Page 21 of The Earl's Heiress
“This way, Miss Arabella.” Milly pointed her in the opposite direction that Temple took, and Arabella fell in line. “We have mainly apples, pears and plumbs.”
Arabella was enjoying learning about the farm. She was sure there was much to be discovered here.
Temple didn’t knowwhy it mattered to him so much, but he wanted Arabella to like the estate and care for the people. When he was young, his father took him around in very much the same way that he was doing with Arabella. Bernard drew his thoughts back to the purpose of their conversation as they discussed the harvest. Arabella’s dowery would provide the means to invest in modernizing the farms, and he was looking forward to finally being able to do that. Temple elicited Bernard’s ideas and the man gave them freely.
They were on the periphery of the field and stopped under a tree to momentarily shade themselves from the sun. Temple saw Milly running toward them, and he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. The look of distress on her face told him something untoward had happened. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach because Arabella was not with her. Before Temple knew it, he was moving toward Milly, who stopped abruptly as she struggled to catch her breath.
“What is it?”
“It is Miss Arabella, my lord. I’m afraid she climbed an apple tree to pick the fruit, and she lost her grip and took a tumble.”
“Good God.” Was this woman accident-prone?
Milly was still huffing. “The tree is at the side of Knoll Hill, and when she fell, she rolled down the embankment. She cried out, and it gave me such a fright that I came to fetch you immediately.”
Temple didn’t wait to hear anymore. He ran to Knoll Hill, which was on the opposite side of the field. He summoned the energy to curse as he made his way to the orchard. His lungs were burning, and he wanted nothing more than to stop and catch his breath, but he paid no heed to the burning in his chest. He didn't know how his feet carried him so fast, but he was already there.
He peered over the edge and called out, “Arabella!” Damn, propriety in this dire calamity.
“I’m here,” she replied.
He stopped to fill his lungs and breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw that she was at least sitting up. Perhaps it was not as bad as Milly thought. The poor woman must have been frightened when Arabella fell. Temple started to make his way down to her.
“Are you all right?” Temple asked as he carefully made his way down the slope.
“I’m well, other than a few bumps on my roll down. I was winded, but I’m otherwise unharmed.”
Her face was sprinkled with splotches of dust, and a few leaves and twigs were tangled in her hair. She had never looked more beautiful. Temple took his handkerchief from his pocket and kneeled in front of her. He cleaned the dust from her face, and as his hand moved over her cheeks, his gaze fell to her lips. His breathing grew ragged, and he knew it wasn’t attributed to his mad dash. He slowly lowered his hand.
“Did you try to stand?”
“Not as of yet.”
Temple reached out his hand. “Let me help you.”
Arabella held his hand and they both stood. “My legs are shaking.”
Temple scooped her into his arms just as Milly and Bernard appeared at the top of the slope. He saw the relief etched on their features. They had no need to worry, for they were not to blame for Arabella’s clumsiness. Her arms quickly encircled his neck, and she rested her head against his shoulders. He walked to an area that was less steep, which made it easier to carry her up the slope.
He deposited her at the top of the slope.
“Are you hurt, Miss Arabella?”
“Please don’t worry. I know that I gave Milly quite a fright, but I’m not hurt. I’m afraid I can be a bit of a disaster.”
“I’m pleased to hear it,” Bernard gave her a warm smile.
“Bernard, we will conclude our business later. Miss Arabella and I will return to the estate.”
“I will fetch the horses, my lord.”
Arabella turned to Millie, “Thank you for showing me the orchard, Millie. I will be sure to visit again soon.”
“Thank you, Miss Arabella.”
Bernard returned with the horses, and they said their goodbyes. Temple announced that Arabella would ride with him until he was sure she was fine. She started to protest, but Temple ignored her and effortlessly lifted her onto the horse before he mounted himself. They headed for home with Arabella’s horse following closely behind. Temple decided not to mention the incident. She had already described herself as inept, and he didn’t want to say anything that she could interpret as him rubbing it in. If word was to get out, unpolished would possibly be the nicest word society would use to describe her. It was Arabella who broke the silence.
“I can tell that you care very much about the land and the people.”
