Half a dozen villagers were already on the pond by the time they reached the village. The carriage was sent back to Dolphin Court, with instructions to return in three hours to collect them, and the moment had arrived. Philippa glided towards them across the ice, graceful as a swan, and the solid weight of dread that had settled inside Leah stirred, churning her insides, making her feel sick. To cover her nerves, and while the two men greeted Philippa, Leah crouched down to strap on first Stevie’s and then Nicky’s skates, fixed their mufflers more securely around their necks so there were no loose ends flapping, and made sure their gloves and caps were on.
She stood up, once she was sure her nerves were under control, and greeted Philippa. The men, she noticed, were busy donning their own skates. With any luck they would forget about her, and she could watch them safely from the bank. There were a few wooden chairs set around the edge, presumably for spectators, and they looked far more enticing to Leah than the wide, glittering expanse of ice before her.
‘You make ice skating look remarkably easy, Philippa,’ she said.
Philippa laughed gaily, her eyes sparkling. ‘It is, Leah. It is so...liberating, to travel at such speed as a result of one’s own skill and momentum.’
Before Leah could respond, a shriek split the air. Stevie! Leah had been vaguely aware of Nicky tugging his older brother towards the ice as she spoke to Philippa, and now she desperately searched the skaters on the ice, looking for Stevie, expecting to see him in a huddled heap. But no. There he was, at the far side of the pond already, and actually skating. He had a little wobble now and then but, in the main, he looked in control, and even at this distance Leah could see the huge grin on his face. The shriek had come from Nicky, just a few feet from the edge of the ice and still on this side of the pond. His legs resembled those of a newborn foal trying to stand for the first time and his arms cartwheeled as he fought to keep his balance.
‘We’ll help him,’ Hinckley said.
He grabbed Philippa’s hand and they hurried to the edge of the ice. Within seconds, they had Nicky securely between them, steadying him. Hinckley called back, ‘You help Miss Thame, Dolph. We’ll stay with Nicky until he finds his balance,’ and off they set across the ice, each holding one of Nicky’s hands.
Leah sought Stevie again and, if anything, he looked even more adept as he glided in front of Nicky, showing off. Leah couldn’t help but laugh.
‘To think Stevie was petrified of today, and now look at him.’ She glanced at Dolph, who was watching both his sons with clear pride. ‘He was afraid of making a fool of himself. Worried Nicky would outshine him, as he so often does in physical challenges.’
‘It’s a joy to see him so confident.’ Dolph turned to Leah. His eyes searched hers. ‘It is your turn. Unless you are too nervous to even try?’
Leah tilted her chin. Stevie might no longer need her on the ice, but how could she possibly refuse to try when he had been so brave? She would not allow herself to appear a coward in front of the boys.
‘No. As I said, I will try. But I shall not promise to persevere if I fall over.’
He nodded, his lips pursing with a suppressed smile. ‘I knew you would rise to the challenge but, rest assured, I shall ensure you remain on your feet. If you sit there—’ he indicated a nearby chair ‘—I shall help you with your skates.’
Her heart in her mouth, Leah sat down and Dolphinstone crouched before her, the brim of his beaver hat concealing his face. Unobserved, she watched him, her stomach fluttering with more than just nerves about the skating ordeal to come as he stripped off his gloves and lifted her booted foot, his grip warm and firm around her ankle, even through the leather of her half-boots. He pushed the hem of her gown up from her foot, to give him access, and tingles chased each other across Leah’s back. Although there were people all around, it was as though the two of them existed apart from them, contained in their own separate bubble. She swallowed, clasping her gloved hands together as he fitted the skate to her foot and buckled the straps to secure it in place. He placed her foot back on the ground, and then he tipped his face up, catching her watching him.
Time appeared to stand still as their gazes fused. Now she knew why they had both avoided being alone together since that kiss. This attraction was definitely not one-sided; Dolph felt it as keenly as she. Her heart lurched and her entire body heated. Then he bent his head once more, and she released the breath that had seized her lungs, uncertain of what that moment might have meant to him, although she knew very well what it meant to her.
Fool! Have you learned nothing?
Twice she had lowered her defences to allow a man close. Twice she had been tricked into believing a man’s feelings for her were genuine. And the fact still remained Dolph was an earl, and she—although soon to be wealthy, and thus elevated in Society—was still his governess, and baseborn, to boot. If he was ever to remarry—and he had been clear in his snub to Hinckley when the subject had arisen—he would look much higher than Leah, for the sake of his children.
‘Now for the other one.’ Dolph’s voice was firm and emotionless as he strapped on her other skate. But, when he looked up at her again to say, ‘Now, Miss Thame. It is time to put you through your paces,’ the heat banked in his eyes was clear, even to a novice about men and their desires such as Leah, and her pulse leapt anew.
Dolph stood in one fluid motion. He pulled on his gloves before extending both hands. Leah took them, relishing the feeling as his fingers closed around hers, and his strength as he tugged her to her feet. Her ankles knuckled over immediately; balancing on the skates proved even trickier than she’d anticipated.
‘Whoa! Steady! You’re not even on the ice yet.’
Dolph released her hands to steady her under the elbows as she straightened her ankles, concentrating on the strangeness of balancing on the thin blade. The effect was to bring their bodies close together, chest to breast, and Leah resisted the urge to lean into him. With an effort, she stepped back, forcing him to relinquish his grip on her elbows. This time, she took his hands. This was her nightmare. She would be in control.
‘That’s the way.’
His murmured approval was the spur she needed to face the next step. She lifted her chin.
‘I am ready.’
There weren’t so very many people on the ice, and no one was watching. Nobody—surely—would notice or care if she fell. Besides, Dolph had promised he would not allow her to fall. She would put her trust in him.
They stepped onto the ice, and Leah found her worst fears were nothing compared to the actuality of losing—it seemed—all control over her legs and her feet, which seemed to be trying to slide in every direction at once. Dolph swapped her left hand from his right to his left, and wrapped his right arm around her waist, giving her added support.
‘Relax,’ he said. ‘Allow your foot to slide forward and move with it...keep your body above it. That’s it. Right foot first, stay in time with me. I have you. I won’t let you fall.’ His voice lowered to a deep, throaty murmur. ‘Trust me.’
Leah shivered. I do. But she held back the words and directed her attention to her feet instead. She’d trusted other men. Peter. Usk. They’d lied to her. Doubts rose to peck at her.
‘Try not to look down at your feet,’ he said. ‘Look straight ahead. Feel your body and its balance as you look where you’re going.’
‘I cannot. I’m scared if I look up, I will fall.’
‘I am here. You can trust me.’
But her eyes remained stubbornly fixed on the ice as her legs continued to misbehave and her feet shot away at impossible angles until a jubilant shout jerked her gaze up to Stevie as he sped past, grinning hugely. Her stomach dived as she saw they were right in the middle of the pond. The bank...safety...looked an impossible distance away.
‘Miss Thame! Papa! Look at me!’
Stevie skated a circle in front of them and then skidded to a halt. He wobbled a little, and Dolph’s arm firmed around Leah’s waist as he brought them to a halt by Stevie. He released Leah’s hand to reach out and grip Stevie’s shoulder.
‘Steady, son.’
‘I’m all right, Papa. I love skating.’
‘And you are exceptionally good at it, Stevie,’ said Leah. ‘Unlike me, I’m afraid.’
‘But Papa will make you like it, Miss Thame, won’t he?’
‘I will certainly try my best, Stevie. Why don’t you go and help your brother?’
Nicky was still in between Hinckley and Philippa but he did look as though he was improving.
‘Yes, Papa.’ Stevie skated away, full of self-importance.
‘Now. Let us try again.’ Dolph took Leah’s hand again and softened the arm wrapped around her waist. ‘Ready?’
She had no time to reply, for he was already moving, and all she could think of was that distance to the edge and to safety. Her feet slid this way and that, and the more she frantically fought to stay upright, the less control she seemed to have.
‘Whoa!’
She was vaguely aware, and somewhat irritated, that Dolph was laughing as he pivoted—all masculine elegance and control—to face her. Before she realised his intention, he bent his knees and in the next instant he swung her up into his arms, cradling her against his chest. Her arms snaked around his neck in a purely reflexive gesture as he glided towards the edge of the pond, and her heart, already racing, pounded still further as she delighted in the sensation of being picked up as though she were a child and cradled against his solid chest.
He halted but, rather than setting her down immediately, there was a pause. Leah sneaked a look at his face. His grey eyes stared into the distance. His expression was inscrutable as his arms tightened and he hugged her closer, his breathing ragged. She wondered what he was thinking—she did not even pretend to believe he was thinking about her.
‘My lord?’
She felt his body jerk, as though his mind had been far away. His cheeks flushed slightly, and the thought sneaked into her brain that a memory had struck him... Maybe he and Lady Dolphinstone had skated here together, in the past.
‘Now you will accuse me of being a wool-gatherer, Miss Thame.’ He lowered her carefully to the ground. ‘We shall try that again but, this time, please try not to hold your breath while you stare at your feet. Your mind needs to stay quiet. Allow your instinct and your natural balance to control your body.’
‘Would you not rather go and skate with Lord Hinckley and Miss Strong?’ Leah nodded towards where the pair were skating together, Stevie having taken charge of Nicky, who was now finding his balance. ‘I am persuaded you will enjoy yourself more than attempting to teach me. I fear I am a lost cause.’
‘Firstly, you are not a lost cause, Miss Thame. And secondly...’
The silence stretched. Leah glanced up at Dolph, to find him staring down at her, his brow bunched in a puzzled frown.
‘Secondly?’
‘Secondly...’ He hauled in an audible breath. ‘No. I would not enjoy skating with them more than I am enjoying teaching you.’
Heat flushed up from her neck to wash her face, and that accursed glimmer of hope deep inside her—the one she had been at such pains to banish—glowed a touch brighter. ‘I...thank you.’ She gulped, before saying, unsteadily, ‘Teaching others is rewarding, is it not? That is why I like teaching children—seeing them learn and become more confident.’
His chuckle sounded a little strained. ‘Rewarding,’ he said. ‘Yes.’
He reached across to take her left hand in his left, and again put his arm around her back. Even through her thick cloak she was aware his fingers tightened into her waist for a fleeting moment before relaxing once again. ‘Here we go, Miss Thame. Try to look ahead and keep your weight above your front foot.’
She tried. She really did. For half a circuit of the pond she even began to enjoy the sensation of gliding smoothly across the ice, and she definitely enjoyed the sensation of her hand in Dolph’s and of his arm around her. But, all too soon, she lost control of her front leg, which shot sideways instead of forwards, and the doubts and fears piled onto her, and instead of her right arm elegantly extending to assist her balance, she reached across to grab frantically at Dolph’s forearm, involuntarily spinning to face him and getting in his way. He swerved and lost his balance. Time seemed to slow, his fall taking an excruciatingly long time, and Leah felt herself begin to overbalance too. Somehow, though, he grabbed her and twisted, cushioning her fall. Rather than a hard landing on the ice, she found herself for the second time that morning held tightly to his chest.
‘Oh! Oh, my!’ Leah just lay there, not hurt but shocked into immobility, her bonnet knocked awry.
‘Are you hurt?’
His words seemed as though they were spoken right by her ear. She twisted her head to look at him, but her bonnet brim covered her eyes.
‘I’m fine,’ she breathed. ‘But what about you? You broke my fall.’
She felt, rather than heard, the chuckle rumble deep in his chest. ‘I did tell you to trust me, did I not? I couldn’t quite stop you falling, but I could stop you getting hurt.’ He pushed her bonnet back to its rightful position. His face was remarkably close, and his familiar scent filled her as his eyes searched hers. ‘I would hate for you to get hurt.’
His voice was low and intimate, there was heat in his gaze, and the hard ridge pressing against her belly confirmed that, physically at least, he desired her. Her heart hammered in her chest as her breasts ached. She became aware of a strange yearning deep inside her and a tiny pleasurable pulse of...something...that beat within the feminine folds between her thighs. She swallowed and waited for a second pulse, but it did not come. Was this how a woman felt desire? She had heard others speak of it, in whispers, but never had she imagined experiencing it herself. She had never felt anything physical for either Peter or for Lord Usk—any attraction on her part had been solely in her mind. She swallowed, knowing that Dolph, too, felt it. But she also knew that male physical desire did not necessarily mean emotional attachment.
A loud swishing, scraping sound broke the spell between them, and two hands thrust unceremoniously under her arms to swing her up and away from her employer’s recumbent form.
‘Up you get, Miss Thame. You don’t want to squash poor Dolph, do you?’
And Leah was plonked unceremoniously onto the ice although, luckily, Philippa was there to help steady her as Hinckley laughingly extended one hand to Dolph and hauled him to his feet.