The sleet was brutal and unrelenting. He reached down and scooped the boy up in his arms. Over the whipping wind, a cracking noise sounded eerily in the quietness when he pulled the boy up to his chest. His clothing hadalready started to freeze, and no doubt his frail body had, too.
It crossed Hawk’s mind that it might already be too late to save the lost lad.
Chapter 4
A proper gentleman should never tempt a lady to do anything that might put a whisper of question to her good name.
APROPERGENTLEMAN’SGUIDETOWOOINGTHEPERFECTLADY
SIRVINCENTTYBALTVALENTINE
Apprehension assailed her.
Loretta shivered and watched the gray darkness swallow the duke. There had been a few times in her life that she’d felt fear so raw and intense that had it collected in her chest and throat, constricting her breathing.
And yet there was only one other time she could remember ever feeling such a sense of panic for someone’s life, and that was for her mother when she’d had pain in her stomach and nothing she was given could make it go away.
Loretta closed her eyes against the heartache of her mother’s suffering and loss of her life. It was long ago. Loretta was but a young girl of seven, yet she could remember it as if it had just been yesterday. She didn’t like recalling that time when she was so easily frightened bythe perils of life. There had been other times when she’d been fearful. When she’d defied her uncle’s order to marry the viscount or take a vow that would forever change her life. But that had been a different kind of dread than what she felt now.
No one’s safety had been in question.
Now there was.
Would the duke be able to keep up with the boy in the freezing storm? Did he have a family out there who needed help, too? Swirling around to the servants behind her, Loretta swept all that from her mind and said, “The duke is right. The boy can’t stay in those wet clothes. Mrs. Huddleston, go to Paxton’s room and bring a nightshirt and stockings. We’ll find trousers to fit him later. Hazel, start a fire in Arnold’s room. We’ll put him in there to change. Nollie, prepare a warming pan to put at his feet. Bitsy, you go for extra blankets and start warming them so we can wrap him in them as soon as they return.”
None of the four women moved. They all looked as shocked as she felt, or perhaps they just weren’t as sure as she was that the duke would return with the boy in tow.
“Don’t stand there staring at me,” she said to the stricken women. “Go now.”
Loretta whirled back to the open doorway. Watching the darkness was what she was going to do. She hugged her arms to her chest and stepped out. She thought the roof over the portico would keep her dry, but the howling wind immediately whipped at her hair and blew freezing rain into her face, causing her to shiver. The sheer sleeves of her velvet gown did nothing to help shield her from the weather, but she had to watch for them. It was the only thing she could do.
Her eyes searched the darkness, looking for any sign of the two. The only movement in the blustery storm wasthe barren branches of the surrounding trees. Seconds turned to minutes. Loretta’s stomach started to quiver and her whole body shook, but she continued her watch.
If the duke didn’t find the lad soon, they’d both catch a chill. The boy could already have one. He’d looked so deathly pale that it had frightened Loretta.
Where were they? Had the duke lost track of the youngster? Loretta’s cold dress began to feel damp against her skin. Her nose, cheeks, and toes started to feel numb, but still she waited. She knew staying outside wasn’t helping the duke find the boy, but she was determined that, if they could withstand the cold, so could she.
At last she saw movement. The duke walked out of the darkness toward her. He was carrying the lad. She stepped back inside and opened the door wider so they could enter without delay.
“What happened to him?” Loretta asked, closing the door behind them.
“He collapsed.”
“Follow me,” she said, leading the way out of the kitchen, down the wide corridor, and around a corner that led to Arnold’s room. Hazel and Nollie were kneeling at the fireplace. Loretta flung back the covers on Arnold’s bed and said, “Lay him down here. We must get his clothing off.”
The duke laid him on the bed and turned to her. “Perhaps you should leave the room, Miss Quick. I can handle this.”
Loretta stared down at the still, innocent-looking face. All color had drained from his lips and cheeks. His dark hair was wet and littered with fine crystals of ice. Her heart went out to the nameless boy.
She turned to the duke and said, “No. I want to help him.”
“You are a lady.”
“You are a duke,” she countered.
“He will probably feel more comfortable when he wakes knowing that it was a man who undressed him and not a lady.”
“Good heavens,” she admonished, brushing aside his concern. “He’s just a child. He won’t care who undressed him. There’s simply no need for you to worry about my sensibilities at a time like this. He needs help. I’ll start with his shoes and you take off his other clothing, before it saturates the bedcovers.”
