THE VALENTINE SKATES by Stein Andrea K

Author:Stein, Andrea K.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Muirgen® Publishing, LLC
Published: 2022-02-07T16:00:00+00:00

Frederick had chosen to walk through the wheat field between Weyford and Wembledon, breathing in the damp morning mists. His boots crunched on the stubbles of the recently scythed crop, and his gaze strayed to some townsfolk who were gathering the leavings his harvest workers hadn’t loaded onto wagons that week.

He looked away and pretended not to see, because he knew times were hard for the poor. The high prices he’d gotten that year for his crops meant well for his family, but with the Corn Laws, the poor were unable to obtain cheaper grains from abroad.

When he climbed the stile up to the roadway between his farm and the Howick estate, he pulled a soft object from inside his waistcoat where he’d stuffed it earlier before his tramp across the field. He’d found the fluffy stuffed form of a sheep at a toy stall in London before he’d retrieved Rowan from the coaching inn at the edge of the city. Shiny black button eyes stared back at him, expressionless from the depths of the snowy white yarn.

Emily would love the toy. She’d nearly worn out her bear, Mr. Withers, and Lili’s old velvet rabbit in endless pretend play in the bed where she’d been a virtual prisoner ever since her near-drowning the winter before.

He nearly missed the caped figure running out a side door of Wembledon. She was quick and had occasionally bested him in foot races when they were children, but he wasn’t going to let her get away this time. The stakes were too high.

Frederick loped behind her, easily catching up just as she disappeared into the copse of trees shrouding the pathway along the river.

She turned with a haunted look of fright, like one of the rabbits Emily loved to chase. “Go away. Leave before someone from the village sees you.”

He did not argue with her but moved close and pushed the cape hood down over her shoulders so that he could run his fingers through her silken hair. She didn’t struggle against him, but he could feel the erratic beat of her heart through the wool of the cape.

They didn’t speak. Words weren’t necessary. When he cradled her chin to sip from her lips, she deepened the kiss and grasped the lapels of his coat to pull him close. He was lost. He had no idea what Lili wanted in this moment, but he belonged to her, all of him.

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