Page 33 of A Wish Upon an Earl
Slowly, Jack slid her on top of the armoire.
“Tomorrow, we’ll assemble a group of men to move the beastly piece to the music room,” Sir Henry said.“And we’ll plan to put on our show tomorrow night.”
“Wonderful,” Jack answered.Then he looked up at Sarah.“All right up there?Does it feel secure?”
She nodded, pleasure at his concern causing heat to flush her cheeks.“It’s perfect.”
With a quick nod, he handed up her sheet of lines.The play would only be a quarter hour long, and lines had been copied for all players.
Jack took his spot in front of the tower as the opening scenes were read.
The first part of the play involved the witch and the mother and father, along with some villagers.Sarah watched in delight as other guests brought the characters to life.
And then it was her turn.
It had been so long since she’d participated in such an activity, and as she began to read with Jack, she lost herself in the lines, the feelings, the satisfaction that filled her at making a character come to life.
The rest of the world melted away, and it was only her and Jack.
Silk ribbons had been fashioned to be her streaming lengths of hair, and as he pretended to climb them, she laughed despite herself.He came around the back and lifted her down into his arms.They were supposed to appear around the front of the tower once again for their final scene where they professed their love and the prince proposed.
But just as her toes skimmed the floor, Jack paused, still holding her in his arms.“Sarah.”
Her breath caught even as her hands tightened on his shoulders.Her lips parted in question.“Yes?”
He started to speak but then stopped again.Hidden by the armoire, he lowered her a bit more and then, as her body slid down his front, he captured her lips with his own.
Her breath caught in her lungs as his lips, firm and warm, pressed to hers.The ribbons of her hair pooled around them as he kissed her lips closed before he pulled back again.“Why did they make your ribbons yellow?They should have been red.”
Her feet finally found the ground.They’d just kissed.The first in her life, causing a flood of warm feelings to swell inside her.Why on earth were they discussing ribbons?“Rapunzel is blonde.”
“Not in my story,” he whispered before he whisked her to the front of the tower to finish their scene.
And though she finished the lines, she knew her performance must have been dreadful.She could hardly concentrate because she no longer cared a whit about losing herself in the ‘Rapunzel’ reenactment.Because Sarah Appleton was having a romantic story of her very own.And just like a storybook heroine who’d been in the pits of despair, she was suddenly flying high.She could only pray that Jack would not allow her to crash to the ground once again.
12
Darkness had fallen, not that Jack could tell the difference.The mask filtered most light out.
“Over here,” Ash grunted, wearing a chest plate and helmet of his own.
“Are you wearing armor for moral support?”Jack asked, as he caught sight of the chair Ash had set up and just managed to step around it.
For the past hour Ash had set up a series of obstacles, and Jack practiced maneuvering about them.He was pleased to say he was improving.He’d only broken two chairs thus far, and this latest one hadn’t even toppled over when he’d gone around it.
“Support, no.Protection, yes.”Ash stood just to his left as Jack stopped, changing course to the right so as not to plow into the other man.“I don’t want to end up bedridden like Sarah.”
“Very funny,” Jack said as he weaved back, moving around the chair again.“And besides, I’ve got the hang of it.”
“So tell me the plan again.Just so that I’m clear.”
Jack gave a small nod and then realized Ash probably couldn’t tell that he’d made the gesture.“Of course,” he said instead.This was Ash’s sister, his only family.Obviously, he wanted to know what Jack had in mind.“She wished for a knight in shining armor.”
“Why do you think she wished that?”Ash asked, shifting on his feet.“She’s well cared for.”
Jack’s brows lifted and he realized the only advantage to wearing a helmet, besides hiding one’s identity, was the fact that no one could see his expression when he silently questioned their words.“She’s a romantic, Ash.Always has been even if she’s tried to forget it these past few years.She’s dreaming of a man who comes in and sweeps her off her feet, which is what I intend to do.”
“Understood.”Then Ash frowned.“Does that mean you have to lift her down from the armoire wearing that thing?”
