Shield of Fire (Flames of Winter Book 2) by Bree Wolf

Author:Bree Wolf [Wolf, Bree]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: WOLF Publishing
Published: 2023-03-01T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twenty-Two

THE LIFE OF A COUNTESS

It was nothing short of magic.

Kate knew it to be. She knew this feeling of awe, of wonderment, of utter disbelief as she looked down into her daughter’s tiny face, her blue eyes open and looking back into hers. She saw Frederica’s little soul, a new life gathering its first few glimpses of the world. There was awareness there, the will to live, to learn, to be all she could be. Kate also saw infallible trust, and a part of her ached to claim it for herself, to go back to those first innocent days of childhood while another, darker part of her soul cringed at the thought that, like herself, Frederica would one day lose that trust. It would be stripped from her by the harsh world she had been born into. A world that would show her no respect, no consideration, no compassion.

A world that only knew demands.

Closing her eyes, Kate hugged her precious child to her chest, rocking her gently, clinging to these first pure moments with every heartbeat. For Frederica’s sake as well as her own. Yet eventually, they would pass. They had to. And then?

Sarah’s voice echoed in Kate’s ears. Save yourself. Even the memory of her sister’s words made Kate cringe, and her gaze flew around the room as though someone might have overheard her wayward thoughts. Indeed, they were outrageous! Kate knew that to be true. Yet what was even more outrageous than these thoughts themselves was the fact that…they intrigued Kate.

Bowing her head, Kate once more looked down into Frederica’s little face, her blue eyes now closed in slumber. Her tiny chest rose and fell with even breaths, and her right hand was curled into Kate’s robe, holding on as though Frederica, too, felt the threat of separation that lingered nearby.

Tears shot to Kate’s eyes as a memory of Augusta and Dorothea took shape in her mind. She saw them laughing and giggling, their little teacups clinking together as they served her imaginary tea. They added make-believe sugar in heaps before stirring the tea rather vigorously and then upending the cup before it even made it halfway to Kate’s outstretched hand.

“Oh, my darlings, I miss you so,” Kate whispered in a choked voice, reminding herself not to clutch Frederica too tightly.

“Tears again?”

At the sound of her mother-in-law’s voice, Kate spun around, her eyes wide and her heart all but beating out of her chest, and for a terrifying second, Kate felt convinced that the dowager knew precisely what thoughts she had entertained only moments ago.

Her expression cold as always, the dowager took a few steps into the room. “May I remind you that you are the Countess of Birchwell?” Her tone sent a chill down Kate’s back. “Act as such. It does not suit to weep all day.”

Kate blinked tears from her lashes. “I’m in my chambers with no one to see.” Her arms involuntarily tightened upon Frederica. “What is it to you?”

Her mother-in-law’s gaze narrowed. “Since

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