Page 20 of A Wish Upon an Earl
“Well, then it’s doubly important that you don’t overdo it on that ankle.We would not want to upset your brother.”And without another word, he scooped her up, cradling her close to his body.
Heat radiated from all the places his body touched hers, so she clamped her lips together to keep from gasping.
“Aubrey, you’re lookout,” Jack said as he turned toward the door.“Drew will carry the chair, and I’ve got the princess, I mean, Lady Sarah.”
Her brows lifted even as her hands tightened.“Princess?”
He winked.“It feels a little like a story, doesn’t it?Shall we pretend we’re rescuing you from a tall tower guarded by dragons?”
“Where is your armor?”she teased.
He let out an exaggerated huff.“You wouldn’t survive the interaction were I wearing it.”
Aubrey stuck her head out the door and looked both ways.“Besides, the entire party is wondering at the identity of the knight.That armor should never again see the light of day.”
“Still?”Sarah asked, a bit of concern making her stiffer in his arms.“Oh dear.”
“Still.”He shrugged, causing her to roll in his arms.“They likely want to know my identity so that they can print it in the scandal sheets.”
She winced.She knew what it meant to be at the center of people’s ill intentions.He’d said he didn’t care who knew, but did he actually mean that?Had he ever experienced that sort of cruelty?Even though he’d aided in her own humiliation, she found it upset her to think of him suffering the same.“You’ll have to hold off the dragons unprotected by armor then, a much more difficult task to be certain.”
He grinned then.“Do not worry, my lady.I shall defend you with my life.”
A laugh rose to her lips, but Aubrey shushed them as they made their way out the door.“We must be quiet until we reach the garden in case we meet any staff or?—”
“Dragons,” Jack answered.
Aubrey rolled her eyes, but Sarah stifled a giggle.“The largest is green and gold, and the flames that he shoots are tinged with silver,” Sarah said.“Beautiful to be certain, but if they should touch you, not only will you be burned but you’ll be encased in the metal, frozen in the very position, the heat trapped inside your gilded capsule.”
Aubrey stopped, staring at her.“Did you just make that up?”
Sarah looked over at her friend.Had Aubrey really never heard her tell a story?She’d given up romanticism for practicality, but apparently, she’d been even more withdrawn than she’d realized.
“You should hear her read.It’s mesmerizing,” Jack said as they made their way down the stairs.Then he looked at her, his face so close, she was reminded of the other night and her fantasy of a kiss.His kiss.“Now tell me more about the dragon.If I had my armor, would I be more protected?”
Pleasure at his touch, but also at the story they shared in this moment, made her pulse quicken.“Only if it’s made of pure silver.Otherwise, his fire will melt any other lesser metal.”
“We should check that fact with Camilla,” Aubrey said, having inspected the second floor hall before continuing on.
“I think this chair is made of silver.It’s blasted heavy.”Drew grunted from behind them.
“A chariot fit for a princess must be impressive,” Jack said by way of answer.
Drew groaned as he continued down the steps.
Sarah had to stifle a giggle.Her brothers had always indulged her stories, of course, but neither of them had ever participated in them, and just now, it felt so good to have someone share in them.Encourage them even.
The rightness of the whole thing settled over her.
* * *
Jack briefly searchedhis memory for a time when he’d been happier than he was right now, carrying Sarah down the servants’ stairs.Nothing came to mind.
She belonged next to him like this.In his arms, her laughter tickling his ears even as her fingers lightly brushed the skin on the back of his neck.
They reached the hall by the kitchen, and Aubrey tiptoed across the stone and opened the door out into the yard.Looking both ways, she waved them forward.
The moment they stepped out, Ash’s two bulldogs began barking and another laugh bubbled out of Sarah.“Watch out, it’s the dragon’s watchdogs.He’ll come for us for certain now.”
