Page 46 of The Midnight Blizzard

“Ha!” Beryl bellowed.

“I’m really glad to see you,” I told Jack, trying to pitch my voice low enough that Beryl wouldn’t hear.

Apparently, I hadn’t tried hard enough. “Now you say,I’m glad to see you too, Noelle. Marry me right now,” Beryl prompted in an absurd stage whisper.

“Why are you whispering into the keyhole, Dad?”

Jack placed his hand on the door’s handle and let out a blast of wintery air that shot through the keyhole. A yelp from the other side was followed by Peggy’s snickering. “Your face is all covered in ice! I think he was up tosnowgood!”

Jack glanced out the window at the moonlit sky. “I hurried as fast as I could, but when I got to the castle, Octavius said you were sent away and a coachman tipped me off that you were here. But I’m here now; come to the ball with me.”

“There’s no point in going,” I said glumly. “I withdrew from the competition, and the school’s license expires at midnight.”

“There are still a few hours left. You can talk to Stephen and the king and queen about re-opening the school. I can get you an audience with them.”

“I would, but I don’t have anything to wear,” I protested.

“Whoa, hey, whatareyou two talking about?” Beryl called out. “My daughter is in this house, you know!”

“And she will never go to sleep if you keep bellowing like a wounded rhinoceros!” Jack hissed, then turned back to me.

“I can’t wear this to a royal ball,” I told him, looking down at the stained and dirty dress I wore.

“Your wish is my command,” Jack said, stooping to pick up the box that he’d dropped when he first came in and opening it with a flourish. Inside was the beautiful blue gown with the white fur wrap I’d admired so much in theshop window.

“Jack,” I breathed. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I wanted to. The heiress of the Frostwood estate should have something nice to wear.”

My shoulders slumped. “I was wrong,” I confessed. “Valencia showed me—my father named her the beneficiary, not me.”

Jack blinked in surprise. “What?”

“She’s the heiress, not me. I have nothing.”

Jack recovered quickly. “That’s not true. You have me,” he said.

“Good line, Jack, good line. Now kiss her,” came Beryl’s voice.

“I swear I’m going to freeze you until spring,” Jack threatened, then reached for my hand. “I’m begging you to come with me. If I have to listen to him any longer, I literally will die.”

I clasped his warm hands. “We can’t have that now.”

Jack stepped out while I changed, and when I allowed him back in, I slowly spun in a circle. “How do I look?”

Beryl, who had followed Jack in, slapped his friend on the shoulder. “He only hasicefor you.”

I beamed.

“Don’t forget your little pumpkin,” Beryl added, nodding at the round ball of fuzz on the other side of the room. “He looks strong enough to pull your sleigh all by himself.”

The puppy padded across the floor, one of Peggy’s shoes in his mouth while his tiny puff of a tail whipped from side to side. Jack scooped him up and tucked him into his jacket. “My lady,” he said to me, bowing with one hand placed firmly under the puppy so it looked like he had a paunchy belly. “Your dog sled awaits.”

Chapter 16

The ride to the castle flashed by, which was a good thing. I had to all but bury myself under the blankets; the snowstorm was quickly becoming a blizzard. While I hid from the snow, Jack told me ways I might be able to persuade Stephen to still give funding to the school. My feeble protests about ruining Stephen’s final ball were quickly dismissed by Jack pointing out that there were always more balls that could be hosted, but the license expiring would set the school back years and I would have to start from scratch. But if the license was renewed, even if I didn’t have the inheritance, there were other avenues I could pursue to continue the school’s operation. Jack had to shout to be heard over the howling of the wind, and his dogs occasionally got confused about what commands he issued them and which were comments intended for me.

Ice frosted my eyelashes and hair by the time we finally pulled to a standstill at the castle steps. “You’ve got this,” Jack encouraged me. “Talk to him. It will all work out. I’m going to put the dogs away, then I’ll meet you inside as soon as I can.”

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