If the Slipper Fits by Olivia Drake

Author:Olivia Drake
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Macmillan
Published: 2012-05-21T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

The shot echoed through the woods and across the valley. She froze for a split second, her mind battling disbelief. A poacher. There must be a poacher, after all.

Dropping the gunnysack, Annabelle spun around. “Stop!” she shouted. “Don’t shoot! There’s a child here.”

All lay silent except for her own harsh exhalations. A quick scan of the forested slope revealed no movement among the tall trees, no sign of where the gunman might be hiding.

There was no time to find him.

In a mad panic, she went scrambling down the hill, slipping and sliding on thick layers of leaves. Mud and dirt soiled her hem but she scarcely noticed. Her only thought was for Nicholas. Had he been struck?

Oh, dear God, he must have been. She had seen him go down. He had vanished from sight. Had he been badly injured … or killed?

The thought wrenched a sob of terror from her throat. It couldn’t be true. It just couldn’t. Where was he? She thought knew the place, but he wasn’t there …

A few yards ahead, Nicholas popped into view. He scrambled to his feet and stood looking down at his hands.

His fair hair was messy, his clothing dirty, but Annabelle had never seen a more welcome sight. Sinking to her knees, she caught hold of his shoulders and gave him a frantic look-over. It was a vast relief not to see blood anywhere on him.

She clutched his small, warm body close to hers. “Oh, darling, I saw you fall. Are you all right?”

He nodded, his look more curious than fearful. “Was somebody shooting?”

Annabelle wrestled her wild emotions under control. Her heart was still pounding madly. It wouldn’t do to frighten him, so she forced herself to speak calmly. “Yes, I think so. It … must have been a poacher.”

He lifted his chin. “Poachers are not allowed here. They must be made to go away so they don’t kill my rabbits.”

At his imperious frown, she swallowed a hysterical bubble of laughter. It was he who needed protection, not the wildlife. Thank goodness, he must not have realized just how close the shot had been. If the bullet had hit him …

Annabelle rose shakily to her feet. Though she burned to find out who had fired the gun, her first duty was to Nicholas. He must be taken straight back to the safety of the schoolroom. “You’re quite right, I’ll speak to your uncle about it as soon as possible. Now come. We must return to the castle at once.”

Slipping her arm around him, Annabelle urged him away from the area where she estimated the shooter to be, all the while keeping a sharp eye out. She felt dangerously exposed, having no means to protect the duke except to keep him close to her side as they traversed at a wide angle up the hill. The only sounds were the scuffling of their feet through the underbrush and the distant crash of the waves on the other side of the cliff. Not even the birds twittered in the treetops.

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