Page 106 of A Duke Changes Everything
He turned his back on her and strode toward the smoldering structure. Most of the smoke was billowing skyward, but some poured out of a gap in the lower stones. The closer he got, the more he could feel the fire’s heat. At the base of the stairs, he lifted his arm to cover his nose and peered inside.
The lower stairs were singed, but still in place. It seemed the fire had rushed upward quickly and focused on consuming the single room where he’d been imprisoned.
If the cat was inside, there was no chance of saving her. The wind shifted, pushing smoke into his eyes. He took one step closer.
“Millicent?” Cats were notorious escape artists, but he couldn’t imagine where a feline might hide in this blaze. “Milly?”
An orange flash caught his eye and he leaned in to get a closer look. Only a flame, dancing along the edge of a sizzling wooden beam. Then the beam shifted, split, sparks and fiery fragments raining down. He stepped back, but burning rafters came down too quickly, and a searing pain lit his face on fire. A hot weight struck his shoulder hard, pushing him back against the heated stones. He swiped at his face and staggered back.
“Nick!” Mina’s scream filled his ears.
But he couldn’t see. Smoke and soot blurred his vision. Arms came around him from behind as he fell. Massive hands locked under his arms and his boot heels bounced on the ground as he was dragged into the grass.
Part of his shirt was wrenched off. He heard fabric tearing. Then a wet cloth came down on his eyes.
Mina’s hand slid into his. He recognized the shape of her fingers, the softness of her skin.
Nick reached up to pull the rag away. He could see, but through bleary clouded vision, and his eyes burned. “Mina? The cat wasn’t up there.”
“I know,” she told him through tears. “They found her. She’d snuck into the kitchen. I’m so sorry. Does it hurt?”
Every breath burned. A searing pain raged in his cheek. His arm ached, especially near his shoulder. But most of all he felt relief. He reached for Mina, traced his fingers across her cheek and left a sooty trail.
“I love you.” He wasn’t sure if he said the words aloud. His throat burned as if he’d swallowed an ember.
Mina leaned forward, swept her fingers through his hair, lowered her mouth to his. “I knew you did,” she whispered against his lips.
“We should get him inside,” Tobias insisted. “I’ve sent Emma to fetch the doctor.” When the stable master bent as if he meant to scoop Nick off the ground, he pushed at the man’s massive shoulder.
“I can walk on my own.” He wasn’t sure that was true, but he was damn well going to try.
“You’re not going anywhere without me.” Mina lifted his arm and ducked underneath, wrapping her arm around his waist.
“Promise?”
She nodded as they started toward the house. “You do know how stubborn I am.”
Thankfully, they didn’t bother with attempting to get him up the stairs. The staff had prepared one of the sitting room settees as a makeshift bed, with sheets and a pillow laid out.
Mina helped him hobble to the edge and he slumped down, trying to ignore the pain, struggling to get air without every breath feeling as if shards of glass were lodged in his chest.
When Mina loosened her hold on his hand, he pulled her back.
“I’m just going for some water and cloths to clean you up.” Her gaze kept flickering to his cheek. The one that burned like hell. The one his father hadn’t sliced with a penknife.
“Now I’ll be a monster on both sides of my face.”
She bit her lip. He could tell she was fighting tears. “You’ll never be a monster to me.” One last squeeze of his hand and she let him go.
When she was gone, Nick laid his head back and closed his eyes. It seemed only a moment, but when he opened them again, the sky was dimmer but for the glow of a fiery orange sunset through the windows.
His face felt tight and constricted, and he reached up to find he’d been bandaged. Not just his cheek, but his arm too. How the hell had he slept through all of it?
“You’re awake.” A white-haired gentleman stood up from a chair across the room and approached. “I took the liberty of giving you a bit of laudanum for the pain, Your Grace.” The man was strangely familiar.
“Where’s Mina? Miss Thorne.”
“Just there.” The doctor pointed to a settee in the corner of the room. “She’s been quite insistent about keeping watch over you.”
