Lord Sebastian's Secret (The Duke's Sons #3)(30)

“I suppose they’ll come back in a bit,” Sebastian said.

“I don’t know.” Georgina marched along the crest of the ridge to the path they’d ridden up. Riding boots were decidedly not made for walking, she thought as she peered down it. There was no trace of her sisters. “This is not funny,” she muttered.

“What’s this?” Sebastian said. He bent and picked up a cloth bag from the turf. Opening the drawstring, he looked inside. “Bread and cheese,” he said. “And apples. Some kind of picnic?” He looked puzzled.

“You’ll pay for this, Hilda,” Georgina said as she tramped down the slope.

“Where are you going?” said Sebastian.

Too impatient to follow the long zigzags of the downhill trail, wanting something to fight, Georgina pushed through a thick line of bushes. Between one step and the next, the ground fell away beneath her, and she plummeted into an unseen crease in the earth. Twigs and brambles scraped her hands and arms as she flailed for purchase. The earth was damp and slippery, the slope nearly vertical.

She bounced and slid, cracked her head on a protruding stone, suffered a deep scratch on the back of one hand, and finally came to rest precariously with one foot wedged into a vee of branches above her head, the other dangling free, her shoulders barely supported by a tiny ledge. There was still vacant space below; she couldn’t see how much. She reached up to try to free her leg, and slipped a little, pulled by the weight of her long skirts. If her perch gave way, she feared her trapped leg would crack. Searching for well-rooted plants, she gripped a bush in each hand and held tight.

“Georgina!” shouted Sebastian from above. Not for the first time.

“I’m all right,” she called. “Or…not quite.” Stupid, stupid, she thought. Why hadn’t she looked where she was going? And where had this wretched ravine come from? She’d ridden by here a hundred times and never noticed it. Peering up in the dimness, she saw that it was completely overgrown. It was also only about six feet wide at her level. Impossible to see from the top. Her shoulders slipped again. A lance of pain shot through her leg. She couldn’t help but cry out.

“Georgina!” shouted Sebastian again.

“I’ve hurt my leg,” she told him. “And I’m wedged in. I can’t move.”

“Don’t try,” he replied. “I’ll come for you.”

He said it with utter conviction, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, unquestionable. And Georgina understood in that moment that he would always come for her if she was in trouble. Full bore. Without hesitation. She had to blink back tears. She hadn’t known when she accepted him what a stalwart man he was. She hadn’t understood her own good fortune.

A shaft of light lanced down as bushes were ripped away above. It widened, and then she could see Sebastian peering down at her. He looked intent and capable and perfectly confident. “I’ll climb further up so I don’t jostle you loose,” he said, and disappeared.

A moment later, she heard branches creak and snap. A loud crack and protracted slide elicited a curse. “Are you all right?” she called.

“Perfectly,” he replied, a little breathless.

There was a good deal more crashing, the noise of a large creature forcing his way through heavy undergrowth. Then Sebastian emerged from the gloom not far away. Fortunately, it seemed that the bottom of the gully was just a few feet below. His head was nearly even with hers when he squelched through the mud toward her.

He took in her position with one evaluating glance. Stepping close, he leaned against the earthen wall and set his shoulder under hers. It was like a bulwark. The sense that she might fall at any moment and break her leg disappeared. Georgina relaxed against that solid support. Their cheeks brushed. His breath warmed her skin. If she’d been less uncomfortable she would have turned her head and kissed him.

Sebastian reached for her trapped foot.

Georgina repressed a groan as he grasped her leg and tried to work it free from the crossed branches. It was tightly wedged by the weight of her body. Every movement hurt.

“I’m going to lift you a little,” he said. He pushed one arm between her and the ravine wall and held her with it as he pushed upward with his shoulder.

Georgina couldn’t hold back a groan as the movement pulled at her leg.

“Sorry,” he said. “I’m afraid it’s going to hurt a bit more now.” With his free hand he shifted her trapped limb. “Can you bend your knee?”

Jaw clenched against the pain, she did so. He guided her leg out of the trap.

“There we are.” He eased her down until he held her. “Sorry,” he said again.

Georgina rested her head on his chest. “Don’t be silly. You’ve saved me from the consequences of my own carelessness.”

Despite the unfortunate situation, Sebastian enjoyed the way she nestled trustfully against him. He reveled in the feel of her body in his arms, the tumble of golden hair against his coat. Then she moved, and he saw the bloody scratch on her hand. He had to get her to safety. He surveyed the terrain—upward, from side to side. “I can’t carry you up this wall,” he said. The climb down had been more a series of slides and grabs. “I suppose we’ll have to wait here until your sisters come back.” He chafed at the inaction. Georgina’s leg needed immediate care. “I still can’t think what could have happened to them.”