The storm washorrid and growing worse by the moment. Eve hunched over her mare’s neck and squinted through the thick white flurries. Darkness would be upon her far too soon.
She patted Starlight’s shoulder and murmured praise. The gentle beast didn’t deserve to be out in such weather. They both needed shelter and food. Eve cursed her foolishness. It had taken far too long to saddle Starlight and sneak out of her family’s home. The rain began shortly after, slowing her travel even more. She feared she was only halfway to the church Rose spoke of. Worse, she was lost.
“Come on, girl. A little farther. We’ll find somewhere warm and dry to rest.” At least this weather would make it hard for her father to find her. Maybe she could find an inn and trade a small piece of her mother’s jewelry for a room. The thought of staying somewhere without a chaperone scared her, but her options were few.
The mare plodded along, their tracks swiftly covered with snow. Eve pulled her cloak tighter around her, peering out from beneath the hood as the road inclined.
“Maybe we’ll see a place to shelter soon.”
Starlight gave a faint whicker in response. A few steps later, she faltered. Eve fought to keep her seat as the mare stumbled, going to one knee. She lost her handhold and fell from her saddle, landing hard on her bottom.
“Ow.”
Her mare surged back to her feet, taking an awkward step forward. She limped another few paces, favoring the leg she went down on. Eve scrabbled to her feet and placed a soothing hand on her horse’s shoulder, then bent to check the hoof. In the darkness, it was almost impossible to tell if her mare had picked up a stone. They couldn’t continue much farther without risking further injury.
Taking the reins, she slowly led the mare up the last of the hill. Night was fully upon them now. The wind howled and flurries of snow whipped around her face. Eve’s chest grew tight. She couldn’t see anything. The last town was too far back to turn around. But what choice did she have? She could barely see the road. Oh heavens, could she even find her way back to that town?
Eve fought down the panic gripping her. She’d run for fear of being wed to a man who would breed her and lock her away forever. Instead, she might possibly freeze to death with her horse. A hysterical laugh bubbled up at the thought. There had to be somewhere she could go. Anything would be welcome so long as they could shelter out of the storm.
She turned in a slow circle, peering through the flurries into the darkness.There!In the distance, atop what appeared to be another hill, was a faint glow of light.
“It’s our only hope,” she told Starlight.
The horse slowly followed. It took ages to cross the distance. Eve could no longer feel her hands or feet. She placed one foot before the other and sent up endless prayers for help and shelter.
The glow came from a window on the second floor of a huge manor. Eve couldn’t make out much detail in the snowy darkness, but the structure seemed imposing. An enormous iron gate blocked the lane leading to the house, open just wide enough for a person to slide through. The metal was coldbeneath her gloved hands and snow blocked it from moving freely. She pushed and shoved until the gate opened wide enough to fit them both.
They staggered through and made their way as quickly up the lane as her mare could go. Starlight limped from exertion and injury.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered, feeling her eyes sting as tears threatened. “This is my fault.” She prayed the owner of the manor would take them in.
The front doors were huge with large lion’s head door knockers. Grasping one, she knocked. The resulting pounds made the wood beneath vibrate.
A long moment passed. Eve knocked again and pressed her ear to the wood, straining to hear even the faintest footsteps. “Someone must be home.” She leaned closer to the door. “Oh!”
The door suddenly swung open. Eve pitched forward, landing against a hard, warm body. Strong arms wrapped around her, holding her upright.
“What the bloody hell?” a gruff voice grumbled.
She should be shocked at the man’s language. At that moment, she was too cold and grateful to care. With effort, Eve pulled away from the wonderful heat of the man’s body and looked up, sucking in a startled breath.
He was quite possibly the most handsome man she’d ever seen.
His black hair was too long for current fashion and the long locks fell over his forehead. Silver dusted his temples and threaded through the dark strands. His square jaw was covered in a couple of days’ beard growth, and a linen shirt, open at the neck, revealed golden skin she knew to be warm.
“Who are you?” he demanded, setting her away.
Eve hesitated. Should she give her true name and title? What if he tried to send her back to her father? At the same time, she was a terrible liar and would get tangled in her lies.
“Well?”
“Eve,” she replied. “We were caught in the storm and my horse pulled up lame. Please. We need shelter.”
Stormy blue eyes glittered down at her. “Remove your hood.”
Her fingers trembled as she pushed the hood back.
The man grumbled a dark curse. He looked past her to her mare and frowned. “Dash it all. Come inside and warm yourself.” He opened the door wider.
