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anyway.
    She walked to the wardrobe, opened the doors, and pulled out a freshly laundered shirt and a loose-fitting pair of trousers. Rory stood and dropped the robe. She swallowed hard, trying with difficulty to keep her gaze above his chin.
    Good gracious, he was certainly proud of his body.
    Mentally reciting the alphabet backward in an effort to avert her wicked thoughts, she had to balance on the tip of her toes to get the shirt over his head, a difficult task when she trembled like a leaf. He shook his head when it came to the drawers. Not questioning him, she assisted him with his trousers, and hegrabbed her shoulder to keep steady. This, too, proved difficult considering she had to do the majority of the work. For the love of God, she knew he was weak, but how hard was it to lift one’s leg?
    Even worse, he made no move to button his trousers, and instead watched her with lifted brow. Did he think she wouldn’t? Steadying her hands, she reached for the fastenings and managed to close the bottom two buttons.
    “You might want to tuck in the shirt, else it will be too bulky once the trousers are fastened.”
    Nodding obediently, Shannon shoved the shirt tails in, her hands brushing over his bare buttocks. This was altogether too intimate. His masculine scent enveloped her, the heat of his body, the
strength
of his body when she touched him made her pulse quicken and her entire body feel flushed.
    She buttoned his trousers and smiled triumphantly. “Would you like me to assist you with your stockings?”
    “There is no need.”
    “Shall I brush your hair?”
    “Yes. Where would you like me?
    “At the vanity, please.”
    He sat down on the small bench before the vanity, his long legs before him, which he crossed at the ankle. She stepped behind him and ran the brush through his dark, thick locks. He was watching her in the mirror … closely.
    She refused to meet his gaze, afraid of what he might see in her eyes. No doubt he could tell when a woman wanted him. Was there a woman alive who didn’t? Certainly she knew what it felt like to be admired. She’d had her share of suitors before her parents’ death, but her father had been extremely protective. He felt that she was too young to be courted, despite the fact that he had begun courting her mother when she’d been just sixteen.
    The door opened abruptly and Shannon turned to find Lady Anna, dressed in an exquisite turquoise gown with elegant lace trimmings. “Well, isn’t this a lovely spectacle,” she said coyly.
    Rory stood and Shannon set the brush on the vanity.
    “I thought you were waiting in the parlor,” Rory said, hands on hips, looking not in the least surprised by the interruption.
    Anna’s lips quirked as she glanced from Rory to Shannon and back again. “When the butler went to get tea, I snuck up here to see how you were.” Her gaze flicked to Shannon. “I now understand why you are convalescing at your brother’s home instead of your parents’ townhouse.”
    “Mother gave Sinjin and Katelyn the townhouse for a wedding present, and they are renovating it while they’re away.”
    “So I realized when the servant opened the door. Katelyn, or Lady Mawbry, is a lovely woman, but I have to say after catching a brief glimpse of the new foyer, that I question her taste in décor.”
    “Careful, that is my brother’s wife you speak of,” Rory said in a cautionary tone.
    Anna shrugged. “And she really might consider having the servants wear uniforms. The butler was dressed in a hideous suit from at least four seasons ago.”
    Her gaze slid slowly over Shannon. “What quaint little uniforms. See, now Lady Graston knows how to run a household efficiently. Lady Mawbry might take a few lessons from her. But then again, Lady Mawbry probably does not have such beautiful help.”
    The flirtatious manner of the other woman put Shannon on guard. And Lady Anna’s mention of her being a servant only reminded Shannon of the day when she had