It wasn’t drowning he worried about. “How long—”
She swallowed another sob. “I don’t know. It seems forever.”
He shrugged off his greatcoat. He lay down on the ground with half his body over the ice. “I am going to throw the end of this to you. Grab hold when you can.”
It took three throws before she grasped the bottom edge of the coat. “I have it now.”
“Can you hold tightly? I am going to pull you in.”
She cast off her wet knit gloves one by one, then twisted her hands into the coat’s fabric. “My fingers are cold and stiff, but I think I can hold it.”
“You must. Do not let go whatever happens. Even if the ice breaks in front of you, hold on.”
He began pulling the coat toward him, bit by bit. Ice fractured around her and she moved closer through the shards. He could plainly see the fear in her eyes. He kept pulling more of the coat. Finally her body popped out of the water and slid toward him.
He grabbed her arms, then the rest of her, and pushed himself back onto the ground, dragging her with him. Finally he had her soaked body in his arms. The tears had their way then, and she shook while she cried from relief and cold.
He took a moment to catch his breath, then stood and picked her up. Guinevere looked on.
“She saved your life,” he said. He threw his coat around Caroline, then lifted her into his arms. “Now we have to get you to a fire and warmth.”
He set her in the saddle of his horse, then swung up behind her. He grabbed the reins of her horse and began the way back, embracing her shaking body close to his.
Chapter 7
He all but carried her up the stairs, and lifted her completely once they made the top. “Which door?” he asked.
She pointed to her chamber door. She would have answered with words, but her teeth would not allow it, they gritted so hard in order not to shake her whole head. She had never before been so glad to see this house, or so grateful to be alive. But she still felt as if she were submerged in that water.
Cold. So very cold. She wondered if she would ever be warm again.
He carried her in, kicked a chair near the fireplace, and set her down. He bent and built up the fire, adding fuel until the flames reached high.
He rose and turned to her. “Can you stand?”
She shook her head. She did not want to stand. She wanted to huddle here in his greatcoat because if she removed it she would freeze.
He set her on her feet. “You have to get out of those garments. They only hold the cold close to your body.” He peeled away the greatcoat.
She tried to unbutton the coat she wore, but her fingers would not cooperate. He took her hands in his, holding them in a little shelter of warmth that felt wonderful. Then he went to work on the buttons himself.
“I should . . . You should not . . .” she murmured while she watched his fine hands do their work.
“Hush now. I do not importune women close to freezing to death. As it happens, my skill at undressing women is vast, and my innumerable views of feminine bodies have jaded me. You are safer with me than with a physician.”
The cold seemed to be worse and deeper, down to her bones. She would do anything to stop it. She allowed him to strip away the coat, then the shirt and pantaloons. Somehow her nakedness became clothed in her nightdress. He wrapped her in a blanket he stripped off her bed.
Removing the wet clothes helped, but not enough. She still shook. And she was still so tired and cold. She started to weep.
He moved the chair closer to the fire. “Come here.” He sat in it and reached for her. “It will help, I promise you.” He set her on his lap and wrapped his arms around the bundle she had become. He made sure her feet were swaddled, then reached within the blanket for her hands. He took them both in his right one so his own warmth would seep into her.
She cried hard then, out of fear for her close call and misery at her chills, out of relief that he had saved her and gratitude for the care he gave her now. He said not a word but let her weep until her emotions found some peace.
Then she just gazed at the flames as very slowly, bit by bit, the worst of the cold began to pass.
* * *
She fell asleep in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder and her breath teasing his ear. He could put her in her bed now and pile quilts on her. With luck she would feel no ill effects of this misadventure.
