“You were?” I asked the question only so he would keep talking.
“Absolutely,” he said, smiling at my very subtle encouragement. He took a step towards me, and I took one, as well. Slowly, we both advanced towards one another until we met in the middle. Though, once we were there, neither of us knew what to do. So, Sherborne carried on talking.
“Your mother finally told me where your sister lived so I could write to you, but I didn’t know what to say. So, I thought a train ride would give me time to think about it. And then, suddenly, I was arriving at the station and asking someone for directions to your sister’s home, and…well, here I am.”
“Here you are.” I smiled up at him, amazed that he was in front of me and that I was so pleased about it.
I’d known when I sent Sherborne the letter that I liked him. More than a business associate, as I’d once described him, and more than a friend, which he’d described himself as. I liked him in a way I’d never liked anyone before, which meant I didn’t have any idea at all how to behave around him.
“Do you want to walk with me?” I asked finally.
He nodded and followed me down the driveway towards Catherine and Charles’ home. Then, we turned and headed for the back of the house.
I’d avoided the trails there since the accident, but they didn’t seem nearly as daunting with Sherborne at my side. In fact, it seemed silly to be afraid of a piece of land at all.
We walked a short distance from the house until we were at the fork in the trails. Sherborne seemed content to keep on walking, but I reached out and grabbed his hand, stopping him. He turned towards me, his dark eyes tracing over my face. I saw them snag on the cut on my forehead.
“I know better than to ask you directly what happened to your forehead,” he said, twisting his lips in mild frustration.
I smiled at the familiar gesture and nodded. “Good.”
“I know you are a grown woman, Alice,” he continued. “I know you can take care of yourself.”
“I can,” I said, agreeing with him.
His mouth quirked into an amused smile, and he rolled his eyes. “But—”
“No.” I shook my head. “There is no but. I can take care of myself.”
“But,” he said again, grinning openly now. “I’ve also saved you several times. You take on more than you can handle and without someone there to temper your confidence, you are likely to get yourself killed.”
If only he knew what had happened less than a week prior. He’d either be delighted he was right or horrified by my recklessness. Probably both.
“And you think you are the person to temper my confidence?”
He shrugged, the movement surprisingly shy. “I could be. If you want.”
Being honest about my feelings had never been my strong suit. I could tell someone a harsh truth when it needed to be told, but I had a hard time revealing my own truths. So, despite the answer ringing out loudly in my heart, my mouth stayed firmly shut.
That was probably for the best because Sherborne, made nervous by my silence, kept talking.
“You are a pain, Alice,” he said. “You make life difficult for me.”
“In your letter you said I make it interesting.”
“They are interchangeable,” he said quickly, waving away my interruption. “But despite how much trouble looking out for your safety has brought me, I’ve decided that you are worth every single bit of it.”
Emotion crawled up the back of my throat, making it hard to swallow, and my eyes went misty. I blinked rapidly to clear my vision. “I’m delighted to hear I’m worth it.”
Sherborne smiled. “Now, are you going to tell me what happened to your forehead?”
I frowned. “Don’t you want to hear what I think of you?”
He shook his head, a smug smile on his face. “The blush in your cheeks tells me all I need to know.”
I pulled the corners of my mouth into deeper disapproval and swatted his arm. “It seems that if either of us needs someone to temper their confidence, it is you.”
“If you’re applying for the job, then you are hired.”
I smiled up at him, feigning annoyance at his antics, and then quickly felt the mood shift to something less playful. Sherborne’s dark eyes captured mine, rooting me to the spot, and I couldn’t breath as he took a step towards me. I tipped my head back just as…
“Do you have a visitor, Alice?”
I turned and Charles was standing at the back of the house. He waved at us. “Catherine said she noticed a gentleman walking with you down the driveway.”
Sherborne startled and then was his usual casual self an instant later. He bowed slightly at the waist. “I am Sherborne Sharp, a friend of Alice’s from London. I am sorry to intrude.”
“Never,” Charles said. “We’d love to have you for lunch. It’s ready now.”
Charles walked inside, the back door banging closed behind him, and Sherborne and I both stared after him for a second before looking at one another shyly, silently acknowledging the ruined moment.
“Well, are you hungry?” I asked.
“I am, but didn’t you want to go for a walk?” he asked, pointing towards the trail.
I looked into the dark mouth of the trail, imagining the sprawling land beyond. Suddenly, I realized that I wasn’t afraid anymore. Not only because Sherborne
