Through the Smoke

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Book: Read Through the Smoke for Free Online
Authors: Brenda Novak
Tags: brenda novak
accompany him to the mine in the morning. I will meet him at the offices midafternoon.”
    When Poulson nodded, Lord Druridge shook out a heavy cloak and lifted it to the level of Rachel’s eyes. Obviously, he expected her to turn so he could drape it around her shoulders.
    Rachel clung to her own wet cape, which she’d folded over her arms, even though she knew such obstinacy could offer nothing but extreme discomfort.
    “Miss McTavish?” The earl cocked an impatient eyebrow and, in the interest of time, Rachel turned. The weight of the garment settled around her, its length falling past her feet to drag on the ground.
    Druridge took her cloak and handed it to Poulson. “See that this gets dried.”
    Sandalwood and soap, mixed with a subtle, male scent, rose to Rachel’s nostrils. It identified the cloak he’d provided as one of his own and reminded her of the look on his face when he’d taken hold of her.…
    Shoving that memory out of her head, she fastened the garment at the throat and gathered handfuls of the expensive fabric to hold so she could walk.
    “Shall we go?” Lord Druridge opened the door and motioned her out. “The doctor is waiting in the carriage.”
    With a nod, Rachel grabbed the lantern she’d left on the doorstep and hurried out ahead of him.

    Dr. Jacobsen was an older gentleman with snowy white hair that also covered most of his jaw. Dressed similarly to the earl, in close-fitting stirrup pants and ankle boots, he wore a double-breasted black cloth coat with velvet collar. A frown lingered on his face but, judging from the many lines around his mouth, Rachel guessed it was no more than his customary expression.
    He dipped his head as Lord Druridge handed her into the fancy black coach she had noted so many times on the streets of Creswell—the same conveyance that had so recently waited in front of her own shop.
    When the earl introduced them, Rachel returned the doctor’s greeting and slid across the tan leather bench opposite him.
    Lord Druridge climbed in last, took a seat next to her and they started off.
    “You’re looking fit despite the ungodly hour, my lord.” The doctor had to raise his voice over the storm. Instead of blowing itself out since her arrival at Blackmoor Hall, it had gathered in strength.
    “I fear you’ve got a formidable challenge tonight, my friend,” Lord Druridge responded.
    Rachel’s lantern had gone out, but in the dim light of the coach’s lamps, the doctor’s frown deepened. “Fever, eh? Fevers can be nasty business. I have seen cholera ravage the strongest of men. This recent outbreak has been growing at an unprecedented rate.” He eyed Rachel. “How long has your mother been ill, my dear?”
    “Almost a week.”
    The earl disrupted the conversation long enough to retrieve a fur pelt from beneath the seat, which he settled over Rachel’s lap.
    Already too conscious of the cloak she wore and his large, manly form seated next to her, she accepted the covering with some reluctance.
    Outside, the coachman cracked his whip, drawing Rachel’s attention to the frozen landscape beyond her window. Snowdrifts were piled high on either side of them and more whirling flakes fell to join those on the ground.
    The earl’s driver shouted to the horses, urging them on, but the wind swallowed most of his words.
    Travel proved slow and arduous. Less than a mile from the estate, the carriage ground to a halt and the coachman appeared at the door.
    “Sorry, m’lord,” he shouted above the gale. “The roads are impassable. I am afraid we cannot get through to the village.”
    Rachel’s stomach muscles tightened.
    “We won’t if you leave us sitting here very long,” the earl responded.
    “You want to continue?” His coachman straightened, obviously amazed.
    “Take us as far as you can.”
    “Aye, m’lord.” The door slammed shut, and the carriage swayed as the driver climbed back on top.
    They moved forward, but Rachel could feel a marked

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