Page 69 of An Innocent Maid for the Duke
Her jaw dropped as her eyes finally focused. Speechless, she stared at the...the view. She was standing in a blazing white wilderness of ice that was not just in front of them but all around, no matter which way she turned. She shivered, despite that she was not cold. Chills ran down her spine.
‘Oh, look,’ Lucy cried. ‘Mermaids.’
Fearful for the child’s safety, Rose made a grab for her, only to realise there was a railing between the edge of the gallery where they stood and what seemed like a gaping black hole beneath them.
She stood behind the child, gazing at the scene spread out before her. ‘Oh, my.’ There were icy mountains and a ship heeled over, held fast between two blocks of ice, and men in small boats or standing around conversing on the snow. The whole thing made her feel slightly dizzy.
She swayed and Jake put an arm around her waist, steadying her. ‘Give it a moment,’ he murmured. ‘You’ll get used to it. They say Princess Charlotte was seasick for a week after viewing a sea panorama.’
The feel of that strong arm supporting her was blissful. She took a deep breath and looked up to find Jake grinning at her, though much of his face was in shadow. ‘Now you know what panorama means.’
She took in the scene before her in wonder. ‘Yes. Yes, I do.’
‘And how wouldyouexplain it?’
She shook her head. ‘I couldn’t. Not in a hundred years, if I was to try ever so hard.’
He leaned forward and brushed his lips along her jaw, a fleeting warm touch over almost before it began and shivers broke out all over her body. Pleasure and desire.
Naughty man. She glanced down at Lucy, who for once was silent and clearly transfixed, unaware of the adults behind her. She was terribly tempted to kiss him back. Out of gratitude. Out of deep affection. Out of love.
It could not be. She forced herself to remain still.
Lucy turned and tugged at her skirts. ‘What are those things there?’ She pointed through the railing.
Jake pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. ‘I have a guide.’ He angled the paper towards the light that somehow seemed to emanate from the scene itself. ‘The ship you see is theDorothea, caught in the ice.’
‘But the creatures, Uncle Jake.’
‘Give me a moment, child.’ He scanned the paper. ‘Those are walruses. See their curving tusks.’
‘Where are their legs?’
‘No legs, pet. They don’t need them for swimming.’
Lucy ran a little farther along to take in another part of the scene. Jake tucked Rose’s hand beneath his arm and they strolled after her, he reading from the guide and pointing out the items of interest.
‘They have dogs,’ Lucy announced.
‘Not dogs,’ Jake said. ‘Polar bears.’
‘Bears aren’t white.’
‘These are.’ He went on to describe the explorers and their ships as they promenaded around the railing, until they had gone full circle.
To Rose, it felt as if they were a real family. A man and his wife and their child. A lump forced its way into her throat. Longing. She wanted to weep for longing. She turned her face to the panorama, hoping Jake would not see.
She took a deep breath. Swallowed past the lump and pinned a smile on her lips. ‘Why is some of the ice blue?’ Her voice sounded brittle.
Luckily in the dim light, Jake seemed to notice nothing amiss.
‘Honestly, I don’t know. I would have to read more about it. It is hard to believe this happened last August. The middle of summer, no less. They were lucky to survive a huge storm, I understand.’
‘They are very brave men.’
‘I’m going to be an explorer when I grow up,’ Lucy said. ‘And go on a ship. And get stuck in the ice.’
Jake glanced down at her.
