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We walked through the silent winter day, the noise of our footsteps muffled by the soft flakes underfoot. His hands nervously worked at his lapels, tugging and readjusting every other second. Every time he threw a nervous glance my way, I could have sworn he was going to say something. But he didn’t. He waited until we reached a small grove of trees. Frost sparkled on the branches, and a bird or two hopped from twig to twig high above. They weren’t songbirds singing a beautiful melody, but still…
My heart started to beat faster.
Captain Carter halted, opened his mouth, and-
-closed it again.
Bloody hell, what was taking him so long? One measly little love confession couldn’t be that difficult, could it? I love you, do you love me, too? No, thanks. Oh well, too bad. That was pretty much it, right?
Taking a deep breath, the captain turned towards me, gazing deep into my eyes.
‘Miss Linton, I…um…’
That was it.
Miss Linton I um?
That was his best effort? If that was all he could manage, he shouldn’t be surprised when I told him no. What was the matter with him? His eyes were boring into me with an unnatural intensity, his cheeks were flushed, and the muscles in his jaw were working overtime. Was he having a seizure? None of my other suitors had looked like this when asking for my hand. But then…they probably hadn’t been in love.
Did I look like this when I looked at Mr Rikkard Ambrose?
What a horrifying thought. I would have to take a mirror with me next time and check.
Captain Carter was still chewing on air. I decided to throw the poor man a bone and start the conversation.
‘What happened with the man who attacked you?’ I asked. ‘Did you ever find out who it was?’
He snatched the harmless topic of kidnapping attempts
as if it were a lifeline.
‘No. No, I have no idea who is after me.’ Gazing into the distance, he shook his head. ‘I can’t think of a single reason why anyone would want to harm me. Oh, sure, there are some officers I’ve disagreed with over the last few years, and the locals in Newcastle probably weren’t too thrilled about my involvement in putting down the strike, but my fellow officers are gentlemen. If they wanted satisfaction from me, they would call me out. And the locals…there were hundreds of other soldiers there. Why single me out? It doesn’t make sense. No, there’s something there I don’t see yet. Some dark plot is afoot.’
You bet a plot is afoot! Especially regarding a certain foot of a certain man who would like nothing better than to crush you beneath his heel.
‘But the thing I’m worried about most,’ he continued, abruptly returning his gaze to my face, ‘is that they might be after you.’
‘Me?’
‘Yes. After all, I was on the way to visit you when this happened, wasn’t I? What if it’s somehow connected with you and your family? That man your brother works for, that Mr Ambrose…he seems like a man who has a lot of enemies.’
Yes, including you, I’m afraid.
‘No. No, I don’t think so.’
‘Miss Linton, please.’ Reaching out, he took hold of my hands. My heart made a jump. His warm brown eyes suddenly seemed hot enough to melt the snow around us. He was staring at me with an unsettling intensity. ‘Please take this seriously. If something happened to you…’
‘Believe me.’ I gave his hands a gentle squeeze. ‘Whoever it was that pulled a sack over your head that day, they were not after me.’
Though they might be, if they find out who invented Prince Utairah Jafri fi al Qurram Qumrah III.
‘I wish I could be so sure,’ the captain murmured, still not letting my hands go. ‘I wish….’
His voice drifted off into nothingness.
‘What?’
‘I wish I could always be there to protect you. Always at your side.’
