Hitting the ground, he tucked and rolled before scrambling to his feet and taking chase. “Bloody idiot,” he chastised himself for dropping his guard like that.
The whole point of this job was to protect her—something he couldn’t do if she went looking for trouble on her own.
“Need help, boss?” Fitz had already backtracked on his horse. But Leopold had her in his sights and, shaking his head, waved him off.
“I’ve got her.”Hell and damnation. He blinked raindrops out of his eyes. He could have done without this little bit of exercise.
Lady Amelia must have spotted him coming after her though, because she suddenly darted to the side, over the stone wall, and vanished into the trees.
Leopold rolled his eyes. Of course, she wouldn’t stay on the road.
“You really don’t want to do this!” he called out, though he didn’t expect her to answer.
Visibility was already abysmal because of the weather, and now she’d be able to hide within the greenery as well.Bloody Diamond of the Season.
Still, it was a simple task for him to keep up with her, pampered debutante that she was. After a brief jog through the dense woods that bordered the road, he soon laid eyes on her again as she began her laborious trek through the meadow beyond.
With her soaked gown molded to her legs and hindering her steps, she struggled to pick her way between a small herd of sheep. The animals were pretty well scattered, quietly meandering in their search for more food, and yet Lady Amelia skirted her way around them as if the slightest touch might infect her with some deadly disease.
“Nice little sheep,” her wobbly voice carried over the tall grass. The reckless leap from his carriage had loosened her chignon and long, golden strands of hair streamed down her back and around her face. “There, there. Excuse me. Pardon me…”
Obviously the first time she’d been so close to a herd.
Leopold didn’t even try to stifle his grin as he swung over the stacked stones.
“You’re wasting my time, princess!”
Ignoring a few steaming piles of dung, he felt an odd thrill of excitement as he closed the distance between them.
She slowed enough to glance over her shoulder, and Leopold felt a shot of… not sympathy, but something else at the fear he saw in those wide blue eyes. But it only lasted a second.
Rather than concede, she lifted the hem of her skirts and, more determined than before, marched right through the small herd.
Oh, hell.
“Don’t walk between the mothers and their babies,” he warned as the sheep, who didn’t appreciate having a human amongst them, scuttled apart while the mothers called out to their lambs.
She was lucky no rams were around.
“Just leave me!”
He dodged a few ewes, leapt over rocks, and in a matter of seconds, was right behind her… close enough that when he reached out, he caught a few wet, silky strands.
She twisted out of his grasp, but not for long, and with his second lunge, they both stumbled. And although Leopold did his best to protect her from his weight, his tackle landed them hard on the grass.
In the mud—and other odiferous slime.
Beneath him, she labored to catch her breath and Leopold loosened his hold—but only slightly. With the skies pouring down on both of them, he ought to be anxious to return to the coach. Instead, he was momentarily content.
In what he’d later consider a moment of insanity, Leopold buried his head in that damp hair. The flowery perfume erased the stench of sheep around them. It was…
Intoxicating.
“Are you hurt?” His voice was slightly muffled.
She shook her head from side to side.
A stroke of luck, indeed; she had jumped out of a moving carriage, for God’s sake! Her gown could have caught in the wheels, dragging her under. She could have landed wrong, broken a bone, or gashed herself on a sharp rock.
