Page 26 of A Virgin for the Cruel Duke

He was in the carriage on the ride home reviewing the evening and cursing himself for not noticing that Elizabeth was tiring far earlier when she cried out and thenleapt from the carriagein herbeautiful gownand pelted off into the darkness of the forest.

In that moment Stephen’s heart took such a huge and painful jolt in his chest that he was stunned by it into momentary stillness. It was long enough for her to make it a few steps down the path before he could fling himself out into the night after her, calling her name.

His feet pounded against the muddied track as he swiftly caught up with the forest nymph his wife had apparently turned into. The lantern that the driver was holding cast a soft glow over the scene so that he had to slow his steps to take her in.

She was like a creature from a myth, beautiful and strange and achingly lovely in ways that made him think of stories of fairy maidens and bespelled woods. Her hair had come loose and was tumbling around her shoulders in soft waves and her face was luminous in the mingled light of lantern and moon. Her gown was stained with mud but somehow that only added to the imageof a wild creature that he would have to be very careful not to frighten away.

In her arms she cradled a bundle of feathers, flapping weakly and letting out soft chirps of distress.

As he approached, slowly, unable to shake the sudden unearthly feeling that if he made a sudden movement she might melt away before him, Elizabeth looked up at him, her eyes wide and a tear trembling down her cheek.

“Its wing,” she said softly. “Its wing is hurt.”

The sound of her voice broke the spell that her glorious dishevelment had wrapped him in and he strode to her side and looked down at the small kestrel, its intelligent eyes wide in panic and one of its wings limp and loose at its side.

“It looks broken,” he said softly. “It will die out here shortly. Predators will have it.”

“I cannot allow that. Stephen please, may I take it home so I can take care of it?”

He would have said yes to her, naturally. It was not necessarily a good idea, and she was likely to have her heart broken when the bird failed to thrive and was found dead in a few days, but having sisters had taught him the wisdom of helping instead of hindering their soft hearted attempts at rescuing small creatures.

However Stephen did not think there was a thing in the world that Elizabeth could not have asked him for then, not with her eyes so large and trusting, not with her calling his home her own.

“Of course,” he said. “Mrs. Pugh will help you create a safe place for it to rest and I will send for one of my groundskeepers in the morning. He will be able to advise how best to set the wing.”

Her face broke into the most beautiful, radiant smile he had ever seen. “Thank you, thank you.” Then she turned her attention back to the bird. “We will get you well again, I promise.”

As she turned and made her way back to the carriage, Stephen touched a hand to his chest. His heart felt too large, too full. What strange magic was she doing to him?

The footman ran for Mrs. Pugh as they drew up to a stop at the entrance of the estate and Stephen himself opened the carriage door and then came around to help her down. He was wrapping his own coat around her shoulders to protect her from what she was almost certain was a very small wind that perhaps he was imagining to be stronger than it was when Mrs. Pugh came hurrying up.

She was completely different from Mrs. Adams back at the Rosenburg estate, but kindly nonetheless. She was a tall woman with straight fair hair and very pale eyes. She had dainty hands and feet and enough strength in her to keep the whole estaterunning as it should do. She spoke in as few words as she could manage and allowed silences to talk for her.

Elizabeth had been greatly amused when Diana had told her a series of stories about how when Herbert had been a teenager he had been ‘rather bad tempered’ and he had been constantly getting into scrapes. While Stephen had kept him in line the only other person he showed any respect for was Mrs. Pugh who had once subjected him to so thorough and ringing a silence that he had remembered it in terror ever since.

“Ah it’s so small,” she said tersely, a line of concern on her face. “Come.”

Elizabeth followed her into the building, only slowly becoming aware of the chill in the air and how thankful she really was for Stephen’s coat around her shoulders. She waited as Mrs. Pugh found a small box and some soft pleasant things to line it with, and then the two of them settled the young bird inside and Mrs. Pugh assured her in the space of three words that she would take care of him and Elizabeth could retire.

It was late enough by now that Sally would have turned in and in fact Elizabeth was rather glad of it. She loved Sally with all her heart, but she was so tired she felt like all she wanted was the quiet of her room to change her clothes, clean her face and slowly unravel the many thrilling beauties and adventures of the day.

She was taking off her headdress when she heard someone behind her and realized it was Stephen coming in, his footfall now familiar enough to her that she could tell when he was near.

“Is that all it takes to get you to smile?” he asked, his voice low. “Allowing you to keep some wounded bird?”

Elizabeth turned fully and looked at him from across the room. In that moment it felt as though there were an enormous gulf between them but also as though they were somehow reaching for each other despite it.

His gaze was electric.

She felt her heart pound.

The moment stretched and stretched. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth and she was aware that she was blushing, aware that she should break the silence but unsure how to do so properly.

She waited too long. A look of something like disappointment crossed his face and he bowed. “Good night, Elizabeth.”

No, it couldn’t end like this. Elizabeth grasped hold of the advice that Lady Stapleton had given her and made a decision, hurrying forwards towards him and taking his hand in her own.

“Wait.”

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