Lucy silently cursed Prudence’s brother. If he’d accompanied Prudence to find her scarf, he’d easily be able to get her to safety. Although from the ungainly way he’d scaled the tree, perhaps Lucy overestimated his physical prowess.
The flakes were coming down harder than ever, limiting visibility, the wind howling. Already the snow nearly covered their tracks. The sooner they returned to the sleighs, the better.
Prudence shifted and Lucy placed an arm under hers to help her rise. But that small victory was lost when the lady cried out the moment she placed weight on her ankle.
“I’m sorry. I need a moment longer.” Prudence wiped away her tears.
“I’ll get help.” Lucy released her arm to straighten.
“No! Please don’t leave me.” Prudence gripped Lucy’s arm with both hands. “I just need a few minutes.”
Uncertainty filled Lucy. Prudence was already shivering, and the weather was a concern. Yet how could she leave when the woman was so clearly frightened?
Hugh glanced around the guests for Lucy, though the blowing snow made it difficult to see. Two of the sleighs as well as the wagon had already departed. Had she been on one of them? He told himself it didn’t matter. His goal for the outing had been to spend as much time with Emma as possible. And he’d succeeded.
Not only had he ridden in the sleigh beside her, but he’d also traipsed through the woods with her arm tucked under his. He’d had more time with her than he’d hoped. She seemed to appreciate his attention.
But that didn’t keep him from thinking of Lucy. She was ever in his thoughts. The harder he tried to not think of her, the more he did.
“We’re waiting for Miss Barnes and Miss Gray,” Mr. Johnson, one of the other guests, said.
“Where are they?” Hugh asked.
“Miss Barnes lost her scarf, and when she didn’t return, Miss Gray went to assist her. They must be having difficulty finding it.”
Though no one else appeared concerned, something niggled at the back of Hugh’s mind. The snowfall was increasing steadily as was the wind. “Which direction did they go?”
“That way.” Johnson pointed toward the trees.
“I’ll see if I can find them. If I don’t return in a few minutes, send someone after me.”
Hugh waded through the deepening snow, searching the ground to ensure he followed the most recent tracks. The wind gusted, making the task even harder.
“Miss Gray?” he called out, though he feared the wind carried his voice away. “Miss Barnes?”
He shielded his face with his gloved hand to block the blowing snow to better see the tracks only to realize they veered in two directions. The set on the left looked more recent, so he followed those, pausing to call out often.
“Here!”
He squinted into the now blinding snow to see a figure waving in the distance. He hurried forward and found both ladies on the ground.
“Miss Barnes twisted her ankle,” Lucy explained, pitching her voice above the howling wind. “She’s in terrible pain and can’t put weight on it.”
“If you’ll allow me, Miss Barnes, I will carry you.”
She nodded jerkily.
Lucy assisted the lady to stand then Hugh lifted her in his arms. “Can you lead the way?” he asked Lucy.
“Yes.” She followed his tracks, adjusting course when needed.
Progress was slow given his burden and the weather. Miss Barnes shivered in his arms. “We’ll have you warm and dry in no time,” Hugh said as he adjusted his hold. Luckily, she wasn’t heavy, but between wading through the snow and carrying her, he was soon winded.
What should’ve taken ten minutes took double. The sound of shouts caught his ear, and soon dark shapes were visible, coming toward them.
Others hurried forward with offers of help, but Hugh shook his head. They had nearly made it and handing Miss Barnes to someone else might cause her additional pain. He left the explanation of what happened to Lucy and focused on keeping his footing.
Soon they were loaded in the sleigh and returning to the house.
“Thank you,” Lucy said from his side.
He turned to see her large brown eyes filled with gratitude.
“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you hadn’t come,” she added, her voice difficult to hear.
He smiled. “As resourceful as you are, I have no doubt you would’ve thought of something. I’m sorry you had to worry for even a moment.”
She nodded but said nothing more.
The ride back to the house seemed to take forever. When they arrived, several men were returning to a sleigh to search for them, including Mr. Barnes.
“Prudence?” he asked as he looked among the bundled-up occupants of the sleigh.
“She’s twisted her ankle.” Hugh hopped down and turned to assist Lucy along with the others.
Within minutes, Miss Barnes was carried to her room, her brother visibly distressed for not having been there to aid her.
After Hugh told the story more times than he cared to in the drawing room, he left in search of Lucy. With all the attention on Miss Barnes, he wanted to make certain Lucy was none the worse for the fright and cold she’d experienced. Though she might be in her bedchamber or with her aunt, he looked in a few likely places, the last one being the small sitting room at the end of the second floor and found her.
He stood in the doorway unnoticed, taking a moment to admire her. She sat alone on the settee before the fire, reading a book. The image she presented caught his breath. Her dark hair was swept back into a loose chignon. Her creamy complexion made him long to touch her cheek to see if it was as soft as it appeared. Did she prefer to be alone or was it a habit from her solitary existence?
“I hope I’m not disturbing you.” He kept his tone quiet, not wanting to startle her.
She glanced up, her eyes rounded in surprise. “Not at all.” She hastily set aside the book to stand, but he held out his hand to stop her.
“Please, don’t rise on my account,” he said as he drew closer. “I wanted to make certain you were well.”
“I’m fine. It seemed as if Miss Barnes had plenty of people to care for her, so I came upstairs to check on my aunt.”
“Did you tell her of your heroic efforts?” he asked with a smile.
“Good heavens, no.” She shook her head. “She was napping, but I didn’t do anything heroic. You’re the one who rescued Miss Barnes. I should be asking if you are well.”
“I’m fine. I hope Miss Barnes quickly recovers.” He held out his hands toward the brightly burning fire, but Lucy’s presence was what kept him there. He liked her far more than he should.
“As do I.”
“Your cousin seemed unhappy that she missed all the excitement.”
Lucy smiled. “She detests missing out on anything.”
She detests not being the center of attention, he wanted to add but held back his opinion.
He knew he should leave Lucy to her privacy but couldn’t bring himself to do so. The quiet room with the warm fire and her presence were too hard to resist. He bent to place another piece of wood on the fire as he searched his mind for a reason to stay.
“I believe Mr. Barnes was more upset by the events than his sister,” he said.