Page 63 of An Unlikely Debutante

Many women of his acquaintance would be in hysterics by now. Many men, too. Lina was cold, uncomfortable and a little shaken by the evening’s events, but her demeanour was calm and he knew she would not be swooning or collapsing or engaging in any other form of unhelpful behaviour.

‘Where’s the carriage?’ Lina was peering into the darkness, scrunching up her eyes as if in the hope of being able to see in the dark.

‘It won’t be far. McManus is an experienced coachman. He’ll have brought the horses under control without too much trouble.’

‘Shall we start walking?’

They’d just been robbed, fired upon, forced into freezing water and battered by the storm raging overhead and Lina was calmly suggesting they set off to find the carriage.

‘You’re very practical in a crisis,’ Alex said, draping his jacket over her shoulders. It was wet, torn and probably provided only minimal protection from the elements, but any small advantage could be vital on a night like this.

‘Would you prefer me to collapse to the floor, crying and screaming?’

‘Most certainly not.’

He held her by the shoulders for a moment, raising one hand to brush the damp tendrils of hair stuck to her face away.

‘Thank you for saving my life,’ Alex said softly, looking into her dark eyes and seeing a flash of warmth.

‘It seemed the right thing to do.’

Before he could stop himself, he dipped his head and kissed her. Later he might blame the excitement of the evening, the residual sensation of danger, of throwing caution to the wind, but right now he knew he kissed her because he wasn’t able to not kiss her.

Despite the chill of the rest of her body Lina’s lips were wonderfully warm. She still tasted of the strawberries and wine they’d indulged in a few hours before at the racetrack and as her tongue flicked out to meet his, Alex felt his desire swell and grow.

‘Are you hurt, my lord?’ The voice was carried on the wind and Alex recognised it as belonging to the groom, Kitsworth.

Lina hurriedly stepped away from him, taking her warmth with her, but Alex caught her hand to stop her from going too far.

‘Kitsworth, what happened?’ Alex called as the groom rounded the bend in the road.

‘The carriage is damaged, my lord.’

‘Are you injured? Or McManus?’

‘No, my lord. McManus is checking the horses over now.’

Quickly Alex and Lina followed the groom back down the lane, their heads bent against the driving rain. The wind had picked up again and the trees were creaking ominously on either side of the road.

The carriage had come to a halt about half a mile from the site of the ambush. Despite the coachman’s best efforts, it had careened out of control and was now lying at an angle, half in the ditch to the side of the road. Alex was reminded of the horrible accident Aunt Lucy had been involved in and realised they had been lucky neither he nor Lina had been inside.

‘Horses seem fine, my lord,’ McManus shouted over the sound of the wind and rain.

Alex surveyed the scene. There was no way they would get the carriage back on the road tonight without extra help. All four of them were soaked to the bone and Lina especially looked pale and as if her body had nearly reached the limit of its endurance.

‘Did we pass any houses on the road before the ambush?’ Alex asked.

‘There was a cluster of houses a few miles back,’ McManus said.

Alex grimaced. Despite the blood still seeping from his arm he was confident he would still be able to ride a horse a few miles, but he doubted Lina would be able to manage it. If he didn’t get her somewhere dry soon, she would certainly catch a chill or even something worse. ‘Take the horses,’ Alex instructed his coachman and groom. ‘Ride to the nearest village or house, wait for the worst of the storm to settle and then see if you can borrow a carriage to transport us home.’

‘Where will you go, my lord?’ McManus asked.

‘There looks to be a barn on the other side of that field.’ Alex motioned off into the darkness. He was taking a risk—the barn might be locked or have fallen into disrepair, but he would just have to hope for the best. Lina needed to be somewhere dry and sheltered, and there weren’t many other possibilities.

As the two men readied the horses, Alex stepped closer to Lina. She was shivering violently now, unable to conceal just how cold she was.

‘Do you think you can make it across that field?’ Alex asked.

‘Race you,’ Lina replied, managing to summon a faint smile through chattering teeth.