Page 47 of A Naughty Proposal for His Winter Countess
With a solemn nod, Ben replied, “You won’t be. Not with Harriet, she won’t hurt you.”
Oh, especially with Harriet.
Giving his oldest friend a brief nod, Daniel went back to the ballroom and looked around for Harriet. She was not there; instead, he found Miss Matthews, and when he asked her where Harriet had gone off to, she was as mystified as he was.
He began searching for her, and after half-an-hour of unsuccessful looking, he had only one place to look—outside. Taking one of the many doors, he slipped out into the darkness and took the walkway. It was bitterly cold, and he feared Harriet had harmed herself on this ice.
He didn’t have long to search—he found in a pavilion, huddled into a corner with a coat over her shoulder.
“Oh, there you are,” he said as he stopped before her and crouched. Aside from himself, Daniel was amused and relieved. “You’re a madcap, Darling. Why would you come out here? It’s ice.”
“I have a coat,” she said, stubbornly.
“Yes, but it's past midnight, and your lips are turning blue,” Daniel replied.
“I only came out here five minutes ago,” Harriet defended. “I was in my rooms before that.”
“Why did you come here in the first place?” Daniel asked as he sat and pulled her into his side. “What is troubling you?”
“I thought you’d ask me what I meant by saying that they can’t harm me,” Harriet replied.
“I know what you meant,” Daniel replied. “As long as you’re with me, you’re protected from their taunts. That will inevitably come back once the engagement is broken. Is that what worries you? I told you, I’ll take all the blame; you leave spotless.”
“Which is not fair to you,” Harriet mumbled in his chest. “I’m worried I started something that I won’t be able to finish.”
“To be honest, I was the one who started it,” Daniel said.And I wonder if I’m over my head in this as well.
“I keep thinking if I had fully weighed the consequences of taking your offer,” she laughed. “Dash my impulsiveness.”
“I find your impulsiveness is a very attractive quality,” Daniel replied. “And besides, there was not much time for you to consider. I was going to give that letter to Ben.”
“Perhaps that would have been a better end,” Harriet whispered.
A jab of hope, as wicked as the chance that it might be shattered, leaped into Daniel’s chest. “What do you mean?”
She pulled away, “Nothing.”
“It’s not nothing to me,” Daniel said, drawing her in. “Tell me what you mean?”
“I can’t.”
The light was dim—only the moonlight's weak rays and the stars above—but Daniel was close enough to see the conflict in her eyes. That she was fighting something. Perhaps the same reluctance to admit that feelings were pushing themselves into a space that wasn’t ready for it.
Edging closer, he paused before she tilted her head up, and he took her mouth in a longing kiss, and at the touch, all the heat he believed would make the kiss hard, hot, and unrestrained burned away. Instead, the kiss was slow, careful, as if it were a touch harder, either of them would splinter.
Pulling away, Daniel swept his thumb over her lips. “Not blue anymore.”
“W…we should get back inside,” Harriet whispered.
Standing, Daniel could only follow. Inside the Manor, Harriet squeezed his hand and, with a whispered farewell, disappeared up a flight of stairs. He stood there for a long while, clenching and releasing his hand, trying futilely to keep her touch with him, before he went back to the ballroom, just in time for dinner to be called.
Miss Matthews found him, “Have you found her?”
“Yes,” he replied, “She’s in her rooms now. I suppose if you want to go, you can see her. She’ll likely admit you.”
Miss Matthews nodded, “But is she all right, though?”
“Honestly, Miss Matthews, I do not think so,” Daniel replied. “She is worried about numerous things.”
