One Enchanted Winter Read online

  Chapter One

  As Arabella Wheatley pulled her small buggy up to the entrance of Braedon Manor, she peeked her head out from beneath its small roof and noted the swift change in the weather. When she’d departed her father’s home not five miles east, the skies were blue, and the sun shone high above. Now, thick clouds loomed overhead, and snow began falling all around.

  Pulling up the hood of her cloak, she stepped down from the buggy then buried her hands in her muff to ward off the chill bearing down on the grand house before her. Walking swiftly toward the servant’s entrance, her head jerked when she heard her name.

  “Miss Arabella,” the young man called out. “You’ve arrived just in time.”

  It was Lord Dederick Gillingham, the youngest son of the Earl of Harrington whose family owned and lived in this beautiful manor. Arabella gave him a curtsy and a smile as she faced him.

  “The weather is turning quickly, my lord,” she said, briefly glancing up at the sky. “I believe I am fetching my sister just in the nick of time.”

  “Indeed,” he said, holding out his hand to catch several falling snowflakes. “And I must be on my way if I wish to make it to London before any of this delays me.”

  She gave him a nod and turned to see his coach pull up for his departure.

  “Godspeed to you, my lord. Safe travels,” she offered and Lord Dederick jogged off, quickly stepping up into his carriage and the vehicle was off, trundling down the long drive in a flurry of newly fallen snow.

  Wasting no time, Arabella raced to the servant’s entrance of the manor and stepping inside, shook off the snow and cold as she removed her cloak, hanging it on a hook near the door along with her muff.

  Her sister, Carolina, worked as a seamstress for the household and usually lived there in a small attic room. The family decided to spend the next month in London and so they closed the manor for the time being. It would have a small staff left behind including groundskeepers and stable hands, but otherwise, most of the inside staff had already departed. Mrs. Gendy, the cook’s assistant, was still there as Arabella noted her moving about the kitchen when she passed by.

  “Good Afternoon, Mrs. Gendy,” Arabella offered with a smile and the woman returned her greeting.

  “I would have thought Miss Carolina would have left by now,” she said as she packed a few items into a wooden crate.

  “She had some work to complete before she could leave, but I am here to fetch her now regardless of how far along she is. The weather is turning rather quickly so we need to be on the road ahead of the storm.”

  Mrs. Gendy glanced out the window and with a shake of her head, gesturing to shoo her off.

  “You’d better hurry.”

  Arabella waved her goodbyes and made her way down the long hallway and up the back staircase to the servant’s rooms, where she found her sister seated at a small table, her fingers diligently stitching at a length of fabric.

  “I hope your things are packed and you are ready to depart,” Arabella said as she entered the small bedroom.

  “I am. I just have to finish this one last hem before I go.”

  “There is no time,” Arabella said as she grasped the handle of her sister’s satchel. “It started snowing as I came in and it will get worse if we don’t leave soon.”

  “Oh bother,” Carolina harrumphed, gripped the thread in her teeth, breaking it as she set the sewing aside. “I will have to finish this the moment I return, or the Countess will have my head.”

  “Bring it with you, you can finish it at home,” Arabella offered and hesitant at first, her sister sighed then folded the garment and tucked it into a second bag she hoisted onto her shoulder.

  “Fine, let’s be off then.”

  The two made their way downstairs, offered their final goodbyes to Mrs. Gendy, then stepped out into the snow-covered courtyard. They scrambled across the drive and into their buggy, quickly tucking a heavy blanket over their laps as Arabella took the reins and coaxed the horses into motion. The animals snorted and shook their heads against the oncoming snow, huge puffs of steam escaping their nostrils as they made their way down the road, but soon Arabella realized their departure was futile. The snow along the road was getting deeper by the moment and they still had miles to go before they reached their home. Without an enclosed carriage, they would freeze long before they arrived.

  “We must turn back,” she shouted above the noise of the wind. “We’ll never make it home safely.”

  “Yes, turn around!” Carolina said with a curt nod and Arabella quickly had them pointed in the opposite direction and snapped the reins, coaxing the horses back in the manor's direction. By the time they pulled into the courtyard, the snow was nearly shin deep and the air was thick with swirling, blinding snow.

  “We must stay until the weather turns,” she said, tying the reins to the cleat on the buckboard. “You go inside, I’ll make sure the horses are safe.”

  Carolina rushed back inside and in short order, Arabella had helped the stable boy get the horses and her small buggy into the barn. When she finally made her way through the back door, her feet were numb with cold, as were her fingers.

  “You poor dear,” Mrs. Gendy said, ushering her into the kitchen. “Sit by the fire and let me make you some tea.”

  Carolina knelt and removed her sister’s shoes and stockings, setting them by the fire.

  “Are you all right?” she asked as she chuffed her sister’s hands in her own. “You’re half frozen.”

  “I’ll be fine as soon as I sit here and thaw,” she said with a soft chuckle. “I should have known better than to go out in this weather.”

  “We did not anticipate that it would get so bad,” Mrs. Gendy said as she returned and handed her a gloriously hot cup of tea.

  Arabella cradled the cup in her frozen hands and breathed into the liquid, reveling in the feel of the hot steam rising to caress her reddened cheeks.

  “It all came about so quickly,” she said, sipping her drink, closing her eyes as the hot liquid rolled down her throat. “Oh dear, I hope Lord Gillingham is all right.”

  Mrs. Gendy straightened and turned to look out the small window that looked out toward the stables.

  “He took one of the family carriages, he should be safe enough,” she offered. “Those drivers are used to the weather this time of year.”

  “The snow is coming down much harder than I remember it ever doing so in the past. I hope you are correct about his driver,” Arabella offered, then took another sip with a sigh as her body began to relax and her shivering slowly subsided.

  “I can fix a cot in my room for you,” Carolina offered, coming to her feet.

  “Nonsense. No one is here. The two of you can use a guest room for the time being. No use being uncomfortable in that cold attic room.”

  “We cannot do that,” Carolina said, furrowing her brows. “Lady Harrington would definitely have my head.”

  “She would do no such thing. Besides, they won’t be back for another month, so they will have absolutely no idea who is here or where you are sleeping. As long as you put the room back to rights, you’ll be fine. I won’t tell a soul,” Mrs. Gendy said with a wink.

  “I don’t know. The thought of it makes me very uneasy,” Carolina said, looking to her sister.

  “It’s up to you,” Arabella offered with a shrug. “But it sure would be nice to sleep in a comfortable bed next to a roaring fire.”

  “You have a point,” Carolina said with a shrug of her own.

  Chapter Two

  Lord Dederick Gillingham, third son of the Earl of Harrington, smiled as the bevy of young women in beautiful gowns surrounded him with lilting laughter. They seemed to be muses, their soft, flowing dre
sses ranging through every color of the rainbow as did their traits. Blondes, brunettes, redheads… each more lovely than the next. How was he to choose from such a mesmerizing group of young ladies?

  “Lord Dederick?” his name was like a spike through the back of his head. “Lord Dederick, are you all right?”

  Lord Dederick rubbed his forehead then slowly opened his eyes, realizing quite suddenly that he was not surrounded by a bevy of beauties, but by a stark, white landscape.

  “Where am I? What happened?” he asked, squinting up into the brightness to see a man hovering over him.

  “The carriage overturned, my lord,” the man said as he dug an arm beneath him and tried to lift him off the ground. “I need to get you out of the snow.”

  Snow. It was everywhere, and he realized just as suddenly that his hands were painfully cold, and he cried out when the shock of it travelled up his arms like so many piercing shards of glass. Trying to come to his feet without the man’s help was pointless. His leg, also in an extreme amount of pain, made it impossible to stand on his own so the man threw his arm about his waist and hauled him several feet to a more secluded spot beneath a large tree where the snow had not yet piled up.

  As Lord Dederick’s head began clearing, he recognized the man as his driver, Mr. Tinley, who had been in his family’s employ for many years.

  “The horses?” Lord Dederick asked, craning his neck to look for them.

  “They are fine enough. One has a sprain from falling into the ditch, but he should heal once we get him back. I’ve packed his leg with some snow for now to prevent swelling. I should do the same with you,” he said, looking down at Lord Dederick’s foot.

  “No, no, I’ll be fine. I do not think it is broken, but I will not remove my boot to find out, not here.”

  “I would not advise it,” Mr. Tinley answered then looked out toward the road. “We’re only a few miles from the manor, but there is no way I can right the carriage without help. For now, we must take the horses back on our own. Can you ride without a saddle, my lord?”

  “I shall make do,” Lord Dederick offered. “We have no other choice. We cannot stay out here without shelter with the weather turning so poorly.”

  “I agree,” Tinley said with a definitive nod. “Let me get the horses prepared and we can be off.”

  Lord Dederick waved off Tinley and wished he was back with his bevy of beauties instead of here, on the side of the road amidst the wreckage of his carriage while the throbbing in his foot increased exponentially. He looked down at his boot and tried to move his ankle but winced at the pain he felt jolt through him. His boot felt painfully constricting as the swelling increased, but there was nothing for it. There wouldn’t be until they made their way back to the manor, but then what? The family had gone, and the staff had departed. They would have to fend for themselves until the weather turned and aid could arrive unimpeded. That could be days and the thought made the ache in his foot intensify.

  “The horses are ready my lord. I’ll help you up the best I can,” Tinley offered, taking Lord Dederick’s hand and quickly positioning him to balance on his good foot. With the man’s help, Lord Dederick made his way to the large draft horse, and taking hold of the bulky harness, pulled himself up onto the beasts back as Tinley pushed from behind. The horse, used for pulling carriages and other pieces of equipment, was hefty, wide and tall, and Lord Dederick felt oddly uncomfortable atop the animal. It splayed his legs inelegantly wide, making his foot pulse with more pain and he clenched his teeth, cringing at the feel of it as it hung from the large beast's back.

  Tinley had more trouble getting up on his own horse’s back, doing so with no aid from Lord Dederick. His legs scrambled to take hold, and the beast jolted and darted away a few times before he could finally get onto its back. The two of them looked like children seated atop such large horses, but there was nothing for it. This was their only option.

  Taking the reins in his already numb hands, Lord Dederick looped them around his wrists so as not to lose his grip and Tinley tied a lead to his own horse so they would not be separated in the blizzard ahead of them. Leaning into the wind and ducking their heads against the cold, they headed back in the direction they had come.

  It seemed days later when the opening to the long drive leading to Braedon Manor came into view, and if he had the energy, Lord Dederick would have prompted his horse into a gallop to get inside and out of the weather. As it was, his body was numb, and his mind was faltering as the cold slowly and meticulously consumed him. It was like nothing he’d ever experienced before and hoped to never do so again.

  In what seemed like a blink of an eye, he found himself abed, covered in heavy blankets as a fire roared nearby. The room was dark aside from the firelight, but he saw a figure standing by the hearth. A female. Was it his sister? His mother?

  “Hello?” Lord Dederick croaked, his throat dry and pained.

  The woman turned and came near, bending to remove a warm cloth that had been draped across his forehead.

  “My lord, how do you fare? You had us quite worried.”

  It was Miss Arabella, the seamstress’s pretty sister. He’d known her for a few years as she’d frequented the manor when she dropped off her sister or came to collect her during holidays. They’d spoken briefly in those few years, but he knew little of her aside from her name and her relation to Miss Carolina.

  “Miss Arabella, I thought you left,” he said, his voice low and hoarse.

  She shook her head and gave him a warm smile.

  “By the time we made our way outside, the snow was too deep to go anywhere. We worried that you would be trapped in it as well. I am grateful that Mr. Tinley could get you back safely.”

  Lord Dederick sighed at that. He had little memory of what had taken place, his mind being scattered and blurred by the days' events. Trying to move, though, he winced and furrowed his brow.

  “My ankle,” he hissed. “I believe it is sprained.”

  “Yes,” Arabella said as she bent to readjust his blankets. “I’ve applied a soothing ointment for the swelling and have strapped it tightly to provide support. Once you can move about, I will apply more ointment for you, but for now just rest and stay warm. I am more worried about your health than your foot. You were all but frozen from head to toe when you came in.”

  Lord Dederick stared at her for a long moment as she moved about his bed, tucking and tidying. He did not know her well, knew even less about her family, but it seemed she had some training in this sort of activity.

  “You seem very well versed in nursing,” he said, clearing his throat. “How did you come to know how to do all of this?”

  Arabella smiled at him as she set a cup and a pot of tea on the bedside table.

  “My father is a physician, and his father before him was a physician,” she offered as she poured a cup of tea. “And the women in my family have a long history of midwifery.”

  “Ah, that explains a lot then,” he said with a smile. “And you, do you work in this field as well?”

  She gave him another smile, scooped up his head and tilted the teacup against his lips.

  “No,” she said. “Though I help my father occasionally.’’

  “Are you perhaps a seamstress like your sister?” he asked.

  “I am not. I am not very good at sewing, truth be told,” she said with a soft laugh. “No, until recently I worked as a governess, but the children I watched grew up and were sent off to school, so now I am at the leisure of my father. I’ve been helping him where need be and now that my mother has passed, I help with keeping our home.”

  “I would think a woman as capable as yourself would have found a very grateful husband by now,” he said, then lifted his head on his own as she set the cup against his lips once more.

  “My father is a gentleman, but he is not wealthy and does not frequent town. And my sister and I have not come out like most young women of age have, my lord. Considering we live so far outside of tho
se circles, it is not as easy as one expects. Bachelors are not as heavy on the ground here in the country.”

  That made him laugh and sputter with the tea in his mouth. Arabella quickly set the cup down and dabbed his chin with a linen cloth.

  “I see,” Lord Dederick offered with a sniff. “Well, that is a shame. If someone were to come to mind, I shall pass him in your direction.”

  Arabella smirked.

  “No, my lord. Not that I am not thankful for your offer, but I like my life as it is for now.”

  “Indeed?” Lord Dederick asked with raised brows. “And if the right man should come along, would you consider his offer?”

  Arabella blushed at this and turned to pour more tea into his cup.

  “I think perhaps we should change the subject,” she said pointedly. “I am not comfortable discussing this with you, my lord. Besides, I should check on Mr. Tinley. Carolina is looking after him, but her expertise is not what mine is where one’s health is concerned.”

  “I understand,” Lord Dederick offered with a nod. “Thank you for taking my own health in hand. It is much appreciated.”

  “Get some rest,” she said, tucking him in tightly. “I shall return later with some food. But for now, sleep.”

  “I don’t know that I am sufficiently weary to sleep,” he offered as he shifted beneath the blankets.

  “Not to worry,” Arabella offered with another smirk. “The tea I’ve been giving you should help.”

  And with that he watched her leave his room and soon after he fell into a deep, comfortable sleep. This time, no bevy of beauties surrounded him with their charm. No, this time Miss Arabella sat by his side, her soft voice warming his heart.

  Chapter Three

  Seven. There were seven cracks in the ceiling above his bed. Three of them ran east to west. Four ran north to south. The chandelier over his head bore fifteen bronze strawberry leaves. Two of them were bent at an odd angle. There were twenty-eight Italian tiles across the front of the hearth. And after three days, Lord Dederick had run out of things to count.