her robe, which she hadnât bothered to unpack, considering the brevity of her visit.
Then she heard it: someone pounding up the stairs and banging on a door down the hall. She leaped out of bed, ran to her door, and opened it at the same time she smelled smoke. Her hand to her throat now, she stepped into the hall. She thought she recognized the footman, even though he was wearing his nightshirt. âMy lord! My lord!â he yelled as he banged on the door.
The door opened, and Lord Trevor stepped barefoot into the hall. âFire, my lord,â the footman said, breathless from dashing up the stairs. âThe central chimney!â
Cecilia hurried back into her room, grabbed her traveling case, and threw it out the window. She snatched her cloak, stepped into her shoes, and turned around to see Lord Trevor right behind her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hall. âStay here,â he ordered. âYou donât know this manor.â Smoke wafted up the stairs like her vision of the last plague of Egypt. She pulled a corner of her cloak across her face to cover her nose, and watched Lord Trevor go in the bedchambers and awaken his nieces and nephew.
He pulled David out first, and thrust him at her. She locked her arms tight around the sleepy child. âWeâll wait right here for your uncle,â she whispered into his hair.
Lucinda came next, her eyes wide with fear, and Janet followed, wailing about her clothes. âShut up, Janet,â her uncle ordered. âTake Lucyâs hand and hold mine.â
With his free hand he grabbed Cecilia around the waist and started down the stairs. David coughed and tried to pull away, but she clutched his hand. She put her other arm around Lord Trevor and turned her face into his nightshirt so she could breathe. No one said anything as they groped down the stairs and across the foyer. In another blessed moment the footman, who must have been in front of them in the smoky darkness, flung open the front door. They hurried down the steps into the cold.
Still he did not release her. She kept her face tight against his chest, shivering from fright. If anything, he tightened his grip on her until his fingers were digging into the flesh of her waist. He must have realized then what he was doing, because he opened his hand, even though he did not let go of her.
She forced herself to remain calm, if not for herself, then for the children, and perhaps for Lord Trevor, who surely had more to do now than hold her so tight on the front lawn. She released her grip on his waist then, and stepped back slightly, so he had no choice but to let go.
Before he did, he leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. Because he offered no explanation for his curious act, and no apology, she decided that emergencies did strange things to people who were otherwise rational.
â Keep everyone here, Cecilia. No one goes back for anything.â He turned and hurried up the steps again.
What about you? she wanted to call after him as he disappeared inside. She gathered his nieces and nephew around her. âWeâll be fine, my dears,â she told them, reaching out her arms to embrace them all. They stood together and watched the manor. Although smoke seeped from the front door, she saw no flames.
They endured several more minutes of discomfort, then Lord Trevor and the household staff came around the building from the back. The footman, more dignified with trousers now, carried the grip she had thrown out the window. Lord Trevor had also taken the time to find his own pants and shoes, although he still wore his nightshirt. To her amusement, the housekeeper was fully dressed. Iâll wager you would rather have burned to a crisp before leaving your room in a state of semi-dress, she thought.
Lord Trevor hurried to her, the housekeeper and footman following. âMrs. Grey will escort you and the children to the dower house for the night. Itâs in