Page 1 of His Godsent Duchess
One
"Christina, you are not going to climb that tree, are you?" Annie, her little sister asked, her eyes wide with worry.
Lady Christina Thornton loosened the ribbons of her bonnet, took it off, and tossed it onto the grass before taking hold of her skirts.
"Please, don't!" Annie pleaded, giving Christina's lady's maid, Addison, a helpless look.
"My lady, do reconsider," Addison pleaded as Christina tucked the hem of her skirt into her cummerbund. Addison wrung her hands, her eyes darting between Christina and the elm tree.
"You cannot change my mind," Christina firmly declared. "Besides, I would not be able to live with myself if I did not save Carrot."
With a deep breath and determined strides, she marched toward the tree and climbed onto the lowest and sturdiest branch with practiced ease. The rough bark scraped against her palms, but she ignored the discomfort, her focus solely on the trembling kitten. Reaching out toward the orange-furred feline, she coaxed, "Come here, Carrot." The cat looked frightened and was shaking, mewing miserably with amber eyes pleading for help.
"Christina, come down at once!" Annie said with her hands on her hips, as though she were twenty and not twelve.
"Hush, Annie! You will frighten Carrot, and then I shall never get him out of the tree," Christina scolded, continuing to coax the kitten. She extended her arm further, her fingers barely brushing Carrot's fur as she inched closer.
When Carrot did not move and sat shaking on the branch, Christina climbed higher, putting herself in a rather precarious position. The branch swayed under her weight, leaves rustling as if whispering warnings.
"My lady, please, come down," Addison implored, adding, "His lordship might see us and come out." She glanced nervously around, as though expecting him to appear at any moment.
"Yes, Father will lose his mind if he sees you up a tree again," Annie said, glancing nervously toward the window of their father's study overlooking the garden. "Remember what he said before we departed Kent for London?" The memory of their father's stern lecture made Christina waver for a moment, but then she looked at Carrot's frightened eyes and steeled herself once more.
"If I see you up another tree, I will deal with you in a way that you will never believe, young lady," Christina murmured, with a chuckle, shaking her head slightly. Their father was stern, but she had more important matters to be concerned about at this moment. "Look at Carrot," she said to her sister and lady's maid. "If you can bear the guilt of abandoning a poor creature like this, then I might come down."
Very slowly now, she rose on the tips of her toes and reached for Carrot, then quickly captured him. The cat twisted his body to escape, managing to slip free and scratching Christina's hands as he did. The sharp sting made her gasp, and she instinctively jerked her hand back. She lost her balance and, although she tried to hold on to the branch, she was unable to and fell. Her arms flailed, grasping at empty air before she plummeted to the ground to the sound of Annie's shriek.
At first, Christina did not feel anything and was convinced she was all right. She lay still, dazed, staring up at the leafy canopy above.Heavens! I could have broken a bone!
Addison kneeled beside her. "Are you injured, my lady?"
"I do not think so," Christina said, sitting up and pushing wisps of hair from her face. She felt a rush of dizziness and blinked rapidly to clear her vision. As soon as she moved her right foot, pain shot through her, and she cried out.Oh, no! What have I done?
Christina heard Annie gasp, and when she looked up, she saw the Earl of Hillsbury, their father, marching toward them like a bull, his face red with fury. His boots thudded against the grass, each step filled with palpable anger. Her stomach clenched, and she swallowed, while Addison and Annie appeared to lose the color in their faces.
"What is going on here?" he demanded.
"I-I was attempting to get Carrot out of the tree," Christina stammered.
"You climbed the tree," her father said slowly, looking from her to the tree. His eyes narrowed, and his jaw tightened as he took in the scene.
Christina swallowed, then nodded. Her father's face contorted with fury. "Did you not hear a word of what I said before we came to London for the season?" His voice rose with each word, echoing through the garden.
The pain in Christina's foot increased, and she winced. Her vision blurred with tears she fought to hold back. Seeing this, her father began a long, vehement speech. "You refused to listen to me, and now you have injured your foot. This is precisely why you have been out for more than four seasons and still have no prospects." He paced in front of her, throwing his arms in the air. "No gentleman in his right mind will marry a woman who still thinks she is a child, and even children know better than to do such foolish things."
He gestured at Annie, and she seemed to shrink behind Addison. "Look at your sister. She is now well mannered and does not resist our attempts to correct her after you have sent her astray."
"Father, please," Christina begged through clenched teeth, "let me have my foot tended to." Now was not the time for him to make comparisons between her and Annie.
He stopped and held her gaze for a moment, then turned on his heel. "I will have the physician summoned."
Annie and Addison dared not speak until the Earl had disappeared. Then, they tried to help Christina to her feet. She cried out again, the foot hurting too much to allow her to stand. Just then, their father came marching back. Christina braced herself for more scolding, but instead, he picked her up and carried her into the house. He set her down on a sofa in the drawing room and left.
The room was silent except for the ticking of the clock, and the consequences of her actions in the air like a heavy fog. Christina's mother, Helen Thornton, walked in. She took one look at Christina and declared, "I have cause to believe you have pushed your father to his limit."
"Carrot was stuck in the tree, and I was trying to rescue him," she protested, wincing as she shifted slightly, the pain in her foot reminding her of her predicament.
"He is a cat, Christina, and perfectly capable of climbing down without your help," her mother pointed out.
