Page 15 of The Blind Duchess and Her Rakish Duke

With each passing moment, the air around her seemed to thaw as if she were frozen in ice all this time, but now, spring had arrived. Her heart raced at the very thought of him— at every sound he made and every word he said.

Sarah is right. It really seems like he’s mostly speaking to me.

That treacherous little voice kept urging her to hope while every fiber of her being quivered with anticipation of his next words. She wondered what his lips would taste like, how it would feel to be enshrouded by his strong, muscular arms and showered with kisses.

At that moment, the carriage stopped. A knock was heard from the outside, signaling that they had arrived at their destination. These four carriage walls had now become her friends, her confidants. They would keep her secret. The vast area of Hyde Park might not. She needed to soothe the storm that raged inside of her.

“It would seem we have arrived,” she heard him say then the sound of the doors opening.

“You go first,” Sarah urged. “To your left, dear.”

Bridget smiled then did as she was instructed. She extended her trembling hand, feeling the warmth of his as his fingers curled around hers confidently.

“There are three steps down,” he advised.

“I know,” she nodded. “I counted.”

“Yes… of course,” he said a little awkwardly, just like that first night when they met. He sounded so endearing when he felt uneasy, when he felt that he had said exactly the wrong words. She knew how that felt, and she sympathized more than he could ever know.

He led her slightly to the side then let go of her. The sounds of the street were overpowering. There were people chattering all around her. The sound of oncoming carriages and horses’ hooves seemed to flow from all directions. Her ears were flooded by noise, too much noise. She was becoming nervous, uneasy.

She took a step backwards then another. She felt the uneven ground of the cobbled street underneath her feet. There was a familiar buzzing sound that seemed to come from her own mind. It always appeared when she was overwhelmed by outward stimulus, when she couldn’t handle the onslaught of sounds and emotions that resulted.

Suddenly, she heard it. The neigh of a terrified horse. The clatter of hooves. A deep, manly voice that was using short words to try and subdue an animal that refused to be controlled because it was frightened. She turned around. The smell of earth, dust, sweat, and wet leather permeated her nostrils. The horse was only a few inches away from her.

She lifted her hands up in the air in an effort to cover her face and head. Despite all that noise around her, she felt alone, deserted in her darkness, when suddenly, a hand pulled her hard, and she fell onto a rock-hard chest as two arms wrapped around her. Her eyes were wide open, blinking heavily, her nostrils inhaling a familiar scent.

“Are ye mad, lass!?” a deep voice with a thick accent seemed to shout at her. She didn’t move. She didn’t say a word. She merely trembled in the arms of her savior.

“Can’t you see she is blind, you bloody bugger!” Joseph growled back at the man. The anger in his voice was so uncharacteristic of him, and she was the cause for it. “Now get out of here before I call the constables to take away your license!”

Still trembling, Bridget’s heart counted the seconds in his arms. She felt on fire. Her cheeks burned with the heat of a thousand volcanoes, but she dared not move from him. On the contrary, she felt as if she never wanted him to release her from his grip. Her mind teased her with images of his naked chest, chiseled and made of stone. She wanted to trace invisible lines on his body, touching him with the tips of his fingers until she became familiar with every line, every smoothness and every roughness that made up the sanctuary of his body.

She desired him the way a woman desired a man with her entire heart, her entire body, her entire soul, and that thought burned bright inside of her, creating an everlasting flame.Never let me go,her heart pleaded as she prayed to the universe to freeze time at this very second. But fate was harsh. It would not listen.

Bridget inhaled deeply, only then feeling the tender touch of her sister on her shoulder. “Dear Bridget, are you all right?”

Bridget tried to smile. “Yes… I… I don’t know what happened.”

At that moment, Joseph released her from his arms, and while still quivering, Bridget managed to stand once again on her own two feet.

“I let go of your hand to help Sarah out of the carriage, and you started walking backwards,” Joseph explained, sounding worried. “I turned away for only a moment, and when I looked in your direction again, the horse almost trampled you…”

“Oh, Bridget,” Sarah hugged her. “You frightened us so.”

She frightened herself as well, but she would never admit that. Despite the fact that she was obviously in love with the man who had just saved her life, this event only made one thing painfully obvious. Bridget could never thrust herself on a man who needed a wife, a mother to his children, and a Duchess. She would only be a burden to him, nothing else.

“Perhaps we should take a rain check on the stroll?” Joseph suggested. “If you are not feeling up to it right now.”

Bridget wanted to get away from here as quickly as possible. She could not see them, but she could feel the piercing gazes of strangers who witnessed the entire ordeal. She felt the scourge of their pity, but withdrawing would be equal to defeat. She was not taught to accept defeat in any form. She would brave this as planned, despite the heavy palpitations of her heart.

“I feel fine, I assure you both.” She smiled again with much more zeal this time. “As Sarah had mentioned, the weather is truly wonderful. I can feel the sunshine on my face, and I would really like to take a stroll down by the Serpentine.”

For a moment or two, neither Sarah nor Joseph spoke. She could imagine them exchanging an important glance, invisibly endeavoring to figure out whether they should agree with Bridget’s request. Sarah’s hand on her elbow felt reassuring as the noise from around her still kept attacking in waves, coming and going. Bridget knew that once they left the main street and walked more deeply into the park, the surroundings would become much more serene.

“Why, of course,” Joseph finally agreed. “Let us head there.”

Sarah gently nudged her in the right direction, and immediately, Bridget’s mind was grateful to leave the chatter and noises of the street behind, substituting them instead for chirping of the birds and an occasional passer-by. Bridget sighed with relief, allowing the warmth of the sunshine to wash over her. She was alive. A moment ago, she might not have been, were it not for Joseph and his quick reflexes.

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