Face to Face: A Waltz with Destiny: Book One by Alanna Lucas

Author:Alanna Lucas
Language: eng
Format: epub

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Out of the window?

What was he thinking? She could not possibly climb down a tree in a dress. She did not think she could even complete the challenge in breeches.

“Ready?” His deep voice asked her.

How she loved the sound of that voice. It beckoned her to follow him anywhere. She took in a deep breath. “Ready.”

She watched Ranulph clamber out the window and test the first branch. He disappeared into the foliage for a moment, then poked his head through the leaves and called softly to her.

“The limbs are stable.”

She still wasn’t convinced. Sitting on the windowsill, she gathered the length of her dress and eased her legs over the sill. She tried not to look down.

Focus on Ranulph… Don’t look down… Focus on Ranulph…

Reassuring her, he reached out for her with his hand, his voice gentle and caring. “Give me your hand. I will not let you fall.”

Trembling from head to toe, she reached out to him. Nudging forward into the unknown, she held her breath and took a leap of faith. Just as he said, he never let go.

“You need to open your eyes, my love.” There was no hint of laughter in his voice, but when she did, his smiling gaze belied his tone.

She could not respond. It took all of her effort to keep calm and just breathe. She allowed him to guide her along the sturdy branch, sliding one slippered foot behind the other. When at last she reached the trunk, she wrapped her arms around it, hugging it as if her life depended on it.

“I will start to go down first. Don’t follow until I tell you.”

“I won’t.” She thought she heard him chuckle, but ignored it. Her biggest concern at the moment was how she was going to get down. For the first time since exiting the window, she looked at the ground. They had to be twenty feet up. Her chin rose, and she closed her eyes tight. Breathing heavily, she rested her cheek against the rough bark, praying that somehow this ordeal would go away.

“Penelope,” Ranulph whispered through the layers of foliage, “lower your left foot.”

Pressing her lips together in determination, she slid down the trunk, lowering her left foot as instructed. Excitement surged through her body when Ranulph’s firm hand encircled her ankle, guiding her foot to a lower branch. She was most certain that she blushed from her toes all the way up to her cheeks.

“Now, the right foot.”

She’d never imagined that climbing down a tree could be so arousing. The feel of his hand guiding her down took her mind off the danger. Placing her right foot firmly on the next branch, she loosened her grip on the trunk, noticing the imprint of the grey bark on her hand.

Green leaves caressed her skin as she climbed downward. With Ranulph’s guidance the task was completed in a matter of minutes. When at last her feet were firmly touching the dark brown earth, she leaped up, wrapped her arms about his neck, and kissed him.

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