Snowflakes and Scandals

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Millie shifted onto her side with a groan. She’d had the most unsettling dream that she’d had to trudge through an unexpected snowstorm while on her way to visit Sarah.

“Miss Tyndale, are you all right?”

She was still dreaming. There was no other reason she’d be hearing the unmistakable voice of Sarah’s brother right now. She scrunched her eyes together in an attempt to stay asleep. She’d had such dreams in the past, but she always woke up as soon as she realized she was dreaming.

When nothing happened, she sighed and opened her eyes. She prepared herself for disappointment and was pleasantly surprised to find Viscount Carlisle standing at the foot of her bed.

“Millie,” he said, closing his eyes briefly. He wasn’t scowling, but he did appear concerned.

She let out a soft breath. “I’m dreaming.”

And then his scowl returned, and she realized she wasn’t peacefully sleeping. “Why are you in my bedchamber?”

“Do you remember what happened?” He was staring at her, and she couldn’t understand why. Carlisle usually avoided her.

She glanced around the room, taking in the fact that she wasn’t in her bedchamber. This room was larger and much nicer than hers.

“Where am I?”

“You’re in one of the guest rooms?—”

She gasped when she looked down and realized she wasn’t wearing the practical wool dress she’d donned before setting out. The blue muslin fabric looked familiar. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was one of Sarah’s dresses.

“Did you… Did I…” She cleared her throat. “What am I wearing?”

“That was my doing, miss.”

Her gaze went to the corner of the room where a matronly woman was standing. She recognized her as the housekeeper.

“You were frozen through to the bone, Millie, and your clothing was wet. I asked Mrs. Dryer to help you change into dry clothing so you wouldn’t get sick.”

She took a deep breath as her mind grappled with the fact that she hadn’t been dreaming. She’d actually walked to her friend’s house and been caught in a snowstorm. Which meant her reason for setting out in the first place was also real.

“Where’s Sarah?” It made no sense why the viscount would be here in place of her friend.

Carlisle moved around to the side of the bed, his hands remaining clasped behind his back. And he was still frowning.

“As I was telling you when you swooned, Sarah has gone with Mother to visit family for Christmas.”

Millie didn’t swoon—her constitution was far too robust for that. But apparently her exhaustion had caused her to do just that.

Feeling vulnerable in her current position, Millie struggled to sit up. Carlisle hurried to help her, his strong arm moving behind her back while his other hand took hold of hers. His ungloved hand. The heat of his skin against hers caused an uncomfortable awareness to race through her body.

And to her utter mortification, she felt the blush that now heated her cheeks.

He helped her to stand and then took precisely two steps back.

“I’m not going to swoon again.”

Carlisle did something completely unexpected then. He smiled. And heaven help her, it made him even more handsome.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed. Given the state you were in when you arrived, it’s completely understandable.”

She almost sagged with relief at his words. It would have been unbearable if the viscount realized the flush in her cheeks was the result of her inconvenient attraction to him.

“I apologize for imposing on you in such a manner.”

He stared at her for several seconds before he spoke. “I’m surprised you ventured so far on foot given the weather.”

She wrapped her arms around her waist and shivered, remembering just how cold it had been. “I thought I’d bundled up sufficiently when I set out. It wouldn’t have been so bad if the snow hadn’t started to fall in earnest. It slowed me down, so the trip took much longer than normal.”

“It wasn’t snowing when you left?”

She shook her head. “And when it started, I didn’t think it would be so bad. I can’t remember the last time we had a proper snowstorm.”

“And you didn’t turn back because…?”

“By the time I realized I shouldn’t have ventured out, I was closer to your estate than to ours. I couldn’t bear the thought of spending longer than necessary outdoors.”

He clasped his hands behind his back again. There was a searching quality in the way he looked at her that had her thinking he wanted to ask her a question that might cause her offense. She rushed to reassure him. “If you could ask for your carriage to be prepared so I can return home, I’d be very grateful.”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible.”

She tried to ignore the way his denial made her feel as though she was imposing. “If it’s warmer now, I suppose I could make the return trip on foot?—”

“There will be no venturing out for a few days, I’m afraid. The snow is too deep.”

“You’re jesting.” She raced to the bedroom window, but she already knew what she’d see.

From this window she could see the path she’d taken, and her footsteps had been swallowed by the snow that was still falling.

“Surely a carriage?—”

“Would get stuck.”

She leaned closer to the window and sighed when her breath fogged the glass. “It’s so pretty. I’ve never seen so much snow.” It covered everything in a blanket of white. And the trees and shrubbery were now encased in white. The sun had set at some point while she’d been sleeping, lending an air of quiet beauty to the scene she was witnessing.

“It certainly is.”

She turned to face him, her smile broad. Carlisle wasn’t looking at the scene outside, though, but at her.

She must have hit her head when she swooned, because surely she was imagining the warmth in his eyes as he continued to gaze at her.

“Is there anything else you need, my lord?”

Millie blushed and looked away. She’d completely forgotten there was another person in the room. Of course the viscount would take steps to ensure he didn’t compromise her, because Carlisle was nothing if not circumspect.

Except… The way he’d looked at her was far from the aloof man she’d come to expect over the past year.

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll take my leave now. Dinner will be in one hour. I’d like it very much if you’d join me.”

This wasn’t happening. She wasn’t stranded in Carlisle’s home, alone with him. And he didn’t just invite her to share a private dinner with him.

But even if he’d asked out of a sense of responsibility, she didn’t care. She would take this opportunity to spend time with the man to whom she’d developed an inconvenient attraction.

“I would be honored.”