Page 37 of A Provincial Peer

“I’m here, darling.” Caroline extended her arms, and Meg leaned toward her.

“Steady, little one,” Lord Benning warned, shifting his foothold to compensate for her movement. He looked at Caroline. “Can you manage her?”

“Yes.” She wanted to hold her daughter. To know that she was truly safe.

Lord Benning nodded, and somehow, she knew that he understood her need. Setting his hands around Meg’s waist, he stretched his arms out so that Caroline could reach her sodden child. Meg fell into her arms, her small hands gripped around Caroline’s neck even as her body convulsed with shivers.

Squeezing her tightly, Caroline buried her face in the little girl’s wet shoulder. “Oh, Meggie.” Her voice broke. “What were you thinking?”

Meg’s answering whimper was all but eclipsed by the swoosh of water that accompanied Lord Benning’s exit from the river.

“Remove her shoes and frock as quickly as you can,” he said, ignoring his own sodden state to take the blanket from Wesley. “As soon as she’s free of those sopping items, we’ll wrap her in the blanket.”

Releasing her hold on Meg with one hand, Caroline fumbled to unlatch her daughter’s shoe. “I must take her home right away.”

He shook his head. “Farwell Hall is closer. At this time of day, the kitchen will be the warmest room in the house. Wesley can go ahead of us. He can tell Cook to stoke the fire and put some milk on to warm. I daresay one of the young maids can offer us a dry shift for Meg to wear.”

He’d thought of everything. Caroline felt Meg’s shoe loosen and gave it a tug. It dropped to the ground. Wesley retrieved it, and Caroline reached for the next one.

“Meg, I must put you down to take off your wet frock,” she said.

Meg’s hold around her neck tightened. “I don’t want to g-go down,” she sobbed.

Caroline offered Lord Benning a helpless look. “Can we wrap her in the blanket without taking off her frock? I’m sure I can carry her as far as Farwell Hall.”

An extra measure of concern filled Lord Benning’s eyes. He placed a gentle hand on Meg’s small back. “If your mother stays right beside us, may I be the one to carry you, Meg? I would very much like to show you the kitchen at my house.”

“Th-the . . . kit-kitchen?” Meg’s natural curiosity pushed through her chattering teeth and fears.

“Yes. It’s a marvelously warm room. And unless I miss my guess, Cook was likely baking this morning.”

“It’s w-w-warm?”

“Yes.” He held out the blanket. “Come! We shall go there straightaway.”

“M-mam-ma will b-b-be there t-t-too?”

“Absolutely.”

“I won’t leave you, Meg,” Caroline said.

For a brief moment, Meg’s trusting blue eyes met hers. Then she relinquished her hold on Caroline’s neck and leaned toward Lord Benning’s open arms. As soon as Meg’s weight was lifted from her, Caroline recognized the gift the gentleman had offered her. Fear for her daughter’s well-being would have enabled her to carry Meg as far as Farwell Hall, but the journey would have claimed every ounce of strength she currently possessed.

“Hurry to the house, Wesley,” Lord Benning said. “Tell Cook we shall be there shortly.”

The footman took off running. Fighting back tears of gratitude, Caroline pulled off Meg’s second shoe and then tucked the blanket more securely around her small daughter. Her fingers brushed against Lord Benning’s, and she looked up to find him watching her.

“How can I ever thank you, Benedict?” Something undefinable flickered in his eyes, and with horror, she realized she’d used his Christian name. “Forgive me, my lord. Present extenuating circumstances notwithstanding, I should not have—”

“I wish that you would.” His words cut short her apology. “I may not have been so fortunate as to associate with you as often as Henry all those years ago, but we knew each other by our given names then. It seems wrong to have adulthood or Society norms rob us of our childhood connection.”

Caroline swallowed. Even though she’d often thought of him as Benedict after uncovering his identity, her use of his title during their interactions had been a constant reminder of their difference in station. It had helped keep an appropriate distance between them. It had also helped prevent her from opening her heart to a gentleman again. But her daughter was swaddled safely in his arms, and Meg would probably not have survived her fall into the river had he not acted so quickly. He had been unfailingly kind to them both, and notwithstanding her heart’s warning whispers, she knew she could not refuse him this. “If it is truly what you wish,” she said.

He smiled, and her heart’s whispered warning redoubled. “It is.” He began walking, his long legs traversing the pasture so quickly that Caroline struggled to keep up. “And in answer to your question,” he continued, “I deserve no thanks. Indeed, I pray you will forgive me for monopolizing your attention so fully that neither of us noticed how close Meg was to the river.”

While it was true that Caroline had rarely been so engrossed in a conversation, it was also true that she had never before felt so comfortable sharing personal memories. The startling realization should have filled her with concern, but no matter how hard she tried, she could not seem to muster that emotion. Instead, she felt safe. Emotionally and physically.

She glanced at her daughter. Meg’s eyes were closed, her cheek pressed against Benedict’s wet jacket. It seemed that she and Meg were of a similar mindset. For the first time since Benedict had pulled her from the water, Meg was calm and secure.