Page 70 of Snowbound with the Scoundrel
But not for long.Rupert watched in horror as Phyllis wheeled around, turning the gun on Claire.
He saw the terror in Claire’s eyes, watched as she fumbled to cock her own weapon.
Phyllis narrowed her eyes and pulled the trigger.
Screaming her name, Rupert leaped.Hurling his body in front of Claire, he felt the air go out of him as the bullet slammed into his chest.
Chapter29
“Rupert!”Clarissa screamed.“Noooooooo!”
He collapsed in the snow and lay unmoving.Clarissa hurried to his side… which was stupid, she knew.Phyllis Cuthbert was still there, bent on murder.
But Rosalind Baxter suddenly seemed to recall thatshewas the great sportswoman in the family.
And Phyllis no longer had the advantage of a loaded gun.
Rosalind let out a bellow of rage.She came charging through the maze and tackled her cousin, and the two of them landed with a hard thump in the snow.
Rupert lay crumpled, face-down.Clarissa turned him over and pulled him into her lap.She caressed his beautiful face, which was almost as colorless as the snow beneath him.
“Rupert,” she begged.“Talk to me!Please, tell me you’re all right.”His eyes refused to open.She shook him, needing him to wake up.“You can’t be dead, Rupert.You just can’t.I—I can’t do without you!”
His head listed to the side.She pulled it up gently, stroking his brow.
A tear coursed down her cheek.This couldn’t be happening.They had only just found each other!This was supposed to be the start of their life together.Suddenly, a life without this wonderful man beside her loomed before her, colorless and devoid of joy.Because that was what Rupert was—joy in its purest, most unadulterated form.
“Please, Rupert,” she begged, her voice breaking.“I love you.”
Her eyes were blurred with tears.She, therefore, felt rather than saw him stir.
“Rupert?”she asked, framing his face.
His only answer was a groan.
“Rupert!”she cried, shaking him.“Rupert, are you alive?Please tell me you’re alive!”
“I’m not,” he said in a groggy voice.
She chanced a glance down at his torso, fearing the worst.His cravat had been blasted to bits, and there was a hole in his shirt just over his heart.
But there wasn’t a speck of blood anywhere.How was that possible?
Hope flared in her heart.“Rupert, wake up!You’re not allowed to die.I need you.”
He tossed his head but didn’t open his eyes.“I’m definitely dead.”
She stroked his brow.“Does it hurt terribly, my love?”
He drew in a shuddering breath.“It doesn’t hurt at all.Claire said she loves me!”He shook his head, burying his face in her lap and wrapping his arms around her waist.“I’ve obviously died and gone to heaven.”
She let out a little sob, but she was smiling.“Ru-pert,” she said, gently turning him so he was facing up again.“Open your eyes.”
Frowning, he opened them just a slit as if terrified of what he would see.His face went slack when he spotted her smiling down at him.“Claire!”he cried, reaching up to cup her cheek.He glanced around, confused.“I—I’m not dead?”
She smiled through her tears.“I don’t believe so, no.”
“And you… you love me!”
