Page 8 of Adeline

“I am afraid it is a fair distance away,” Jasper responded. The man’s dejected look pulled at him. “However, my home is not far, and has plenty of room for your mistress, her maid, and you.”

The man chewed his bottom lip before glancing toward the carriage. “I will check with Miss Ade—me mistress.”

“Do hurry.” Another streak of lightning lit the night sky, illuminating the foreboding clouds above. “It is likely the storm will get far worse before it passes.”

The man hurried to speak with his mistress.

“Ye think have’n ‘em at the Abbey be wise, m’lord?”

“Wiser than leaving them here and finding them injured—or worse, dead—on the morrow.”

“Ver’a true.”

No matter what Jasper said aloud, the tingling moving through him was similar to the night he’d rushed into his family’s burning stables in an attempt to rescue his parents. Everyone in Faversham was aware how that had turned out—for both him and his family.

However, leaving the trio here was no more an option than standing by and allowing the fire to rage around his mother and father.

A spike of pain hit his chest, similar to a lightning bolt hitting a tree. Dredging up the memory was certain to have a lasting effect on him.

The man stepped lightly through the deepening mud to stand before Jasper as he removed his cap and lowered his head. “Me mistress would meet ye before accept’n ye kindness, m’lord.”

Jasper glanced sideways to see George’s darkening look. “My master only seeks—“

“It is fine, George.” Rain had utterly saturated his outer garment and soaked clean through his trousers to chill his skin. Jasper even sensed his Hessians filling with water as they stood in the pouring rain. “Your name, sir?”

“Max, errr, Maxwell Smithe, m’lord.”

“Swell to meet you,” Jasper greeted. “Now, please introduce me to your mistress so we can all find safety from the storm with all due haste.”

He lowered his head to keep the rain from hitting his face and followed Maxwell.

They halted, and Maxwell opened the door. Jasper peered into the dim interior of the coach to see a woman, her long hair a matted tangle of knots from her time in the storm. She held her cloak wrapped tightly around her as her teeth chattered from the cold.

She stared back at him, her eyes wide, and Jasper feared she could see past his hood. However, he knew that wasn’t possible. Even if his hood had slipped slightly, the darkness surely hid his scars.

The woman needed dry clothes and a warm fire—quickly.

“I am the Earl of Ailesbury,” he called, his words fighting the noise of the storm at his back. “My home is only a short distance away. You may seek shelter there for the night, and I will have your carriage brought round to my stables in the morning for repairs.”

The woman stared back at him wordlessly.

Her almond-shaped, hazel eyes inspected him from his hidden face and down the length of his body. Jasper hadn’t felt laid bare before another his entire life. Was she leery enough of him to refuse his offer?

As if on cue, a wolf howled in the near distance, its call echoing above the whine of the storm. Within moments, several others answered.

Chapter 3

Adeline gulped at the same moment another round of howling broke through the crashing noise of the storm. She was uncertain what option would leave her the most vulnerable: being washed away by the ever-increasing flood water, set upon by a pack of hungry wolves, or agreeing to accompany the hooded stranger back to his home to wait out the storm. For likely the first time in all her life, Adeline had no urge to act impulsively, no rash compulsion to leap from her carriage and into Lord Ailesbury’s inviting coach.

Glancing across the carriage, Poppy appeared as hesitant as she, her fingers clutching the edge of the seat. It was not only Adeline’s safety at stake but that of Maxwell and Poppy, as well.

“I will await you in my carriage.” The earl nodded to Maxwell before retreating to the cover of his waiting conveyance.

“Miss,” Poppy whispered, leaning close as if afraid the man would overhear, but the boom of thunder covered her single word, and the windowpanes in the carriage rattled as the ground shook. “Do you suppose it is safe?”

The storm was no doubt directly above them, and a torrential downpour eminent. She needed to make the decision to remain in their damaged carriage or accept Lord Ailesbury’s offer of shelter. Yet, trepidation held her back. She’d never been the Melton sibling to shy away from anything due to personal risk…however…

Adeline nibbled on her lower lip, pondering her situation, and that of her servants.