Twice Fallen Read Online Free PDF Page B

rattled.
    “Quick,” she whispered, whirling to present her back. “Help me.”
    She actually thought he might have let out a small muffled laugh, but with dexterous ease he undid her gown and she stepped out of it, wondering if she’d completely lost her senses. Clad only in her chemise, stockings, and slippers and gathering the material of her gown into a bundle, she was relieved to see he wasn’t staring at her now half-clad body, but had taken the small lamp from the table, moving so silently despite his disability she suddenly believed all the stories about his service to the Crown.
    To her surprise he extended his folded jacket and shetook it in a reflexive response and then he offered his hand.
    There was no time for debate on the matter.
    She placed her fingers in his and she could swear she caught the glimmer of a smile; then he led her into the passageway, pulled the panel closed, and eased the door shut with only the slightest groan of the hinges.
    Well done.
    Only it was worse than she’d imagined, the ceiling low, the walls smelling bitter with age, but at least the clasp of his hand was strong and warm and the light flickering as he held it in front of him was better than complete darkness. Lily took in a shuddering breath and contemplated closing her eyes, then decided it would not lessen the terror but increase it. Plus the narrow steps were treacherously steep, so she concentrated on his broad back and followed him down the stairs. He’d been right about the dirt and dust; it was everywhere. And she kept the fabric of her dress and his folded jacket clutched close to her body, for if she was willing to do this, she wanted it to be worth the effort.
    Close walls, the musty odor, the darkness
…
    “It will take them a while to get into the library,” Lord Damien commented, his voice echoing a little. “By then we will have rejoined the party.”
    “I’m still not sure how we’ll explain the cobwebs in our hair,” Lily said in a small voice, but hopefully he was right and as he was a good deal taller and in front, he was getting the worst of it anyway. She was reluctant to admit it, but he’d been right about removing her dress, for she could see even in the flickering light held in front of himas they descended that his white shirt was already smudged, his shoulders so wide they brushed the walls, though even with his pronounced limp he moved with what seemed like effortless ease.
    He still held her hand and his fingers tightened a little. “Are you frightened?”
    It wasn’t precisely fright, more like panic, but oddly enough his presence seemed to quell her usual reaction when faced with an enclosed space. Maybe it was his air of quiet competence, as if no situation daunted him.
    “I’m trying not to think about it, my lord.”
    “That usually works best. I tend to picture myself on our family estate in Essex when faced with an environment like this. Rolthven has a spacious park, and the river where I swam as a boy is wide and slow.”
    “It bothers you as well?” She couldn’t hide the surprise in her voice.
    “I’ve have myriad experiences with closed spaces and none of them were enjoyable.” His tone held a sardonic edge that even in the distraction of her predicament and the close confines of the narrow way she registered.
    “In the war?”
    “My apologies, but I don’t answer questions like that, Lady Lillian. The past does not matter.”
    It
did
matter, she almost pointed out in the most acerbic manner possible. If it didn’t, she would not now be in this dank passage, winding down a dark stair to the cellars, only half-dressed and hand in hand with a man she’d just met. Male privilege might make it easier to ignore, but the past
mattered
, especially if it involved one very drastic mistake.
    It was one devil of a standard that held women to adifferent mode of conduct than men, but then again, supposed gentlemen had created the rules. Males wanted their wives chaste and