Gratefully I peeled off the damp and blackened garments. I was horrified at the ripped and singed fabric and now was aware of burns and scrapes on my body. I’d have liked to sponge myself down with hot water, but I certainly wasn’t going to do that with Ryan watching me. Instead I slipped into the heavenly softness of those pajamas and then put on the robe. Ryan turned back so swiftly that I realized he must have been watching me in the dressing table mirror.
“You look divine, my darling,” he said. “It’s one of those moments when I wish I was the other way inclined so that I could ravish you before your husband returned.”
I laughed again. He smiled too. “That’s better. Now you look more like the Molly I know and love, the Molly who isn’t afraid of anything.”
“It’s easy not to be afraid when you don’t have a husband and child to fear for,” I said. “When Daniel was lying unconscious and I knew my baby was up in that inferno I thought I’d die of fright.”
“All’s well that ends well,” Ryan said. “You have all three come through unharmed. Houses can be mended. New clothes and furnishing can be bought.…”
“On a policeman’s salary?” I said, already lamenting all of those precious little items I had acquired as wedding presents that would now never be replaced. “And where will we live until they can fix the house? If they can fix the house?”
There was a tap at the door and a voice said, “Room service, madame.” Ryan went to the door and a young man came in, carrying a tray. If he thought it questionable that another man was in my room and I was now wearing green silk pajamas, he didn’t let his face show it. He merely put the tray on the bedside table, gave a little bow, and left. I realized I should have tipped him but of course I had no money. No purse, no comb … before despair could overwhelm me, Ryan had already picked up a steaming mug of hot rum. “Here, drink this. You’ll feel better.”
I took a sip, feeling the warmth spreading through my chilled limbs.
“There you are. Now you’re looking almost human again. Almost human but horribly dirty. Wait a second.” He bustled across the room and returned with a wet washcloth with which he proceeded to dab gently at my face. “And your hair is singed too,” he said. “What a mess. My poor darling. Who could have done such a dastardly deed? Foreign anarchists? But who would want to assassinate Daniel?”
“It’s foreigners all right,” I said, “but Daniel thinks it’s the new Italian gang, the Cosa Nostra.”
“My dear, I’ve heard about them. Utterly ruthless. What has Daniel done to upset them?”
“Arrested their leader, I gather. He’s had orders to shut them down. He feared they would retaliate and now they have.” I felt tears close to the surface again and looked away, not wanting him to see me cry.
Ryan, more sensitive than most men, picked up a ham sandwich and waved it in front of my face. “Eat,” he said. “You’ll feel better. And finish that toddy too.”
I did as he commanded, mechanically chewing at the bread, although it was hard to swallow.
“That’s my girl,” he said, stroking my cheek. “Now, you remember my former friend Fritz Birnbaum, the German doctor, don’t you?”
“Of course I do,” I said.
“Much as I find it repugnant, having not separated on the best of terms, I will swallow my pride and see if he’s in his rooms. I think a doctor should take a look at you and maybe give you a sedative or a shot of morphine or something.”
“I don’t want a sedative,” I said. “I want to be awake when Daniel returns. How could I sleep knowing that he’s out there and in danger?”
“And your injuries? Don’t they need treating?”
“I don’t think there’s much wrong with me,” I said. “A nasty bump on the back of my head and a few cuts and bruises, otherwise I’m fine.”
“I think you should let a doctor examine you, just in case. And what about your baby there? Is he definitely all right?”
Until now it hadn’t crossed my mind that anything could be wrong with Liam. Daniel had said he’d been found quite unharmed. He seemed to be sleeping peacefully enough. I turned him over and opened his blanket to examine his chubby little limbs. He awoke, looked at me, and gave a sleepy smile. As I bent to kiss him his eyelids fluttered closed again. I heaved a sigh of relief.
“He looks perfect. Thank you, Ryan. You’ve been very kind.”
“Then you should try to sleep.”
“I can’t see myself falling asleep tonight.”