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“A few drops. Val sleeps on his balcony these days and said that’s all he felt.”
“And where was he off to this morning?”
“To see our little niece, Rose,” the earl replied, pausing before a wooden stile. “Had I been able, I’d have moved this appointment to join him, but there are several people interested in Willow Bend.”
“Or so the land agent told you.”
“Repeatedly and emphatically. Had I coordinated more closely with Val, though, he could have at least escorted us for much of the distance. Welbourne is not far from Willow Bend.”
“Do you like children?” The stile was level at the top, so A
“Babies rather intimidate me, as one can drop them, and they break, but yes, I like children. I am not particularly charming, as Val is, but children don’t mind that. They want honest regard, much like a good horse does.”
“But Rose was not much taken with you?”
“More to the point, Rose’s mother, to whom His Grace would have seen me wed, was not much taken with me, and in the way of children, Rose comprehended that as clearly as I did.”
They fell silent, sitting side by side, until A
“Today, I am going to call you A
“We will share a lovely morning in the country,” A
“And seal our agreement”—the earl shifted to stand before her—“with a kiss.”
He gave her time to wiggle off the hook, to hop down off the stile and dash past him, to deliver a little lecture even, but she sat, still as a mouse, while he framed her face with his bare hands and brought his lips to hers. He propped one booted foot on the stile and leaned over her as his mouth settled fully over hers.
While A
Her common sense gave a last, despairing whimper and went silent, because A
She swayed into him, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck for support, wishing she’d thought—as he had—to take off her gloves. Oh, she knew nothing of the details of being wicked, nothing at all except that with him, she liked it. She liked the way she felt more alive wherever he touched, liked the way her insides melted at the scent and taste of him. Liked the feel of his long, muscular body so close to hers.
A
“Oh dear.” She stared up at him, dumbstruck by the heat in his green eyes. “Dear, dear, dear.”
The earl looked down and traced a finger along the slope of her breast to pluck the hairpin from her dress. He held it out to her, smiling as if he were presenting her with a flower.
“I may be feeling winded,” he said, offering her his arm, “but by now Pericles should be well rested.”
A
“You are quiet, A
“I am overwhelmed,” she said. “I think I must be a very wicked woman, my… What do I call you?”
The earl urged Pericles to the trot. “Today, you call me whatever pleases you, but why do you say you are wicked?”
“I should be remonstrating you, making you behave, chiding you for your lapses,” A
“All you want?” The earl kept his eyes on the empty road.
“Is to forget every pretense of common sense.” A
“I would like that, A
“It can’t lead to anything,” A
The earl glanced over at her but had to keep some focus on the road. “Why not just enjoy these hours as we choose to spend them? I will not take liberties you deny me, A
A
“And now,” A
“It is a pretty morning.” He smiled at her, including her in that prettiness. “I am in good company, and we are about a pleasant errand. Just to be away from Town, away from Tolliver’s infernal correspondence, and away from Stenson’s grasping fingers is reason to rejoice.”
“I could not abide the touch of someone I did not like,” A
“So I do my best to stay out of his reach and to bellow like the duke when he transgresses,” Westhaven said. “He is getting better, but tell me, A
She drew in a swift breath and saw from his expression that while he was teasing, he was also… fishing.
“Of course I like you. I like you entirely too well, and it is badly done of you to make me admit it.”
“Well, let’s go from bad to worse, then, and you can tell me precisely why you like me.”
“You are serious?”
“I am. If you want, I will return the favor, though we have only several hours, and my list might take much longer than that.”
He is flirting with me, A
“All right.” A
Beside her, the earl was again silent.
“Shall I go on?” A