She had, of course, felt the cold on her walk up from the road, but between the full dark of evening and the driving snow, the temperature had plummeted. Her pelisse was not thick enough, her gloves flimsy, her ermine stole the only thing appropriate for such weather, but all it could do was keep her neck warm. And, oh, how she wished she were enveloped in that protective fur, wearing a full coat of it to fend off the biting, bone-deep cold.
I will freeze before I set foot in that castle again,she told herself, and promptly set off across what had been the carriage circle, but was now a sea of white.
Already alarmingly thick, the snow came up to her mid-calf, her boots soaked through before she had even trudged to what shehoped was the tree-lined driveway and not a random coppice on the grounds.
Her stolen lantern, that she wouldnotbe giving back, wasn’t much help. The snow was coming down too hard, the effect of so many flakes passing across the faint glow making her dizzy. She had to keep blinking to focus her eyes and put a lot of faith in her sense of direction.
Teeth chattering so viciously that her jaw began to ache, her hands and feet completely numb, her eyes stinging as if they might freeze over, Valerie thought she might be nearing the rusty gates. She didn’t know how long she had been walking for, but it felt like an eternity, every part of her protesting. And having had a taste of warmth and comfort had only made it worse, her entire being yearning to be back in that drawing room with a bowl of soup, cursing herself for not abiding by her promise to stay put.
But Mr. Jarviswashurt. And I am not like that… that… brutish duke.Iam someone who helps!
She muttered some choice insults, letting her fury fuel her as she lumbered on. By now, she was not so much walking as dragging her leaden feet through the snow.
Perhaps, that was why they suddenly decided to stop listening to the will of her mind. Her left foot simply ceased to work, and before she knew it, she was falling.
At least it will be a soft landing,was her desperate thought, as she dropped the lantern and foolishly put out her hands to break her fall.
Her palms sank right through the powdery snow, her right hand hitting something hard. The pain shivered up from her wrist, a sharp hiss forced through gritted teeth.
With her left hand, she pushed herself into a kneeling position and reached for the lantern to assess the damage. The flame sputtered out, plunging her into darkness, her wrist throbbing as ifitwanted to be the beacon to guide her out of there.
I have to keep going. I must get to the carriage. There will be light there and food and blankets.
The trouble was, she couldn’t move: her limbs were too frozen to function and without her lantern, she hadn’t the faintest idea of where she was going. The fall had disoriented her, putting her off course.
“I am going to… die out here in that… man’s grounds,” she rasped as her body was wracked by violent shivers, her numb mouth struggling to form the words.
“Not without returning my lantern first,” a deep voice said, a strong arm sliding around her—a little too intimately for someone who had ranted about manners. Indeed, there was no polite distance at all between his arm and her bosom.
The duke hoisted her to her feet as if she weighed nothing, and when her frozen legs promptly buckled, he swept her up into his arms without so much as a grunt of effort.
She stared at the profile of his face as he turned and carried her back toward the promise of warmth and solid walls to keep out the snow. It might not have taken much effort for him to carry her, but she could see it was taking a great effort to perform the charitable gesture; his scowl had deepened, mouth set in a grim line.
“Set… me… down!” she croaked through shuddering shivers. “I will not… go back to…”
“Not another word,” he growled at her, blue eyes flashing with the stern warning.
Whether it was that look or his reprimand or the fact that she could not feel her face that held her tongue, she did not know, but she did not talk back this time. Perhaps, it was none of those things, but the warmth of him pressed so close, all that hard muscle and his firm grip on her, that kept her quiet.
Indeed, it was a rather pleasant feeling, to be slightly thawed by the protective height and breadth of him. His body was like a wall against the cold wind, his arms a safe haven where the snow couldn’t sting her anymore.
“Is it your wrist?” he asked a short while later, the glow from the open front door like heaven to Valerie’s eyes.
She frowned… then nodded reluctantly.
“You may stay here until the storm passes and your wrist is healed,” he said in that gruff, commanding tone. “There is but one rule; the same one you broke this evening.”
Her frown deepened, her mouth still unable to form words.
“You will keep your distance from me,” he continued.
“Gladly,” she managed to rasp, and regretted her retort immediately. She probably should not provoke the man who was offering her a place to rest and recover, lest he chuck her back into the snow and leave her there.
He turned his head abruptly, glowering down at her with eyes that had turned black again in the dark of the stormy evening.
Being in his arms and all, he was far closer than she had ever been to any man—so near, in fact, that she could feel the warmth of his breath tickling her numb cheek. A heat that made her want to be even closer, for a fleeting moment, so she could steal more to thaw her iced bones.
He came out to retrieve me. No matter his rude nature, I must be grateful for that.And shewasgrateful for his powerful arms, the hard but hot cushion of his chest, and the awe-inspiring ease with which he was carrying her. No other man could have done so; she was certain of that.
