We have a winner! Armenia is the lucky commenter who won Louise's giveaway!
~Elaine
~ ~ ~
Whatever the dangers and miseries of snow – and we’ve had our share in the UK this winter – the allure of a snowy landscape is undeniable and I could not resist creating a blizzard in The Viscount’s Betrothal, to trap my lovers - scandalously unchaperoned - in the depths of the country.
I had a lot of fun with Miss Decima Ross and Adam, Viscount Grantham who have to work out how to cook even a simple breakfast on the alarming kitchen range.
When Adam’s leaden attempts at bread making and Decima’s blackened fried eggs might have driven them apart, the fun of making a snowman, sliding on icy puddles and tobogganing brought them together – in more ways than one.
Decima was breathless by the time they reached the crest, staring round her with eyes watering from the
keen breeze on the unprotected hilltop. ‘Brrr. We must cook something especially hot and filling tonight.’
She settled herself on the sledge, suddenly apprehensive at the sight of the long slope in front of her: it was more than twice the distance they had covered before. ‘Too high?’ Adam was watching her face.
‘No – just scary enough to be exciting.’ And once he settled behind her, his arms tight at her sides, the fear vanished into an exhilaration that only built and built as the sledge gathered speed, swooping down the long hillside. Decima heard herself shrieking with excitement as they went and Adam’s chuckle of amusement almost in her ear.
What went wrong she had no idea. Suddenly the sledge bucked, jumped, Adam’s feet were out at the sides, digging in to turn it back on course, but it tipped and she was in the snow, rolling over and over down the hill.
After one startled scream Decima realised she was quite safe. The deep snow was cushioning her from anything hard on the ground below. Over and over she went until she reached the bottom and lay still, gasping for breath and more than half inclined to burst out laughing from sheer shock and excitement.
Then she was hit by a solid weight and threw out her arms, only to find them clasped hard around as much of Adam’s body as they would reach. ‘Ough!’
‘Decima? Are you all right?’ He was lying on top of her, his elbows jammed into the snow on either side in an effort to keep from crushing her.
‘Yes…get off…oh…’ She realised why he was covering her when the sledge finally caught up with them, hit Adam solidly on the shoulder and juddered to a halt.
He swore under his breath, shoved it away, then pushed her tumbled hair out of her face. ‘Decima?.’
‘I am quite alright, honestly…’ Her voice trailed off as she saw how he was looking at her. Looking at her mouth. Then she could not see his expression any more and his mouth was covering hers, angling to capture her lips with his.
His lips were cold, then startlingly his tongue touched her, hot, insinuating and she gasped, parting for him. He tasted delicious: slightly of mint, slightly of ale, then she lost the ability to think analytically of taste and smell and touch as individual things. It all became a blur of sensation. His weight on her should have been frightening, but all she felt was a primitive thrill at his strength, of the easy way he was mastering her body…
Whereas Decima’s experiences would most definitely have shocked Society it seems that a hard frost brought out everyone from lords to urchins to skate, even in the heart of London. The print is from about 1810 and shows skaters in St James’s Park with Buckingham House (later Buckingham Palace) in the background.
To win a signed copy of The Viscount’s Betrothal leave a comment and let me know what your favourite time of year for romance is!
The Viscount’s Betrothal is out this month with Harlequin Historicals
2009
