Page 11

CHAPTER 11

H e’d tricked her.

Damien and Bradenton had conspired together. They’d discussed trapping her into marriage months ago, despite her cousin’s claims of allowing her a choice and Damien’s talk of freedom. The earl planned to have her from the moment she stepped down from that carriage.

Well, he couldn’t have her. She wrote her own destiny, not Damien, not her cousin, and certainly not a society that considered women weak.

It was time to find her own winter wonderland.

Sarah sucked in a breath of frosty air, shivering at the chill. It was still a world of white, for although it melted enough to clear the valley, a thin layer of snow still blanketed the ground. Damien thought she was safely sulking in her gilded prison, yet she stayed only long enough to pack a few necessaries. She couldn’t remain in this wonderland, building snowmen, watching new birds, dreaming by the fire.

She would head to the small town a few miles from the estate. Although Bradenton insisted she not return to her small cottage in the country, she’d convinced him to keep it, at least for a time. For once, she had something on which to spend her guardian’s generous pin money. She would purchase passage to her home, her real home.

London was not home. For a while, she believed this could be home, but it wasn’t to be. Home was her simple cottage in the simple town, where there were no confusing lords who conspired by the fire and no guardians who married off wards faster than a snowball fight.

She picked her way through the snow, past the clearing where they had built snowman, over the glistening lane where sleigh bells had rung, so far from the fireplace where dreams had been made. She walked swiftly now, through a graying day. The air was cold as ice itself, the warming of the past weeks disappeared.

“Sarah, come back!” The words whipped the air, accompanied by the sound of heavy footsteps. How had he discovered her gone so quickly?

She tramped quicker, risking a quick glance back. Steady footprints provided a trail as brilliant as any lighthouse. She pivoted to a different path, where the snow was sparser, broken. Even as the calls grew ever-louder, she moved swifter, darting over branches and threading through trees. She broke into a run…

And slid.

Suddenly the snow-covered ground disappeared, replaced by a solid expanse of ice. The rocky ground became perilously smooth, and the world lost all traction, as momentum pushed her forward, wrestling control in an instant. She hurtled forward like a runaway sled, falling to her hands and knees. Fierce cold burned her hands, as she squeezed her eyes shut. It seemed forever before the world finally slowed, until she finally came to a standstill. She opened her eyes, gasped out a breath of puffy white air…

She had slid straight onto the frozen pond.

Where was Sarah?

It should have been easy to track her, yet the clever woman eschewed the obvious path, zigzagging over rocky ground, hopping to where her footprints disappeared. Fear tightened Damien’s muscles, his heart beating like a drum in his chest, as he pushed through towering oaks, hurdled over stumps and darted through branches. “Sarah!”

This was his fault. He would never regret choosing her for his countess, but subterfuge and dominance had sabotaged his efforts. Mistaken logic blinded him to his true motivation, the emotion that now burned so clear:

Love.

In the moments after she’d walked away, he’d freed his feelings, relinquished the control that bound him. Love was why he’d brought her here, why he hadn’t considered others. It was why he couldn’t give her a choice, and why he had to do everything in his power to ensure she remained his. This wasn’t a winter wonderland because of the snow. Not because of the glistening lane, new birds or sleigh bells.

She was his winter wonderland.

He had to fix this. He would fix it. She had softened towards him, with every emotion she couldn’t hide blazing in her eyes. She didn’t believe he could give her a love match. Somehow he would find a way to prove it.

But first he had to find her. He stopped and pivoted, scanning the land for subtle signs. An errant footprint appeared, facing the southwest corner of the estate. He stiffened.

The pond.

Stay calm.

An unbroken expanse of ice surrounded her, so thin liquid water streamed underneath. She inhaled slowly, fighting to not gulp in big breaths of fear as she braced herself, pressing up ever-so-slightly. An incorrect movement could shatter the thin layer between her and tragedy.

Crack.

The sound was but a whisper, like the cracking of an eggshell. Yet the surface rippled under her, like driftwood on a swaying sea. Then…

A thin line appeared in the ice.

“Sarah!” Damien burst into the clearing like an avenging warrior. He froze the moment he saw her, undisguised horror arresting his features. An instant later, he leapt.

“No!” Crack. “You’ll fall in the ice, too!” Crack.

Fear pierced her belly, like a dagger’s sharp edge. Not for her, but for the man she loved…

The man she loved?

Terror vanquished the walls guarding her heart, exposing the raw truth she could no longer deny. She had been so stubborn, so certain the only path was to return to her simple life. Yet she was not the same woman as before, not because she desired luxury, prestige or money. Because she needed him.

And unless something wonderous occurred, she would never have the chance to tell him.

Damien stopped right before the ice, a thousand emotions swirling in his expression. Despite the danger, something shifted in her. This man cared far more than he admitted.

“I’m coming!” He grabbed a thick branch, breaking it with one swift pull. He lunged forward, even as she gestured him back. “I won’t come too close. If the ice breaks under me, hopefully it won’t take you with me.”

The ice shook anew. She splayed her hands on the trembling surface, fighting for traction as piercing cold seeped through her gloves. Her knee slipped from under her.

Crack.

She pushed herself up again, sliding forward like a baby learning to crawl. The ice shook with every movement, a web of cracks marring the once smooth surface, as she inched to a shore a miracle away. Then, Damien stepped onto the pond.

“No!” she gasped, as fear scraped her stomach. She lifted her hand, quickly returned it at renewed crackling. “Stay where it’s safe.”

“Nothing can keep me away.” One step and then another, his hands held out for balance, he never took his eyes off her. “Everything will be all right.”

Unlikely, as the ice trembled. She pushed herself forward, inch by inch, even as the quivering increased with every movement.

The next crack sounded like a hundred eggshells.

This was it. She was going to plunge into the water. As the ice rippled like a raft on a raging sea, she squeezed her eyes shut.

“Grab the branch!”

She gasped as spindly twigs tickled her fingers. Damien leaned down, extending the branch as far as he could reach. She tried to push forward, but the ice crackled. “It’ll break if I move!” she cried. “Go back, or you’ll fall in, too.”

“I’m not leaving without you. Try again.” he commanded.

With a deep breath, she grasped for the branch, yet the ground pitched, and the slippery wood slipped through her fingers. She reached one more time, wrapped her hand around it…

The ice shattered.

She screamed as the floor dissipated, separating into a thousand pieces. Freezing water soaked her stomach, but she did not sink. Somehow she moved forward .

It was like a horizontal ride on an icy hill. The branch scraped her palms as Damien lunged forward, every step denting the ice. The ice shattered behind her, chasing her with perilous promise. Yet suddenly, the ground changed, becoming hard, solid. The world still swam, yet more in her mind than the actual world.

Somehow, they made it.

“Are you all right?” Damien’s voice was rough, uncontrolled, as he swept her into strong arms, held her against a hard chest. Warmth surrounded her, security, possession. Hot tears stained her cheek, as she gasped the cool air.

“I am well.” She clutched the man who’d risked his life to save hers. He was a mountain of power, as he held her like he’d never let go. “Thank you,” she whispered.

He drew her closer, rubbing her arms. “Don’t you understand how much I love you?”

He loved her?

Her world shattered like the icy pond’s surface. The words echoed on the wind, whispered again and again. “You do?” she breathed.

His eyes shone with undisguised adoration. “I don’t care about your dowry or your family connections. You position and suitability don’t matter. It certainly isn’t about logic, because this courtship has been anything but easy.”

She gave a watery smile.

“I haven’t given you much of a choice, and I should apologize for that. Only I can’t, not any more than I can let you go. I know this isn’t the life you envisioned, but I truly believe–”

“I love you, too”

He froze.

She smiled, showing him all the love in her heart. “I tried to fight it. Tried to hold on to what I thought I wanted, unable to face the plans that you made. Yet you were too caring, too kind, too charming. And I utterly, completely lost my heart to you.”

“And I to you.” His smile was indeed wonderous as he held her closer. He leaned down… She leaned up…

They pressed their lips together.

She shivered at the taste of perfection. He vanquished the cold, conquered the lingering fear of what almost was. Her skin became sensitized in all the right places. She deepened the kiss.

“I suppose I do not have to ask if you are well.”

They broke apart as a deep voice boomed, wry words filled with undisguised relief. Bradenton stood tall, arms folded across his chest. Yet his lips twitched, and a sparkle in his eyes belied the severe visage.

Next to him, Priscilla made no attempt to hide her delight. “I knew it!”

“You’re here!” Sarah gasped.

“Obviously a moment too late.”

Actually, far more than a moment. Sarah and Damien smiled as Bradenton looked heavenward. He glanced behind them to the pond and paled. Jagged slates of ice were all that remained of the frozen surface. “You truly are all right?”

At her nod, his features relaxed. “Thank goodness.” He hesitated, stepped forward. “I want to apologize.”

“You do?” The question came from all at once.

He nodded firmly. “Sarah, you’ve probably surmised my role in trapping you here, yet it wasn’t about duty. I’ve known Rourke my whole life. With how he spoke about you, I could see he felt something deeper.” He paused. “I truly believed he’d make you happy. Yet what truly matters is what you believe. You are my cousin, my family. If you don’t want this, we shall leave.” He pinned Rourke with a searching look. “No matter what has happened.”

Damien opened his mouth to respond, but Sarah stopped him with a finger on his lips. She thought she’d always be alone, but it wasn’t true. She had a family who loved her.

Soon, she’d have another family as well.

She smiled at the man she loved. “I’ve never wanted anything more.”

Damien grinned pure elation, Priscilla clapped and even Bradenton smiled, before swiftly straightening his expression. “In that case, do you have something to ask me, Rourke?”

“Actually, I have something to ask Sarah.” He took her hands. “You are a wonderful woman, Sarah – beautiful, sweet, caring and so very kind. I’ve never been so happy as when I’m with you, and I want nothing more than to make you happy. I wish to spend my days with you, build a hundred snowmen, take a thousand walks. I wish to smile and laugh, delight in each other’s company. I simply want you.” His eyes were a brilliant amber. “Sarah, will you be my wife?”

All around the world sparkled in white brilliance, yet none could compare to the wonder within her. “Yes,” she whispered.

“Yes?” He smiled.

“And if anyone cares, my answer is yes, as well.” The wry voice sounded again, yet this time Bradenton’s smile was as wide as the rest of them.

Damien gathered her in his arms. “Our lives will forever be a winter wonderland, filled with happiness, joy and love .”

“It’s what I always dreamed,” she whispered.

And her dream came true.