What if he left her this time? What if— Eve halted her thoughts. She could not know the future until it came to pass. She finished tying her boots, gathered her scarf and mittens, and conscious that she might be making a terrible mistake laying herself open to his charm, made her way toward the staircase.
He was unaware when she halted at the top of the stairs to observe him. He and Mr. Clark were discussing what appeared to be skating techniques. A set of blades draped over his shoulder, but he held his hat in his hands. Lines of concentration marred his brow as he paid careful heed to the skating motions her aunt’s butler was making with his legs.
“Be sure to keep your hands out, My Lord,” Mr. Clark finished and then, catching sight of her, nudged Nicholas and turned toward the coat hooks. “I’ve your evergreen cloak for you today, Lady Eve.”
Nicholas’s eyes lifted to where she stood and never wavered once as she descended and then allowed Mr. Clark to drape her favorite garment over her shoulders.
“I’m glad your pie didn’t ruin it,” Nicholas commented with a sparkle in his eyes. Had he really come back into her life again only yesterday? She tempered her emotions as she smiled up at him.
It was not paranoid for her to remind herself that he could disappear just as quickly again tomorrow.
“Your blades, My Lady.” Mr. Clark went to hand them to her but Nicholas grasped them first, draping them along with his own and then offering his arm.
Have a wonderful afternoon.” The butler held the door wide for them. “And remember, My Lord, keep your hands out for when you fall.”
“I have no intention of falling,” Nicholas shot back, lifting his chin.
“You do know how to skate, don’t you?” Eve glanced up at him. “We don’t have to…” Because skating had been difficult enough to learn when she’d been a child and all of the necessary falling could hardly be enjoyable for a full-grown adult.
“If skating is your preference for the afternoon, I will learn.” He matched his steps to hers as they walked away from the village center and toward the lake.
“We could do something else,” she suggested.
“If you want to skate, we will skate. Now, where exactly are we headed?”
Eve couldn’t help but smile at his stubbornness.
“Just north of town. The stream we were at yesterday feeds the lake.” The reminder of yesterday’s meeting was somewhat sobering.
But for now, the sky was blue, and the outing promised to be a lovely one.
The last time she’d skated had been not quite two years before. She and her sisters had been forced to wait until after the holidays because their father hadn’t deemed the ice safe. When he finally had, their mother had insisted they not wait another day to venture onto the ice. “My parents taught us to skate on the pond at home when we were very young.”
“You miss your mother very much.”
She nodded and swallowed hard.
Nick strode quietly for a moment. “Do you intend to return to your father’s home for the holidays? Or does he plan on joining you and your sisters here?”
“I don’t know when we will see my father again,” she admitted grudgingly. “He sent us away indefinitely. He’s not been the same since we lost her.”
Nick said he’d panicked when she’d left. Had he suffered in his own way while she’d mourned her own losses? Nicholas placed one hand over hers. “Surely, he will come around?”
“I am trying to remain optimistic. Losing my mother was difficult enough on all of us, but it seems we’ve lost Papa now too. He says he sent us away for our own good but… we miss him dreadfully. We miss the person he used to be. He… drinks.” Eve felt ashamed to admit it, but this was Nicholas. If the two of them were going to stand any chance at all of finding their way back to one another, it was important that they speak openly. “Aunt Winifred has been most kind to us—more than we dared expect.”
“I should have been here for you.” His voice sounded thick with emotion.
He should have! But what good could possibly come by remaining angry with him?
“You are here now,” Eve said. They turned along a smaller path that led directly to the lake where adults and children alike, dressed in woolen coats, brightly colored mittens, hats and scarves, glided across the slick surface. “And today you are going to risk life and limb on skates for me. I feel it only fair to warn you that my sisters complain about my lack of patience as a teacher.”
“But you will be patient with me.” Something in his voice had her peeking flirtatiously in his direction.
“And why is that, My Lord?” she teased.
“Because you have reserved all of your patience for the handsome gentlemen who assisted you with your pies.”
“And would this gentleman happen to be a marquess with the title of Merriweather?”
“Indeed. He is the one.”
They arrived at a bench and Nicholas handed over her blades as they sat down. Eve had her feet securely attached in just a few minutes and couldn’t help but grin when she caught Nicholas attaching the devices to his boots backward.
“Your foot, My Lord.” She indicated a spot just between them. He turned and lifted his leg without question but when his gaze captured hers, she couldn’t help but think it was a smoldering one. Likely he was remembering what had occurred when he’d assisted her with her slippers and stockings the day before.
Her gaze trailed up his thighs, and she swallowed at the realization that she would not be opposed to… Good Gravy!
Eve slid her mittens off and did her best to ignore the heat flooding her cheeks. The
