Page 43 of The Season of Lady Chastity

It was an attraction—a draw—he’d never felt before. It was about more than soothing Chastity’s fright. It surpassed his duty as a man to rescue her from danger. And it would last far longer than this moment. His worry and need to care for her would not diminish once she was safely returned to the hall and pronounced uninjured.

“I can have a look, my lord.” Doc Durpentire stepped forward, setting his bag on the ground as he waited for Bastian to release her. He’d only met the doctor who’d been called to reside at Oxburgh Hall for the duration of his mother’s stay that very morning when he’d been summoned to accompany them on their walk. Bastian hadn’t argued or turned down the physician’s offer before, but now, he wanted no other man—physician or not, young or old, titled or gentry—to set a hand on Chastity.

“I can look after her.” Bastian took a calming breath before speaking again, careful not to growl at the doctor. “I mean, I have cared for my mother as of late. I am more than qualified to tend to Lady Chastity.”

“I am certain I can stand, Lord Mansfield.” Chastity set her palm against his chest, and even through the layers of material, he could feel her cold skin. “I’m only a bit shaken—and cold.”

To emphasize her point, her body trembled.

With gentle ease, he lowered her feet to the ground but kept his arm wrapped around her back.

“How is she?” Ophelia shouted over the moat.

“Does anything hurt, my lady?” Doc Durpentire asked, moving closer with Bastian’s mother and Lady Hawke’s grandmother following closely behind.

“No, no.” Chastity shook her head, stepping away from the doctor and closer to Bastian, igniting once more his protective need where she was concerned. “I think I shall be fine.”

“Are you certain?” Lady Torrington leaned in her sidesaddle to gain a better view. “Mayhap we should call a groom to collect our horses.”

“Do not be silly.” Chastity smiled, and Bastian coughed to hide his chuckle. Her hat hung limply from her hair, held by only a single pin, yet even in such a bedraggled state, she was the most captivating woman he’d ever laid eyes upon. “Go on about the hunt. Lord Mansfield will see me back to the manor.”

The declaration surprised him; however, the resounding huff from Lady Prudence did not.

The opportunity to see Lady Chastity back to the hall, giving them a few scant moments alone, would be…

Bastian swallowed, hoping to suppress his roguish urges. Only a moment before, Chastity had stepped away from the doctor and pressed herself toward Bastian.

“Nothing hurts besides a small ache in my backside where I landed.” She spoke to the doctor and her sister now. “You should all continue on your walk. Lord Mansfield, can I trouble you to assist me back to Oxburgh Hall?”

“I will come—”

“No, Pru, enjoy your stroll,” Chastity cut her sister off, further angering the other woman if Lady Prudence’s pinched expression was any indication. “I will bathe, dress, and await your return.”

“Doctor Durpentire and I will accompany you, Bastian.”

His mother had recovered far quicker than usual, and he’d been nervous about allowing her on the walk with the other guests. Her cheeks were flushed from the activity and excitement. However, he would not feel comfortable leaving her when he returned to the manor with Chastity.

“Very well,” Bastian nodded his agreement. “Lady Prudence, I and Doc Durpentire will see your sister safely to her room.”

Chastity’s sister, ever watchful, held Bastian’s stare for a moment longer than necessary. He understood she was trying to intimidate him—and it was working admirably. One would think Torrington with his massive build would be the more frightening of Chastity’s siblings; however, Lady Prudence’s glare held a steely edge that he would not challenge.

“Pru, go on.” Chastity didn’t wait for her sister’s reply before turning toward the path that led to the manor.

Bastian fell into step beside her, noting that she favored one foot more than the other.

The doctor took his mother’s arm and moved ahead of him down the route toward the main house. Bastian stalled his steps and fell farther behind the older couple. Any other day, he would have stepped in and taken over; he was his mother’s caregiver, after all. However, Chastity also needed him, and Doctor Durpentire was more than capable of seeing to Bastian’s mother.

And the way Lady Mansfield glanced up at the doctor, a shy grin lifting her lips, Bastian supposed his mother could care for herself for a brief while.

As they started toward the manor, he and Chastity lingered, their pace slow. It gave Bastian the opportunity to hold her a bit closer than propriety dictated; however, the intimate closeness would be easily enough explained if anyone asked.

“Thank you for assisting me, Bastian.” A slight shiver moved through her, and he halted, bringing her to a stop beside him.

“I am certain I did no more than any gentleman would have done in such a situation.” Was he honestly making excuses for his chivalrous actions? Bloody hell, no man but Bastian should have rescued Chastity. In some way, ever since discovering her sitting by the moat on the day he arrived at Oxburgh Hall, he’d come to think of himself as responsible for her. Not that she needed someone to oversee her…no, that wasn’t it at all.

“If you say so.” Despite her disheveled state, she smiled up at him. “Though, I cannot say I agree.”

He wanted to ask what man had disappointed her in the past. Instead, he settled on a less probing inquiry. “Has your father arrived for the wedding yet?”