What the Lady Wants Read Free Page B

how
young
are you?”
    â€œSeventeen. I’ll be eighteen next month.”
    He closed his eyes and patted a hand over his heart. “My oh my, but you are an enchanting creature, Miss Spencer.”
    She smiled timidly, uncertain of what to say or do next. No man had ever spoken to her like that, had ever looked at her like that before, either. She stared at his hand covering his heart and noticed his crooked index finger. The joint just above his knuckle was hyperextended. Delia chanced another bashful smile just as a white-hot blaze cannonballed across the horizon. Even from where they stood they both saw it and rushed back toward the windows.
    Seconds later there was a loud explosion that shook the building with such a force that the chandeliers clanked and a server dropped his tray. Delia shrieked and grabbed hold of Mr. Field’s lapel as couples cleared the dance floor and the musicians put down their instruments. Delia saw a glimpse of Abby’s blond curls before she lost her again in the crowd. Everyone squeezedin around the windows, watching the night sky, alive and wild with streaks of red, blue and orange.
    Delia released her hold on Mr. Field’s lapel and clutched her chest. “I’m sorry. That frightened me so.”
    He didn’t say anything. His eyes were trained on the inferno. The winds had picked up, howling against the windows, feeding the flames. The fire was gaining on the city. There were more explosions and rumblings heard from miles away.
    â€œMust have been the turpentine plants or else kerosene tanks,” said one of the guests.
    â€œDon’t forget there’s half a dozen lumberyards over there, too,” said another man with a full goatee that hung from his chin like a whitewash brush.
    The next explosion happened closer by and Delia watched in horror as a fireball appeared just blocks to the west and consumed an entire building as if it were made of paper. The room filled with screaming and shrieking. This was not like the fires of the summer. Delia was paralyzed with fear.
    Before the flames got any closer, Mr. Field grabbed hold of her hand. “Come with me,” he said. “We have to get out of here.”
    Everyone at the party had the same idea, as they all quickly rushed for the doorways. Delia thought she spotted her father, but then he disappeared in the chaos. She saw Potter Palmer climb onto the stage where the orchestra had been. Cupping his hands about his mouth, he shouted above the panic and commotion. “Everybody—it’s time to evacuate. Please, everyone leave the hotel now!”
    The room exploded into even more mayhem as people shoved one another out of the way and rushed the doors. Hats and evening bags flew as people tripped over their own feet, trying to escape. Delia’s gown rustled as she raced down the staircase,holding tightly to Mr. Field’s hand until someone pushed her from behind and she was separated from him.
    â€œMr. Field? Mr. Field—wait!”
    She was caught in a blur of people shoving past her, rushing toward the exit. Delia thought about her manteau, but there was no time to get it. Frantically she searched for her parents and Abby, but all she saw was the chaotic barrage of strangers. By the time she made it outside, the street had turned to pandemonium as people fought to flee the buildings and restaurants nearby. There was no sign of Mr. Field anywhere. No trace of her family, either. She was all alone, surrounded by confusion. All she knew for certain was that the fire was growing closer and that she had to find a way to escape it.

CHAPTER TWO
    D elia soon found herself among a mass of people heading north. She’d lost track of time as alarm bells continued to sound and fire shot out of the windows and doorways she passed by. The flames rose from the ground up, reaching far above the rooftops and leaping over entire buildings.
    People were hauling drays and carts filled with