Page 3 of Redemption for the Baron

Then, in one sharp, breathless motion, she pulled away.

His hands fell back to his sides, fingers curling against the cold. The space between them felt abruptly colder. Emptier. She hadn’t clung to him. Hadn’t cried out. She just went still, quiet. Soft. It didn’t fit the sharpness of her tone or the pride in her posture. That contradiction lingered, unsettling him.

She turned without a word and knelt beside the wheel as though nothing had happened.

But something had. He had seen it in her eyes, a flicker of something, before she looked away. Not fear. Not exactly. But not indifference either.

The coachman came around, reins still in hand. “This is worse than the downpour at Waterloo. We thought the sky would never clear.”

Grenville blinked, the words yanking him backward.

Mud. Smoke. The coppery stench of blood. The cries of his men cut short. The signalman, motionless. A red hole in his chest.

He exhaled sharply.Not here. Not now.

Beside him, the woman straightened, smoothing her skirts, but her fingers trembled slightly as she brushed the mud away. Her gaze had gone distant, her breath caught just a second too long. A different battlefield, perhaps. But the echo rang the same.

He hesitated. Just long enough to ask, quietly, “Are you hurt?”

She stilled for half a heartbeat, then gave a short shake. “No, I’m fine. Thank you.”

Her voice was steady, but something in the way she avoided his gaze told him that the moment had unsettled her, too.

A renewed gust of wind and rain whipped around them like a wild beast, refusing to be ignored, much like the unresolved tension between them.

She stepped forward again, brushing her skirts aside as she inspected the wheel. “If my coachman settles the horses, we might manage with a bit of leverage on the wheel?”

Grenville gave a short nod. “Then let’s not waste time.” Without a word, he passed her a thick branch he’d stripped earlier, its base solid and angled just right for a lever. She took it without hesitation.

“You’re stronger than I am,” she said. “I’ll brace the stones.”

He didn’t argue. Together, they worked quickly. She knelt beside the wheel, hands steady despite the mud, slipping the stones into place with practiced precision. The coachman moved to calm the team. Grenville crouched, angling the branch beneath the axle.

He reached out, his hands firm on the lever. “You’ve got quite the fighting spirit, haven’t you?” he remarked, gritting his teeth against the strain. “Stubborn as the mud itself.”

She shot him a glance, her green eyes flashing. “I don’t need your flattery, sir. If I wanted empty compliments, I’d chat with my mirror.”

He chuckled, shifted his weight, and pushed down on the makeshift lever. “You’ve got to admit, this mud is being particularly stubborn.”

She huffed, wiping a muddy strand of hair from her face. “I suppose it’s fitting, considering the company.” Her eyes flicked back to the task at hand. “We haven’t got all day to play in the mud.”

He grinned. “Let’s outfox this mud and get you on your way.”

With a coordinated effort, a lift from him, a pull from the coachman, and a strong push from the horses, the carriage jolted forward, the wheels catching traction. Inch by inch, it rolled free of the rut and onto firmer ground.

She stood tall beside it, her shoulders squared, her satisfaction unmistakable. Mud streaked her skirts, and damp hair clung to her cheek, but her poise never faltered.

Grenville pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and cleaned his hands as best he could. “The storm’s been relentless, hasn’t it? Almost feels like the battles I’ve seen. Mud and rain everywhere, making everything more difficult.”

He paused, then extended the least-soiled corner toward her.

She hesitated for a moment, then accepted it with a nod that was almost regal. “I’ll see it returned,” she said, her voice composed.

“At your leisure,” he replied, surprised by how much he meant it.

“It has been a challenge, but I suppose we Scots are used to weathering storms.”

He paused, his gaze lingering on her.

---