Page 39 of A Courtesan Countess Worth the Scandal
Setting down the tankard, the woman nodded to Nora. “She’s a funny one, her. Ye don’t get many lasses that are funny. Set yerself down awhile, and I’ll fetch ye when the horses are saddled.”
“Thank you,” Liam repeated.
As the proprietor disappeared through a back door, Liam leaned up against a support beam of solid oak and watched Nora from afar. Somehow, she had already become firm friends with the two older fellows, the inn filling with the wheezing sound of their laughter as she regaled them with joke after joke.
How does she do it? How can she be so… agreeable to everyone, after what she has suffered? And why on Earth would any man seek to harm her in any way, when she smiles like that?
Liam’s stomach plummeted as he realized that he was smiling because of her. Indeed, he had only to think of the way she had felt in his arms as they had slept, for he had awakened several times without her knowing. He realized, now, that those had been his opportunities to push her away, but he had not been able to. For with her body pressed to his, her breath tickling his neck, and her arm draped over him, he had slept sounder than he had in five years.
And I have only myself to blame.
Chapter Seventeen
Sitting astride one of the horses that the proprietor of The Green Dragon had provided, Nora had slowly come to realize that she was in no condition to make the journey to Northcrop. They had already been riding for several hours, and the pain in her leg was fast becoming unbearable.
She could not even distract her mind from the agony with the majestic, wintry landscape that surrounded them on all sides, for even the chill of the wind and the falling snow was becoming more than she could endure. Every time her thigh jostled, it sent a shooting pain right through her that felt as though someone were dragging their nails up and down her spine.
“I feel rather content, now,” Liam declared, oblivious to her torment. “It has been such a long time since I have actuallyenjoyedseeing snow and beautiful scenery such as this. You know, I might even deign to ride more often, as long as it is away from the city.”
Nora gripped the reins until her knuckles whitened. “You should,” she rasped, “it’s inspiring to… see more than… crowded streets and… gray architecture.”
“If you are fond of this, I am sure you would be delighted by the Lake District,” he went on. “Everywhere you look, there are nothing but picturesque sights to behold. If only I had a more pleasant attachment to my estate there, I might be inclined to visit more often.”
Nora sucked air through her teeth. “Why don’t… you like it there?” She exhaled sharply. “Is it because of… your Mother and Father?”
She was well aware that Liam would have ceased riding if she simply told him of her discomfort, but she had been so insistent that she was fine. And, while her pride would survive an admission of frank honesty, there was another reason she was keen to stay quiet about her pain. More than anything, she desperately wanted to deliver her manuscript to this mysterious publisher. If she did not do it now, she did not know when she might have another opportunity.
“Among other things,” Liam confirmed. “The gardens are exquisite, though, and I imagine there is still much beauty to be found in and around the estate. Maybe, I would be able to find it again if I looked upon it with refreshed eyes.”
A trickle of sweat meandered down the side of Nora’s face. “You’ll… see it soon enough, if you… keep heading north after… you’ve left me at Northcrop.”
“Nora?” Liam brought his horse to a halt and reached for her reins, pulling her mount to a stop, too. “What is the matter? Are you in pain? Please, I urge you, do not lie to save face. If it is too much, youmusttell me so that I may help you.”
Nora gritted her teeth. “I am… in a great deal… of pain. If I ride any… longer, I fear I may… faint.”
The moment she said those words, Liam swung his leg over the saddle and dropped down beside her mount. There, he reached his arms up so he could help her to the ground.
“There isn’t… anywhere for us… to take shelter,” she gasped, as a blinding pain seared up her thigh.
“Allow me to worry about that,” he urged, beckoning for her to slide down into his arms.
Knowing she could not hope to continue riding for even a short distance, she had no choice but to relent. Gingerly, she put out her hands and rested them on Liam’s broad shoulders, as his hands went to her waist. To her surprise, she felt no fear or panic, as she usually did when a man grasped her waist. Instead, she felt… secure and just a little bit shy.
I must be more delirious than I thought, to be acting girlish around him.
In one smooth lift, Liam removed her from the saddle. As her feet touched the ground, however, she was not expecting him to take his hands away from her waist so quickly. Rendered off balance by the sudden absence of that support, her knees buckled, and she slumped forward.
Before she could hit the muddied, snow-trampled road, Liam swooped to catch her, and not a moment too soon. His strong arms grasped her tightly around her back and pulled her flush to his chest, his breath coming in short, flustered pants as he held her there and did not let her go.
“You may hold onto me for as long as you need,” he murmured, as she rested her head upon his shoulder and wrapped her own arms around his waist.
She did not know if it was the fright of almost crumpling to the ground, or the pain in her leg making her feel sorry for herself, or the events of the night before finally taking affect upon her, but she did just as he asked, holding onto him for dear life.
“Thank you for… catching me.” She clutched him tighter, feeling every rise and fall of his chest against her. Somehow, the rhythm of it steadied her rapidly beating heart, and quelled the fractious nerves that coursed through her body… though there was nothing he could do about her pain.
“I am sorry if I caused you to lose your balance,” he replied. “I did not know you were leaning on me. If I had, I would not have let go.”
I didn’t know I was leaning on you, either… though not in the way you’re thinking.
