“Oi, watch it!”
The call from her left and the resulting shout when someone fell from their bicycle caused her to forget to pedal, and suddenly she was wobbling. She saw Callum’s face now, the panic on his features, and she began pedaling madly, wildly, until she felt like she was flying again.
Only when she was barreling straight towards her hostess, Callum, and the no-longer-bewildered-but-terrified footman did she realize what important detail she’d forgotten.
Oh, blast. How was she supposed tostop?
Callum lunged for her but wasn’t fast enough, and her entire body stiffened as the bicycle reached the edge of the field and began rolling down the short slope towards the lake. Shouts carried after her as she spun the pedals in reverse, but the contraption was beyond her control, the placid expanse of water barreling towards her. Sharp blades of long grass whipped upfrom beneath the wheels and slashed at her cheeks. Her vision blurred as the muddy shallows came closer and closer—
The front wheel landed in the soft muck, and Violet flew, trulyflewfor a very brief time, over the handlebars to land face-down in the murky water with a sickening squelch.
For a wild, desperate moment, she wished to stay there in the momentary peace of the water, where she couldn’t see the scandalized faces or hear the whispers about yet another humiliating turn of events for Violet Waverly. Perhaps she’d live out the rest of her days in this swampy state, communing with the frogs, perhaps reconciling with Kevin the goose while she enjoyed her solitude and anonymity.
But alas, she wouldn’t be so fortunate. Just as she lifted her head from the muck, a massive body landed next to her, muscular arms surrounding her waist as she was dragged the few feet to the shore. She collapsed between the reeds, her face pressed against a fabric-covered chest, one that was heaving against her.
She pushed and sputtered, created enough room to see the face of her would-be rescuer. “Callum!” she gasped, but he wasn’t listening.
His eyes were wide, the white nearly surrounding the iris, his mud-streaked cheeks ashen. His hands trembled as they swept over her, against her neck, her chest, her wrists.
She grabbed one hand to still him. “Callum, I’m not hurt.”
If he heard her, he didn’t heed her words as he tugged her upright, lifting her into his arms and pressing her to his breast. “We need a doctor,” he growled, but his voice was tight, wavering ashe stumbled on the incline, almost dropping her. He snarled and continued attempting to climb, his pulse thundering against her side.
“Callum!” She clapped her hands on his jaw and forced him to look at her. “I’m not hurt.” His petrified expression struck her in the gut and she sucked in her breath.
Tears pooled in his eyes, and she wanted to hold him, to wrap herself around him and drive out his fear, a terror so much more profound than she had imagined. But as she spoke, an army of footmen, followed by Timothy, James, and Valebrook, crested the hill and worked their way down.
“Christ, Vi, are you alright?” Timothy gasped as he reached her.
She nodded, unable to tear her gaze from Callum. His eyes shuttered, his expression hardened, although the color didn’t return to his face.
“Barney,” Valebrook barked at the burly footman as he came to her side, “take her up to the house and have Mrs. Cullwick call the doctor.”
Whatever the footman did must have displeased Callum a great deal, because he tugged her even closer, the air rushing from her lungs as he snarled.
“Callum,” she whispered, her lips against his collar as she pushed gently at his arms, “you’re shaking. You can’t carry me in this state.” He did nothing, his throat working, although no sound came out.
The hillside was preternaturally silent as James pressed one hand to her back and the other to Callum’s shoulder. “Give her to me, Cal. I’ll make sure she’s safe.”
His exhalation was audible, his body trembling as he loosened his grip enough for James to lift Violet into his arms.
A circle of a dozen men surrounded them, tensed as though they feared an attack. The ladies had gathered in a silent, scandalized line at the crest of the hill. Every eye was on her.
No, onCallum.She wanted to throw herself over him, to scream for everyone to turn away, to give him privacy as he fell apart. She’d glimpsed the anxiety nearly take him over when they’d been trapped in the linen closet. His mind was lost to fear once more.
Over her.
She shifted in James’s arms. “Put me down, please. I’m fine.” He gave her a fast, concerned look, and the moment her feet reached the ground she was moving towards Callum, reaching for him—
Valebrook caught her by the waist and moved her up the hill. “We’ll get you to a doctor right away.”
“I don’t need—James!” she called over her shoulder. “Help Callum, he’s—he—”
“I know,” he said through a clenched jaw. “I’ll help him. You get inside.”
As Valebrook guided her up the rest of the way, through the rising murmurs of concern and gawking faces, she didn’t care about how they thought of her. All she could think about was the man who’d saved her, the man she’d left behind on the hill.
She’d made a terrible mistake by waiting too long to end their arrangement. He’d already claimed a significant piece of her heart.
