He sat on the window sill, one leg in, one leg out.“I never said it was a good idea.It’s simply one of your options.”He shrugged.“Either way, I am leaving through this window.”He disappeared from the sill, and Hannah stared at the study door.
Outside, she heard the voices of servants and her mother.She was about to approach the locked door, when Belgrave suddenly stirred.
His eyes snapped open, and he groaned, rubbing his head.When he staggered to his knees, Hannah didn’t wait any longer.There wasn’t time to get the key.
She raced toward the window and saw that it was about a six-foot drop.Not as bad as she’d expected.Below, the lieutenant was waiting.
“Did you change your mind?”
“Don’t let me fall,” Hannah ordered.She had a fleeting image of flying into the shrubbery, with her skirts over her head.The vision made her stomach lurch.Ladies did not jump from the window into an unmarried man’s arms.
But her alternative was to face Belgrave again.
Why in the name of heaven did this have to happen to her?Hannah bemoaned the indignity of it all as she sat upon the window sill.Her tiered skirts fluffed around the window, the petticoats amassing in a large pile before her.
“I’ll catch you,” came his voice.Glancing down, she saw the Lieutenant standing with his arms outstretched.His face was confident, his arms strong.He looked as though he would never let anything happen to her.“Trust me.”
With a backward glance, she saw Belgrave stumbling toward her.Squeezing her eyes shut, Hannah let herself tip backwards.Though she longed to release a scream as she fell, only a muffled ‘oomph’ left her lips as she landed in his embrace.
Sure enough, every petticoat remained in place.The lieutenant lowered her down, and as they stood outside the servants’ entrance, she marveled that she’d done such a thing.
“To the garden,” she ordered.“Quickly, before anyone sees us.”
He didn’t argue, but led her toward the tall hedge, ducking around the corner.A crooked grin creased his mouth.“I suppose that’s the first time you’ve ever thrown yourself out a window.”
She flushed.“I had no choice.Belgrave woke up.”
His smile faded into a tight line.“You’re safe from him now.You can go back through the front door and tell your mother what happened.I doubt if they’ll force you to marry him now.”
“I should think not.”Hannah brushed at her gown, to give herself a way of avoiding his gaze.He was looking at her as though he wanted to kiss her again, and her nerves tightened.The boxwood hedge dug into her neck as she pressed herself against it.“Thank you, lieutenant.”
He acknowledged her thanks with a nod but didn’t leave immediately.She noticed the way his attention shifted toward the kitchen.His features grew tight, and she understood suddenly that he was hungry.
Though she wanted to send the lieutenant to the kitchen for a hot meal as a reward, she didn’t dare, for fear that her father would discover his presence.
“Go to the gardener’s shed, and wait for me.I’ll be right back.”
The lieutenant shook his head.“Lady Hannah, I have to leave.”
“You’re hungry,” she said quietly.When he was about to protest, she held up her hand.“I can see it.I’ll get a basket of food for you from the kitchen.You’ll have a meal as repayment for rescuing me.”
He took another step away from her.“It’s not a good idea for you to be seen with me again.”
“It sounds as though you’re afraid of my father.”
He grimaced at her implication, and Hannah moved in for the kill.“Don’t worry, lieutenant.”
She stepped toward the kitchen, her mood improving.“If Papa dares to try to kill you, I promise to defend your honor, just as you did mine.I’m quite good with a candlestick.”
Chapter Six
WhenHannahopenedtheback door to the kitchen, she saw the servants busy chopping vegetables at the long table on the far side of the room.Their backs were to her, and they were busy talking amongst themselves.Near the wall beside her, she saw a tea tray with the picnic basket her mother had ordered earlier.Perfect.
Holding fast to her skirts, Hannah slipped inside and snatched the basket.She didn’t wait to find out if anyone had seen her, but hastened back outside, ducking behind the arborvitae hedge.Within a few minutes more, she reached the gardener’s shed.
Lieutenant Thorpe sat on the floor of the shed, but he’d spread out a few burlap sacks for her to sit upon.She handed him the basket.“It’s not much, but it’s the only reward I could think of on such short notice.Thank you for rescuing me.”
He didn’t take the basket immediately.“No reward was necessary.I wasn’t about to let Belgrave raise a hand against you.”
