The Bachelor Earl - Darcy Burke Page 0,43

front of her. Lucy set down a pair of silver rattles, which Alex and Leah were soon waving about. Their nonsense words and laughs filled the room with the sound of the rattling silver.

A moment later Ivy glanced about before asking, “Does anyone know where Fanny is?”

Fanny was Ivy’s younger sister. Just twenty, she’d come to live with Ivy after Leah was born and would have her first Season in the new year.

“I haven’t seen her since she went for her walk,” West said, frowning.

That would have been hours ago. Though Aquilla had only been here a few days, she already knew the household routine and Fanny went for a walk each morning.

Ivy looked outside where fat snowflakes fluttered to the already-white ground. “It’s been snowing for over an hour.” Her face creased with concern. “If only I hadn’t been ill and...” She scowled at West who sat beside her on one of the settees. “I should’ve noticed she wasn’t home.”

West clasped her knee. “She’ll be fine, I’m sure. Sometimes she gets distracted, particularly if there’s an animal involved.”

“That’s my concern. What if something happened? What if she’s trapped in the snow?” Ivy stood, her concern blooming into stark worry. “It will be dark in a few hours.”

West got to his feet beside his wife and stroked her back. “Don’t work yourself into a dither. It isn’t good for the baby.”

“That’s true,” Andrew said. “Alex hates it when Lucy’s agitated.”

“Not that baby,” Aquilla said before realizing she perhaps not to have said that out loud. “Oh!” She clapped a hand over her mouth and sent Ivy and apologetic look.

“It seems I am with child again,” Ivy said without releasing a bit of her stress. “But I’m fine—or I will be fine once Fanny is home safe.”

“Then let us go and fetch her,” West said before pressing a kiss to Ivy’s temple. “Come lads.” He motioned for Andrew and Ned to join him, which they did with alacrity.

“I’ll be back soon,” Ned murmured. He kissed Aquilla quickly before departing.

“I’ll never forgive myself if something happens to her,” Ivy said.

Lucy went to her friend and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. “They’ll find her.”

“Maybe I should go with them.” She started toward the door, but Lucy tightened her hold and Ivy swung her an irritated stare.

Lucy narrowed her eyes. Of the three of them, she was the most likely to impose her will—and be successful. “You’ll do no such thing. You need food after this morning’s events, and you need to rest. We insist.” She looked over at Aquilla who nodded in agreement.

“I’ll ring for tea and we’ll wait.” And pray, Aquilla silently added.

Fanny glared at the rabbit hole but quickly acknowledged she was angry with herself, not the tiny animal she’d foolishly followed through the copse and up the hill and over an icy stream.

Blast, she was an idiot. She’d seen the rabbit hunkered down near a tree. It had seemed to be shivering, and so she’d decided to scoop it up and take it home before it succumbed to the elements. But as soon as she’d moved close, the animal had scampered away.

Satisfied the rabbit would be fine, Fanny watched it run until it stopped. Then it sat down and began to quiver again. That had started what seemed to be a game of cat and mouse as Fanny went after it, and it ran away then stopped again. Over and over until it had disappeared down its hole.

“Well, I suppose I did see you safely home,” Fanny muttered. “You’re welcome!”

She pulled her woolen cloak more tightly about her and looked up at the muted sky as the first snowflake struck her square on the nose.

“Oh, to be that snowflake,” a masculine voice rent the quiet, drawing Fanny to spin about toward the source of the sound.

A tall gentleman lounged against a tree as if he frequented hills in the middle of a snowstorm with careless ease. Er, possible snowstorm. Fanny squinted her eyes toward the heavens once more and wondered just how far from Stour’s Edge she’d strayed.

“Miss?”

There was that voice again, reminding her that the snow and her unknown location were perhaps not her most troubling problems at present.

“I’m on my way home—to Stour’s Edge,” she added hastily.

A single dark brow arced into an upside down V as he pushed away from the tree and sauntered toward her. “I see. You must be the Duke’s bride.”

“I am not.”

The man’s dove-gray eyes flickered with appreciation as his gaze