“And yet, the more crowded our surroundings, the more invisible we are. Those in attendance are concerned with their needs and take little note of ours. I find that to be a comfort. A crowd is where I feel the most alone.”
Pulled to touch him, as though by an invisible force, she brushed her gloved fingers over his cheek. “I often have felt the same way regarding crowds. Their conversations became like the buzzing of bees in my ears and the images of the people blurred. I felt as though I could disappear.”
“You could never disappear,” he said, closing his hand over hers. “You would always stand out, even in the largest crowd.” He drew her closer until his breath, warm in the frosted air, caressed her skin. “We are of one mind, then, you and I. Come. I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise, you say. It has been my experience that surprises are one of two types,” she said as he led her down to the shoreline. “They are either welcomed or feared.”
They continued in silence along the path that led to the shoreline as she glanced over the frozen river. Couples glided on wooden skates over the ice. Their movements were like a waltz, fluid and graceful. Hands touched and faces lifted toward each other in rapt attention and awe. She imagined the couples were lovers—or meeting for the first time on this magical night. Maybe their love was forbidden, like inA Midsummer Night’s Dream. Then she imagined skating in the duke’s arms, and the thought brought warmth to her skin.
Madeline shivered, pressing her hand against her waist. If the duke knew the truth about her mother, the budding love between them would be over before it began.
“Are you cold?” he said. “How foolish of me not to consider you might prefer the warmth of a cozy fire instead of a sleigh ride in frigid weather. I have taken the liberty of arranging accommodations in London for everyone in the caravan. We could abandon the surprise, and I will escort you, my sisters, and Miss O’Brian to yours straight away.”
How could she tell him that she could not breathe when he was so close? She could not reason. She had not wanted to fall in love and experience the emotions that banished all reason and left a person spinning out of control.
“Nonsense,” she said, forcing a smile. “I love the idea of a sleigh ride. I was lost in thoughts of no consequence.”
“If your thoughts are distressful, then they are of consequence,” he argued.
“We are so different,” she blurted. “There is no future for us.”
There, she had said the words that had haunted her from the first moment she had seen him ride alongside her carriage to return the blunt she had given Lord Dumont. Had some part of her known even then that she would fall in love with him? She should tell him now that she was a fraud. But she held her secret all the closer. Not yet, she cautioned. Not yet. She did not want to break the spell.
He reached for her gloved hand, brought it to his lips, and kissed her fingers. “It was your differences that drew me to you. You are unlike anyone I have ever met. You challenge me, my world, and my way of life. You have a way of throwing open the windows of my heart and letting sunlight into my very soul. At first, I was grateful, but that feeling grew. Now I cannot imagine my life without you in it.”
His words chased around her like snowflakes caught in a winter storm. Could she believe them, trust that they would be enough? “You quite take my breath away with your words.”
The duke grinned. “That is exactly how I feel when I am around you.”
He drew her under a copse of trees whose branches disappeared into the frozen depths of the water. Beneath the tree’s canopy was a horse-drawn sleigh on wooden runners, and William was helping his sisters and Miss O’Brian into the sleigh.
The duke waved to his sisters and chuckled. “It looks as though my brother is joining us. It is common knowledge that he does not care for the cold. First a snowball fight, now a sleigh ride? I am pleased with his transformation. He was always a serious young man.”
“I believe Miss O’Brian might be the cause of this change,” Madeline said with a smile.
“Ah,” the duke said, shaking his head as he smiled. “Well now, that is interesting. My brother never ceases to amaze me. Miss O’Brian is a wonderful person. We should join them before they invite others in our place. I was unsure if you knew how to skate,” he said, changing the subject, “so I hired a sleigh to take us all to where I had a place constructed for us on the river.”
“You are a contradiction. You are a serious and proper gentleman, yet romantic at heart. Women must find you irresistible.”
“It is my family’s wealth and position that women find irresistible. You are the first lady I have sought to impress with such a grand gesture.” He held out his hand to help her into the sleigh. “Will you join me on an adventure?”
“I would be delighted,” she said, positioning herself beside Sophia and Lydia. “I will have you know that I do know how to skate, and quite well, in fact.”
He grinned again, sitting beside his brother and Miss O’Brian. “I am not surprised. There is no end to your accomplishments. You are rare indeed.”
She returned his smile, feeling the warmth of a blush from his compliment.
“Is the ice covering the River Themes strong enough to hold us?” Miss O’Brian asked.
“Quite safe,” William said. “One of the London merchants led an elephant across the ice to prove its strength. Every day, Londoners and merchants travel back and forth or up and down this river in sleighs or on skates. But I know my brother and he would have made sure it was safe for us to travel across.”
“My brother is correct. I would never risk the safety of those I hold most dear.”
Madeline laughed softly at his response and his vow to keep them all safe. This man was easy to love. From her vantage point from the carriage a short time ago, she had compared the area over the frozen river to a small city. Her assessment had been only partially correct. It resembled a city, that much was true, but it was unlike any she had ever seen.
In Boston, New York, and London, the cities were overcrowded, and their buildings were tall and gray, constructed of either stone or smoke-darkened brick. The Frost Fair, in comparison, was bursting with color, laughter, and joy. Bright, colorful fabric in oranges, purples, greens, yellows, reds, and blues draped over the tents that lined the narrow spaces on the frozen river that served as roads where sleighs and people could travel.
There were restaurants, taverns, and vendors, selling everything from secondhand clothing, hats, shoes, and ribbons to jewelry of all types and shapes. There were also bookstores and a printing shop that sold photographs and prints of past and current Frost Fairs. Most surprising were the puppet shows, street jugglers, and acrobats. There was even a stage with actors performing a play.
