Page 67 of An Icy Christmas Engagement
“You gave me no choice,” she sighed.
“I had nothing to do with it. It was your passion for writing that brought you this far. Now, it is my turn.” He reached for his spectacles. “Now go home. You’ve given me work to do.”
Caroline huffed a delirious laugh as her tears broke free. “Thank you, Mr. Holloway. Thank you for believing in me.”
He grunted something under his breath and waved his hand dismissively. Caroline managed a small smile at that, then took her leave. That was one thing off her mind. Now, she could focus entirely on the other.
She wasn’t sure if she remembered how to find Cedric’s offices, but she knew the general location. If she made it, she would force him to listen to her explain everything. She needed to know if he saw her any differently, if he hated her now that he knew she had hid this truth from him.
The mere thought that he might, felt like knives going through her chest.
The smell of smoke stung her nose just as she went around a corner. Caroline blinked in surprise at the gathering of people a short distance away. She hurried closer, realizing with a start that the smell was growing stronger.
Then she saw it. Red flames licking at a familiar building, massive men racing in and out carrying buckets of water. Caroline spotted Harrison amongst the crowd with a terrifying look of worry on his face.
She drifted closer. She didn’t dare to consider what was happening, even as she heard snippets of conversation. Even as her ears picked up on someone saying that there was someone still inside, Caroline didn’t let herself think that it might be true.
Harrison spotted her as she came closer and the worry on his face transformed into pure horror.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he said.
“Where is he?” Caroline breathed. Men kept rushing by her with those buckets of water, fighting valiantly at the flames that were fighting back.
“You should go home,” Harrison told her gently, touching her elbow. “The smoke is thick and it is not good for—”
“Where is he?” she asked again, her voice tinged with hysteria.
Harrison’s face fell. “He’s trapped inside.”
Caroline couldn’t breathe. Turning slowly, blood roaring in her ears, she faced the burning building.
“The fire brought down some of the ceiling and it is blocking most of the entrance, so they cannot get to him,” Harrison tried to explain. “He went back in to make sure that everyone was out safely and it collapsed right behind him.”
The tears were back. Caroline knew it had nothing to do with the smoke stinging her eyes.
“You should go,” Harrison said again. “I shall send word once he is safe.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” she pushed out.
She stood there, her body numb, watching as the men tried to get inside. Even as they won against the flames at the entrance, the debris blocking their path was another hurdle to get over. The rest of the building continued to burn, eating away at her hopes and prayers that Cedric was safe.
The men work tirelessly. Caroline stood there in utter silence next to Harrison, praying that Cedric was safe. Praying that the smoke had not done the damage that the fire could not. She cried until her eyes grew tired and dry, until it sapped what little strength she had left.
He still did not appear.
Chapter Twenty-One
Someone shouted.
Caroline gasped, looking from the cobblestone she’d been staring into for the past few minutes. She blinked away the tears that had somehow formed in her eyes once more as a hazy figure appeared near the doorway of the building.
“Cedric?”
She started forward. The figure was large and she realized that it was two people instead of one, trudging forward at a slow pace. Caroline rushed forward.
“Cedric!”
Harrison was right on her heels. He was faster and he raced ahead just in time to grab Cedric before he collapsed to the ground. He was holding on to someone who was unconscious but one of the men dousing the fire slipped in to grab him as well.
