Snowbound With The Baronet Read Online Free

might think of her, she refused to appear a coward in his eyes.
    So she gritted her teeth against the cold and squinted against the glare from the snow. She found it easier to ignore those discomforts when she concentrated on Sir Brandon’s firm, reliable grasp. Even with the layers of his gloves and hers between their hands, Cassandra sensed heartening warmth radiating from his touch. Dire as their situation might be, she trusted that he would do everything in his power to see her safely through it... in spite of his personal animosity toward her.
    Before her feet sank into the snow that came up past his knees, Sir Brandon leaned toward her and raised his voice to carry over the keening wind, “Forgive me for taking this liberty. It cannot be helped.”
    As she tried to puzzle out what he could mean, Sir Brandon released her hand and slid both of his beneath her cloak to grasp her around the waist. Though he did not squeeze hard, all the air rushed from Cassandra’s lungs, just the same. Somehow she retained the presence of mind to brace her hands against his broad shoulders.
    The next thing she knew, she was swept upward as if she weighed no more than one of the wafting snowflakes, and deposited on the broad back of a carriage horse. The beast shifted uneasily, not accustomed to bearing a rider. Acting on instinct, Cassandra reached out and gave it a reassuring pat on the neck.
    “Are you securely seated?” Sir Brandon inquired. His voice seemed to come from a long distance, even though he still held her around the waist.
    “As secure as I can be without a saddle,” she called back.
    Before her family’s fortunes had fallen, she’d been a skilled and intrepid rider. One of the hardest things she’d been obliged to do after her father’s death was sell her beautiful thoroughbred mare.
    “I’m certain you will manage.” In contrast to the warmth and care his touch conveyed, the baronet’s voice sounded as fierce and icy as the gusts sweeping over the Wiltshire Downs.
    He wrenched his hands away from her and turned back to the stagecoach. A whimper broke from Cassandra’s lips. It felt as if his fingers had been frozen to her flesh and ripped away bits of it when he removed them. Fortunately the high-pitched howl of the wind whipped the sound away before anyone else could hear.
    Ordering herself not to be so foolish, she threaded the gloved fingers of one hand through the coarse hair of the horse’s mane. With the other, she tugged her cloak closed as best she could against the elements. Through the fast-falling snow, she could make out the shapes of the other passengers being helped down from the coach.
    Then she heard voices raised loud enough to pierce the shriek of the storm. “Don’t be ridiculous, Imogene! You must come. The driver assures me we are no more than a mile from shelter.”
    “Then go find it and come back to fetch me.” Miss Calvert cried in a voice sharp with panic.
    “Who knows if we could find you again in this?” Her cousin seemed to be fast losing patience. “We must stay together! It is our best hope. We cannot afford to delay!”
    “But it’s cold out there.” The lady continued to resist. “What if we get lost?”
    “Do come, Miss Calvert!” Cassandra called during a lull in their argument. “You can ride with me. It will be an adventure!”
    She was not certain her appeal would work but it was all she could think of at the moment. Sir Brandon was right—they could not afford to wait any longer. But neither could they leave his stubbornly terrified cousin behind to freeze.
    Perhaps her coaxing worked or perhaps Sir Brandon took advantage of the momentary distraction to seize his cousin and hoist her up behind Cassandra. Miss Calvert gave a terrified scream which Cassandra feared might spook the horse. Luckily, the creature was too tired or too miserable to care.
    “What if I fall off?” she squeaked.
    “It will be a soft landing in the snow,” her cousin snapped.