Then, to her surprise, he smirked.
“What?” she demanded.
“I just find it interesting that someone who ran away to be free did not actually get to have any free time,” he remarked.
Caroline rolled her eyes, her annoyance toward him firmly renewed. Without waiting for him, she headed down the street toward the milliner’s shop. Just like the modiste, the selection was more practical than fashion-oriented, and, of course, Damien grumbled about it.
“I do not need all these trimmings anyway,” she huffed, turning her back to him. “This arrangement is temporary, remember? Once you find out the truth of the boy’s parentage, I will be taking my leave.”
A wave of hot warmth spread over the nape of her neck, sending a prickling sensation throughout her entire body.
“Oh, little mouse,” Damien’s deep voice rumbled softly in her ear, sending another wave of heat throughout her bloodstream. “What makes you so sure you will even want to leave?”
Her cheeks hot, her blood thundering in her veins, Caroline forced her eyes open and turned around to face him.
“No touching,” she rasped out, meeting his amber eyes.
With a slow-forming smirk, Damien raised his hands to show he had obeyed her command. Embarrassment flooded her as sherealized she had reacted so strongly to just the feel of his breath. She took a step back, her legs trembling and suddenly weak, and left the shop. She did not need to turn around to know Damien was right behind her, probably still smirking about her reaction to him.
Chapter 8
Two Days Later
“Astorm is heading straight toward us, Your Grace.”
Damien’s eyes were already on the swiftly moving black clouds ahead. From the looks of it, it was going to be a strong one.
“I see that,” he replied to his carriage driver. “We are not far away from my friend’s estate. You will have to keep driving into the storm, but a few miles ahead, there will be a road that veers from this one to the left. Take it, and it will lead us there. We can stay there for the night, wait out the storm, and continue on to London in the morning.”
“Yes, Your Grace,” the driver replied, and flicked the reins.
Damien pulled himself back into the carriage as it started to move again, shutting the door firmly. As usual, his eyes found Caroline, and his heart produced a foreign tremble as he took in her forlorn state, one that had nothing to do with the encroaching storm.
Her farewell at the orphanage was bittersweet. Everyone but him seemed to be moved to tears by Caroline’s departure, andit made him most uncomfortable to be surrounded by such displays of emotion. She promised she would be back to visit, and even though he did not like the idea of her ever coming back to that village, he made a silent promise to her that she would be back someday to check on the children she had grown to adore.
His solicitor had come through swiftly, just as Damien had predicted he would, and the orphanage and all of its problems were now firmly under Damien’s ownership. He had left enough money behind with Miss Willa to purchase a new building, hire new staff and guards, and buy a large supply of food and clothing for the children, and he made her swear that she would send word to London when she needed more. With the sale of the orphanage completed, Caroline’s dresses finished, and a couple of new pairs of shoes made, they had left for London precisely when he wanted to.
“The children will be under much better care now,” Damien said, unable to take her somber silence any longer. “You need not worry for them.”
Caroline’s eyes drifted up to his, and again, he felt a strange twinge in his heart. In the past two days, she had displayed a sort of courage he did not know she was capable of. Now, though, she looked like the young woman he had slowly and quietly grown to admire for the past two years. Shy. Nervous. Silently terrified. He hated it.
“I know,” she whispered, and fell once more into her quiet state.
Damien bit his bottom lip, trying to force his brain to think of something to say that would shake her out of such a state.
“Stop being so solemn and quiet, little mouse, or I will find other ways to make you squeak,” he dared to say, forcing a smirk.
He would take anger. Annoyance. Anything that would break her out of this somber silence. This time, though, Caroline said nothing and only turned her head to the carriage window as raindrops started to pepper the panes and slide down.
Giving up, Damien pushed his back even further into the carriage seat and let the small space remain quiet. After only a few moments, though, the steady, peaceful sound of raindrops transformed into a deluge, followed swiftly by a crack of thunder.
Caroline jumped at the same moment a rush of wind hit the side of the carriage, all but throwing her into his lap. Without thinking twice, Damien banded his arms around her, preventing her from being tossed around even more. In his lap, he could feel her trembling body and thunderous heartbeat, and she curled closer to his chest.
“It is all right,” he whispered, gently tilting her chin so he could meet her frightened eyes. “It is just a storm.”
Caroline’s taut, trembling body relaxed, and for a moment, Damien simply reveled in the feel of her in his arms. Then, as if she remembered her own rules, she pushed at his chest and scrambled out of his arms, pressing her body back into her seat opposite him.
He waited for her usual reprimand.Stop that. No touching.And for a moment, he thought by the look in her eyes that she was going to speak. Instead, she drew her bottom lip between her teeth, crossed her arms, and looked back out the window.
