He gave her a sharp look. “I made you a promise. I’m not leaving your side.”
Music to her ears—not that she liked his company! She just didn’t really want to be left alone in the middle of a snowstorm.
She dusted the snow off her shoulders before she pulled the blanket up to her neck. That didn’t help her face, which was getting quite wet as the snow melted on it.
“My nose is freezing,” she complained, wishing more than ever that they were in a coach.
Christoph immediately drew her closer to him so that her head rested against his chest and raised the blanket over her. She decided not to object. His coat wasn’t exactly warm against her cheek, but she didn’t doubt it would be in a few minutes.
“I was hoping we could reach the chalet before we ran into one of these mountain storms,” he said. “This is not good. The path is treacherous when it isn’t clearly visible.”
“Let me guess,” she mumbled under the blanket. “No fencing to protect a vehicle from sliding over the side?”
“Yes, there’s fencing higher up. But it’s not sturdy enough to keep a strong horse from breaking through if the driver can’t see well enough to steer away from the side. There are no slopes yet, but there will be.”
“So we’re going back?”
“No.”
“But you just said—”
“My home is near here. We’ve just turned onto the road leading to it. If the snow doesn’t blow over within the hour, we may pass the night with my family.”
Family?! “Who are you going to tell them I am?”
“My mistress, of course.”
She gasped. “The devil you will.”
“Very well, I won’t mention it.”
She tried to get out from under the blanket to see if he was serious. But he held her fast to his chest so she couldn’t. Deliberately, she didn’t doubt. But before she could decide if it was worth a struggle, the sleigh stopped at his family’s estate.
Chapter Thirty-Five
WHEN ALANA THREW OFF the blanket, she saw that the sleigh had stopped near the front door of the house, close enough that she had to turn her head both ways to see just how far the house extended. Quite far. The large house was several stories high in the center block, with wings spreading beyond that. She’d only seen three other mansions like it on the way to the capital when she’d arrived in the country.
Set off in the higher hills like the Beckers’ home, one of those mansions had caught Poppie’s eye that day and prompted him to explain to her, “There was a time long ago when the nobles of the land vied to impress each other with bigger and bigger homes, adding wings they had no use for. It might have continued to a ridiculous degree if the king at that time hadn’t put a stop to such a frivolous waste of resources. Some say he was merely jealous because a few of those mansions were growing larger than his own palace!”
She knew of ducal properties in England that were just as grand as these mansions, but the majority of the homes in the English countryside were of a more modest size. Here in Lubinia there didn’t appear to be anything but cottages for commoners and mansions for noblemen, at least not in the countryside.
“The people don’t resent such a show of wealth?” she’d asked Poppie.
“Oddly enough, no. They take pride in the size of their landlord’s home. I know my family did. But then competition can be contagious.” Poppie had laughed.
Christoph got out of the sleigh and held out his hand to her. She thought he meant to help her down. But, no, he pulled her to him so he could carry her cradled in his arms right to the door. Thanks to his chivalrous behavior, her boots wouldn’t get snowy and she wouldn’t slip on the steps, which already had several inches of newly fallen snow on them. He stamped his feet just outside the door before he opened it and stepped inside.
But he didn’t set her down there, either. When she looked up at him to see why, he captured her mouth with his own. She was startled by the kiss despite the intimacy they’d just shared in the sleigh with her hiding under a blanket against his chest. So much for thinking he’d just made a gentlemanly gesture, carrying her out of the snow.
For some reason her resistance was paltry at best. She shouldn’t even have tried to lean away from him. The attempt just tightened Christoph’s arms on her and deepened the kiss until she was straining toward him instead of away. She must have been affected by their proximity in the sleigh without even realizing it. How else could this happen again with her showing such complete surrender?
“We would have made a fire in that sleigh if it didn’t snow,” he said passionately against her lips. “You might want to let your nose get cold when we continue on, or I will behave as the barbarian you think I am.”
Make love to her in an open vehicle with a driver a mere few feet away? Did she really tempt him that much? If his kiss hadn’t taken the chill off her, his words certainly would have because she didn’t think he was joking!
“You finally bring a woman home to meet us?” a new deep, masculine voice asked. “When is the wedding?”
Christoph chuckled as he bent to set Alana carefully on her feet. “Don’t embarrass the lady,” he told the old man standing there watching them with interest. “I am escorting her. We ran into some trouble on the road. We may spend the night here if the snow doesn’t quit soon.”
