Playing to Win (39 page)

Miss Ripley’s face was slowly returning
to its natural hue, but she still bore a strong resemblance to a
half-drowned kitten. Her hair, escaping from her ruined bonnet,
clung to her forehead and dripped down her cheeks. She reached up
now and tugged fruitlessly at the knot of strings beneath her chin.
Her fingers were stiff with cold.

“
Allow me,” said Fred
politely. She looked a little doubtful, but stood and permitted him
to struggle for a moment with the tangle. She had tied the hood of
her cloak on top of a close bonnet, and the strings of the hood and
the bonnet had worked themselves together into a hopeless snarl.
The fact that the strings were also soaking wet made untying the
mess even more challenging.

Miss Ripley was a lady of medium
height, but had to tilt her chin very high to permit tall Mr. Bates
a view of the knots. He thought he spied a speculative gleam in her
eyes as she regarded him from under her lashes. This, coupled with
her rather unnerving proximity, caused Fred to feel the color come
into his face. He had been living a decidedly Spartan existence for
the past twelvemonth, and Miss Ripley was the first female he had
touched since—

“
Sorry!” he said hastily,
stepping back. “I’m afraid we’ll have to take a knife to
it.”

We hope you have enjoyed this
excerpt of DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW by Diane Farr. To order this
title, or to view other books by this author, please visit
DianeFarrBooks.com
.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Diane Farr was first published at the
age of eight when the local newspaper printed one of her poems. She
has spent most of her life with her nose in a book—sometimes
reading, sometimes writing. Eventually she produced eight
historical romances that were all published by Signet Books. Four
of them, including the book you have just read, have been finalists
for the RITA award, the most prestigious award in romantic fiction.
You can find her on Facebook at
facebook.com/dianefarrpage
or on Twitter at
@DianeFarr. Please visit
DianeFarrBooks.com
to discover other books you might
enjoy.