somerset? Lord John Somerset, Earl of Glamorgan?”

The man stood up and she realized he wore an oilcloth coat and thigh boots. And that he was tall. Very tall. Before she could extend her hand for a boost up, she found herself cradled in his arms. “I fear my reputation precedes me,” he muttered under his breath.

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