The Perfect Gift Read Online Free

home to Judith the predicament they were in.
    “Hold on m’lady, we’re a going.” His voice was harsh. “I’m holding the horses, brace yourselves.”
    That, of course, was a given. “Cissy, Sarah,” Judith said, her voice high with the urgency of her message, “I fear you are correct. Take a tight grip onto the straps. We may spill.”
    No sooner were her words uttered than she felt the coach tilt. For one heart-stopping moment she thought John-coachman would keep it righted, and then her world spun.
    The screams of the cattle mixed with those of her servants as their axis spun. Judith saw stars and felt her head where her feet should be. There was a sound, not unlike that of a cannon she had heard when Napoleon’s defeat had been celebrated. It was followed by a grating noise that set her teeth on edge, as when a pencil was used without care on a slate.
    As the world settled, albeit upside down, Judith shivered. It might be the weather, they might be within the grounds of Carrland Hall, but it seemed it was an omen. One which was not in her favor. The North Riding of Yorkshire was said to be wild, and could, in places, be dangerous. Who could forget Dick Turpin? Even though he had been hanged at York Gaol almost a century earlier, no sensible traveler was to be found abroad after darkness fell. The carriage lurched again, and her companions both yelled as the lamp swayed wildly and went out.
    Judith’s hand slipped out of the leather strap she had been certain she was holding, and then her skirts covered her face.
    Such an ignominious position, she decided as her head stopped spinning.
    The hand that fondled her arse seemed not to agree with her.

C HAPTER T HREE
    Stephen sat in his library and stared at the dancing flames in the grate. Outside the snow fell steady and unstopping, obliterating the garden, shrouding the trees with a cape of white. If it continued thus, he guessed it would be several inches deep before morning. Perhaps, he mused, if it did keep going in that vein, his guests would not arrive the following week, and he might have a quiet Christmas season. He shuddered at the thought the opposite might occur and once ensconced, the weather would ensure they would be unable to leave. That he perceived would be unbearable. He had decided his attitude towards Judith must be distant, and he had to ensure never to be alone with her. He might be able to hold out against her charms and wiles within company; he was not so sure his resolve would hold in private. Why was he so determined to do the honorable thing? A lesser man would have taken what was offered without blinking. Sad to say, he was not a lesser man. It occurred to him he no longer included Lady Mallins in any of his equations.
    There was a rap at the door, and it was opened even before his command to enter was completed.
    “My lord,” Thwaites, his major domo, spoke hurriedly. “There has been an accident near the main gates. A carriage has overturned. The gamekeeper saw it all as he returned home. He asks we send help, the snow is thick and he is not the best with prime cattle, as you know. I have taken the liberty to send notice to the grooms, but feel perhaps…?” One eyebrow rose.
    “I will, of course, go at once,” Stephen replied as he stood and moved towards the doorway. “Please bring my greatcoat and dispatch someone to the village for Dr. Soresby. Do we know why a carriage was approaching? We are not expecting visitors for several days yet.”
    Thwaites shook his head as he helped Stephen into his overcoat and handed him his hat. “I couldn’t say, my lord. I know no more than I have divulged.”
    “Ah, well, I will no doubt soon find out.” He opened the door, to be met by a groom and two horses.
    Within seconds Stephen was making his cautious way up the drive, cursing the fact that the snow nigh on blinded him.
    “’Tis unconscious bad, my lord,” his groom spoke in a loud voice. “Who would wish to be about on such a