Angelika blinked. “Making snow angels, sir.”
“Snow angels,” he repeated, not making it a question.
She nodded. “Would you like to join me?”
He once again glanced around and appeared to have trouble breathing. “Uh… yes,” he finally said. “Might I ask what I should call you?”
Had they been in London, she knew never to engage in a conversation with a strange man unless she had a chaperone with her. Out here, she didn’t have the protection of her father or older brother. Nor was there anyone to perform an introduction. “Angelika,” she replied with a nod. “Or just Angel, if you’d like.” She moved closer, expecting he might take her hand to his lips. She hoped he might.
“Angel,” he repeated softly. “I am Andrew.” He seemed about to say more but paused. “It’s very good to meet you.”
“And you, sir,” she said, curtsying again. When he didn’t step forward to take her hand, her eyes darted to the side. “I take it you haven’t made a snow angel before?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I haven’t had the pleasure.”
“Well, it’s very easy. You simply fall back into the snow and wave your arms and legs,” she explained. She did a quick demonstration for him, which had his eyes rounding in alarm as she spread out her arms and fell backwards. “The hardest part is getting back onto your feet without disturbing the snow.”
He finally stepped away from the door and offered a gloved hand. From the condition of the black leather, it appeared as if it had never been worn before. She placed her kid leather-gloved hand in his and allowed him to help her to stand.
“Thank you, Andrew.” She took an exaggerated step to the side and turned to examine her work. “What do you think?” She glanced to her left and realized he was no longer next to her but had returned to the door, his eyes closed and his head leaning back so his top hat touched the wood.
“Are you all right?” she asked, hurrying to stand before him.
“I will be,” he replied. “In a moment.”
Angelika furrowed a strawberry blonde brow. “Perhaps a walk will help?”
His eyes popped open. “I really wish that were the case,” he whispered. In a louder voice, he added, “Would you take my arm? Lead the way?” He bent one arm, but both hands were shoved into his greatcoat pockets.
That’s when she noticed the condition of his coat—the black wool looked as if it had never been worn before. All the buttons were in place, and none hung as if the threads were loose.
She considered the odd request and then wrapped her hand around his elbow. “Like this?”
He nodded. “Where are we going?”
“Where would you like to go?”
Closing his eyes, he said, “To the edge of the property.”
Angelika grinned. “Well, that’s not far,” she claimed, pointing to the line of poplar trees. The path she had taken to his back garden was clearly marked by her footsteps in the snow.
“Lead the way,” he said, squaring his shoulders.
Thinking perhaps he had recently recovered from an injury, Angelika took an experimental step forward, then another. She noted how he kept pace, his attention on his booted feet. If she hadn’t been leading the way, he would have walked directly into one of the supports of an arbor arch.
“Have you lived here long?” she asked in an effort to keep up her end of the conversation.
“Since I was six years old,” he replied.
She had to stutter step in the snow when he almost stopped. “Except for a few months in London every few years, I have lived at Stonefield my entire life. How is it we haven’t met before?”
His boots shuffled in the snow as if he feared slipping and falling, his steps half the length of hers. “I don’t get out much.”
Pausing to look around, Angelika grinned and said, “This would be a perfect location for a snow angel. Would you like to try?”
A sliver of sun suddenly brightened the snow. Andrew glanced up and his eyes closed as the light illuminated his features. A grin split his face.
Angelika inhaled softly, struck by how happy he seemed. “Oh, it’s so good to see the sun again…” She stopped speaking when his grin disappeared and his eyes went white. A second later, he fell backwards, his body ramrod straight. He sunk into the snow a few inches but didn’t wave his arms or legs.
