A month later she received a note from the dressmaker informing her that there was a problem with one of her gowns and she needed to come to the shop right away. A fabric that had been ordered was not going to be available and she needed to choose something else. Her father was also going into town so she went with him with the intention of hiring a cab to bring her back home. The wind was coming up as the carriage was brought around to the front of the house.
Catching a flash of her engagement ring as she pulled on her gloves, he said, "Perhaps if you are going into town unaccompanied you should leave that here. If you are alone some unsavory character may see it and try to take it from you."
She agreed and quickly ran upstairs and placed the ring back in its velvet box.
"You best be quick at the dress shop, dear. It looks like a storm is coming in," Gregory said as he helped his daughter into the carriage.
It was already beginning to rain heavily when she was dropped off at the dressmakers. She pulled up her hood and held the cape tightly about herself as she rushed from the carriage into the shop.
The alternate choices of fabric were laid out before her and she was trying to make a decision quickly for she could see through the window that the wind was getting stronger and the storm was gaining in strength. She quickly chose a beautiful watered silk in light mauve and asked if a cab could be arranged.
The dressmaker sent the boy who worked in the stock room out to find her one. After twenty minutes he arrived back, soaked to the skin, and announced that due to the weather he couldn't find a single available cab. The dressmaker sent him into the back to warm himself by the stove. "My father had a meeting a few streets over, I'll go over there and return home with him," she said to the dressmaker.
"Are you sure you should go out there, miss? You'll be soaked and you'll probably ruin your slippers."
"I can stand getting a little wet and I wore these ones today specifically because I wouldn't care if they got ruined by the rain. Don't worry, I'll be fine," she said pulling up her hood.
She stepped out of the shop and was stunned at how hard and cold the rain was. The wind whipped her cloak about her and blew her hood off. She tried to see through the rain but the storm was much worse than she had thought. She stumbled down the street, trying to reach the offices where her father was.
Her hair had blown in her face and she was having a great deal of trouble seeing and suddenly realized that she had missed the corner where she should have turned. She tried to go over a block and back but lost her sense of direction and made another wrong turn and couldn't figure out how to get back to where she wanted to be.
She could barely see more than a few feet in front of her. With fear swelling in her breast she turned round and round desperately trying to see through the rain and the hair in her face. She didn't recognize any of the buildings around her and had no idea where she was. She continued to blindly stumble down the street and almost fell more than once.
She didn't know where she was going or even if she was headed in the right direction. Here eyes filled with tears causing her vision to blur even more. She tried to clutch her soaking cloak about her but it offered little comfort. She was soaked to the skin and trembling with the cold, her fear threatening to turn to terror when suddenly a small but luxurious carriage was beside her. The door was flung open and a voice inside shouted at her to get in. Without thinking twice she gratefully climbed inside.
She sat down heavily on the lushly upholstered seat and was attempting to pull her hair out of her face. She was in such a state that she could not even see the other inhabitant of the coach. "Thank you so much for your assistance," she said breathlessly. "I didn't realize the storm was so..." she trailed off as she stared into the warm hazel eyes of the man sitting opposite her.
"Why Miss Templeton, I didn't even recognize you. What are you doing out on the streets in such wicked weather?"
"Good afternoon, Mr. Stratford," she replied in what she hoped was a cool voice. "I was attempting to meet my father so that he could escort me home, but I had underestimated the strength of the storm. Thank you for your assistance." She was soaked through and began to shiver.
Drake picked up a blanket that was on the seat next to him. He moved across the small space and sat next to Virginia, draping the blanket about her shoulders. "You're cold," he said simply.
Having him so close to her set her pulse to racing and her breath became uneven. "Th-th-thank you," she managed to stammer, partly from the cold and partly because his close proximity unsettled her so. What was it about this man that did this to her?
She was suddenly aware that it was quite improper for her to be alone in a carriage with him. However, under the circumstances it was understandable. She asked him to take her just the few blocks to her father's meeting but he refused.
"You're soaked, you need to go home and get out of those wet clothes. Now where do you live?"
She gave him the address and he stood to relay the information to the driver. He was so tall he had to stoop when standing in the carriage. He then returned to his original seat across from her.
She clutched the blanket about her but was still shivering.
"Why don't you remove your cloak? You'll dry off faster that way," he said, rising once again and sitting next to her. He removed the blanket from her shoulders and assisted with removing her cloak. Virginia thought she might faint from having him help her do something so similar to disrobing even if was just her cloak. He laid the drenched garment on the bench across from them. Her gown was plastered to her body and she noted that his eyes took in every detail. Even though she was still shivering she began to feel very warm.
"Could I have the blanket back please?" she asked quietly, not daring to look at him.
"Certainly," he replied. He draped it around her shoulders but his arm lingered across her back. He gently pulled her tangled hair out from under the blanket and smoothed it back from her face. "Do you feel any better?" he asked quietly.
She looked up at him and saw the heat in his eyes. She quickly looked away and replied with a shaky voice, "Yes, thank you."
"I hope you don't mind, but I inadvertently placed your wet cloak on the other bench and as that seat is now most likely soaked, I will have to sit next to you for the remainder of the journey," he said removing a damp tendril of hair from her face.
Virginia's heart was pounding so fast she again thought she might faint. He's just a man she thought. Just like Charles. So, why am I reacting this way? Why am I so hot and yet so cold at the same time? Drake was sitting slightly sideways on the seat with his arm across the back of it, looking at her.
"Why are you staring at me Mr. Stratford? Am I such a sight?"
Smoothing her hair again he said softly, "Yes, you are quite a sight."
