Breathless (The House of Rohan 3)

/> “I’m more afraid of you slipping on the rotten decking. ” He mounted the steps, his cane clicking on the wood.

“But if you tried to catch me we’d both fall in,” she pointed out.

“Do you swim?”

“No. ”

“I do. If we both fall in I should probably manage to save us both. While the water is very deep you’re not far from shore, and even when it’s this cold I should still manage to suffice. ”

“And if I’m too much for you?”

“Then I’ll save myself and let you drown,” he said with callous good humor. He was moving down the walkway with slow, measured steps, barely limping.

“You’re already dressed in mourning. That should make things easier. Though perhaps I’ll push you aside and watch you drown. ”

“Not if you can’t swim. ”

“Something that needs to be remedied this summer when the water gets warmer,” she said firmly, moving toward him.

She must have hit a plank that she’d missed before. The ominous crack was the first warning, and then it splintered beneath her foot, and this time she was falling, falling toward the icy depths, when he was there, catching her, yanking her across the space and pulling her against him. His other arm came round her and his cane clattered to the dock and over into the water as he held her.

She looked up at him, breathless again. “Thank you,” she said, unable to find her saucy voice. “I don’t think I would have liked a ducking. ”

He didn’t move; he just held her, his pale eyes watching her, an odd expression in them. And then he released her, looking around him. “Damn, I’ve lost my best cane. ”

It was floating out of reach, an ebony stick with polished gold top. “We could get one of the servants to go after it. ”

He grimaced. “They can try. In the meantime that presents us with another problem. I came down on my bad leg when I was trying to rescue you from the results of your folly. I doubt I can make it back to the house on my own. ” He looked at her. “I’m afraid I’ll have need of your assistance. ”

Author: Anne Stuart

It was an odd moment, she thought, surrounded by sparkling water that nonetheless held danger and death. Facing a man who was everything she hated and everything she longed for. And then she moved. “Of course,” she said finally. “Put your arm around my shoulder and we should do quite well. ”

“We’ll make our way off the dock first. I won’t risk having you drown because of me. ”

She gave him her sauciest smile. “You won’t? Pray, why not? Have you fallen madly in love with me and forgotten all about your precious revenge?”

“I never forget about revenge,” he said in a cool voice.

“Of course you don’t. ” She took his arm and placed it around her shoulders, and when he tried to remove it she jabbed her elbow into his stomach. Gently. “Behave yourself or we’ll both go over. Slowly now. ”

He couldn’t very well fight her. He let her help him down the rest of the dock, managing to climb down the stairs with his usual grace. The walk up to the house was more difficult, and she realized he’d been withholding his weight on her while they were still in danger. It gave her something to concentrate on, rather than how big he was, how warm he was, pressed up against her body.

She could feel his heart beating. She glanced up at him, but his face was averted. She was on the side that was less grievously scarred, and for a moment she faltered in astonishment.

He stumbled, glaring down at her. “What’s the problem?”

“You’re quite beautiful,” she said ingenuously. And then realized what she had said. “But la, of course a fiancée, if that is what I am, would think so. I’m sorry you’re in such a foul mood, my love. Did you have a bad time in the city?”

“My leg hurts like the very devil,” he said. And then he must have realized he was admitting a weakness to her, even worse than accepting her help. His sardonic smile reappeared. “But my time in the city was well-spent, so I am hardly likely to complain. We’ll be leaving for my friend’s house party tomorrow. His estate is just outside of Morecambe, and it shouldn’t take us more than a few hours to get there. We’ll formalize our wedding vows there, and I promise you an absolute orgy of delight. ”

“It sounds delightful. ” Bloody hell. Lucien didn’t use words without great thought, and “orgy” was not a good one. “I’ll look forward to meeting your friends. ”

“I’m sure they’ll find you … delicious, just as I do. ”

“Just as you do, Lucien?”

His cool smile was his only reply.