“A minute?”
His eyes met hers, that brilliant, compelling blue. Something flip-flopped in her stomach. “One minute,” he promised.
Reluctantly she released the spectacles, and he slid them off her face. The world immediately blurred.
She hugged herself, a little thrill running through her as she watched his unfocused form begin to manipulate the metal. “What a difference they make! Jewel said something about you needing to find rocks. Perfect rocks. What did she mean by that?”
“I took her up into the hills, hunting for quartz for the lenses. Rock crystal.” He glanced up briefly, and she wished she could see his eyes better, see the heady glint of intelligence she knew was there. He returned to his task. “Perfectly clear quartz is difficult, but not impossible, to find.”
“They’re not glass? They’re called eyeglasses.”
“True.” He smiled as he worked. “But plain glass doesn’t have the properties needed for optical lenses.”
“How did you know that?”
Making a final adjustment, he shrugged, an unconcerned tilt of his shoulders. “My brothers would tell you I’ve wasted countless hours filling my brain with useless facts, when I could have been doing something productive.”
Her insides rebelled at the thought. “Oh, but it wasn’t useless at all. Look what you’ve done with that knowledge!”
He shrugged again. She couldn’t make out his expression. “My family would much rather see me improve this estate, instead of sinking all my income into research and experiments.” Finished, he stepped closer to put the spectacles back on her face.
“They just don’t understand you, then.” She could relate to that, since her family rarely understood her.
“You’re generous to say so. Especially since I’m beginning to think they might be right. I should have renovated Lakefield ages ago. I’ve been living with my oldest brother far too long.”
He ran his fingers around her ears, making sure the sidepieces curved to fit. A little thrill whirled through her at the feather-light sensation.
“Comfortable?” he asked.
The way he looked at her made her breath catch. She bit her lip and nodded.
His hands still rested around the edges of her face. Warm fingertips lay along her jaw. “Can you see well now?”
She nodded again, gazing into his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, realizing she was close enough to see them without the lenses. So close she could feel the heat radiating from his skin. “Thank you,” she whispered. “You’ve changed my life.”
With all her heart, she meant it. This incredible man she’d only just met had given her the most amazing gift. And now he was looking at her, really looking at her.
She was the center of his attention.
Blinking at that thought, her gaze dropped to his mouth.
He had a beautiful mouth, too. Suddenly, inexplicably, she wanted it on hers.
And even more suddenly it was.
His lips were soft and pillowy and quite unlike anything she’d ever felt before. And entirely different from how she’d imagined a kiss would feel…
A kiss?
She was being kissed.
Ford was kissing her.
Ford was kissing her.
She let out a little yelp, which must have startled him because he sprang away from her immediately. He looked as stunned as she felt, his vivid eyes hazy and unfocused—and gazing at her.
She didn’t like the attention so much anymore.
Clearing her throat, she looked down at the unvarnished floorboards. Of course he was stunned. A fellow would have to be daft to kiss a girl like her. Especially when she was wearing spectacles. Her hands went to the sides of her face, feeling the metal that hugged her ears. “I suppose I must look a fright.”
“No.” His voice was rough. She heard him clear his own throat. ”You look lovely, Violet. Your eyes shine like bronze beneath the lenses.” When she glanced back up, he appeared as surprised to have said the words as she was to hear them.
She knew he was just being nice. Which was, well, nice of him, but it left her in a swirl of confusion. Was it possible that he liked her, at least a little? Would he kiss her again?
Did she want him to?
It didn’t matter. Whatever had driven him to do such an absurd thing—such a ridiculous thing—was unlikely to ever recur.
“My eyes are brown,” she said, meeting his gaze squarely. She wasn’t lovely, and she didn’t like being lied to. If she’d been average-looking before, now, with the spectacles, she surely looked hideous.
“Your eyes look bronze to me,” he repeated, “though I’ve also thought they look like my favorite brandy. And truly the spectacles look fine. Better than fine.”
Much better than fine, Ford realized with a start.
After seeing her flushed with happiness and awe over his gift, he wondered how he’d ever thought her appearance was unremarkable. His sister often accused him of being oblivious, and for once he had to agree. Violet had a striking, unexpected beauty—and now that he’d seen it, he couldn’t unsee it.
He also couldn’t stop staring.
He wanted to kiss her again.
But he wouldn’t. The kiss had frightened her out of her wits. Having observed that rash behavior usually led to bad outcomes, he wasn’t usually given to impulse. The kiss had been no more than a momentary lapse. An isolated incident. He’d been temporarily overwhelmed by her tremendous delight, and his own pride in his work, and that infectious smile…
“Uncle Ford!”
Realizing he’d been unconsciously moving toward Violet, Ford straightened as the children came bounding into the drawing room. “What is it?” he grumbled, then cursed himself silently when his niece’s eyes turned misty.
He had to learn to be more patient. “What is it?” he repeated, forcing his lips to curve in a smile.
She smiled back. “There was a spi—”
“What is on your face?” Rowan interrupted, staring at his sister.
“Spectacles. Ford made them for me.”
Behind them, Violet’s brandy eyes still glowed with wonder, and Ford didn’t miss the fact that she’d finally called him by his given name. His forced smile turned genuine.
“What for?”
