“Besides…” Her smile turned gentle. Sweet, almost. It stole his breath right out of his lungs. “You didn’t exactly have an easy childhood yourself, now did you?”
The question was rhetorical but he still found himself murmuring, “No. I suppose not.”
Just like he’d heard rumors about her parents, he had no doubt she’d heard every detail of the scandal that was his parents. “But,” he said, shifting closer. “I was treated kindly by my uncle, and was given every advantage.”
She made a noise.
He looked over with a start. “Are you laughing at me?” He honestly wasn’t certain whether to be shocked, amused, or offended.
She bit her lip. “My apologies, it’s just…” She dropped her voice low in a comical impersonation. “I was given every advantage.” Her laughter was sweet and melodic. “I’m not certain who you are trying to convince but it was not terribly convincing.”
He started to laugh, as well. “You’ll think me ungrateful…”
She leaned over, nudging his shoulder with hers in a move that was surprisingly playful. “Go on.”
He shrugged. “It’s just...I was happier with my parents, that’s all.”
“Mmm.” Her murmur of agreement seemed to say everything and nothing, and it held more than a little bit of wistfulness.
“But Uncle Edward truly was kind. He still is.” He flashed her a rueful smile. “He’s probably too kind. Some might say he spoils me.”
“Really? Who would ever say such a thing?” she asked so mildly that it made him laugh.
“I trust you think it’s true.”
She shrugged, turning away. “I would have said as such as a child, I’m certain. But I was also terribly jealous of your kind uncle so it’s possible I was holding a bit of a grudge.”
“A bit of a grudge?” he asked, his brows arching in disbelief.
Now it was her turn to laugh at herself, and the fact that she did warmed him all the way through. “Fine. I was extraordinarily jealous of you and your kind household and I treated you badly because of it. Happy now?”
“Very.” He wasn’t certain if she had changed, or if he had, or if they were only now truly getting to know one another, but hearing her laugh at her own self-righteous image made him shift his view of her again.
At this rate, he wouldn’t recognize her come nightfall.
7
This was pleasant. Too pleasant.
As far as Prudence was concerned, this entire outing had been too pleasant by far. Is there such a thing as too pleasant? She could practically hear Louisa asking that question, but the answer was yes.
Yes, there was.
Because nothing good could come of enjoying Damian’s company. Nothing good could come of all this time they’d been spending together unless she suddenly and miraculously became a musical genius.
And unless musical genius was contagious, she couldn’t imagine how he would accomplish this by forcing her to eat a jam tart.
She took another bite as they watched the crowds in companionable silence. Not that she particularly minded the tart.
In fact, this treat was the highlight of her week considering she’d eaten the last of the sweets she’d brought back with her from Miss Grayson’s ages ago, and her aunt’s idea of dessert was an extra serving of vegetables with her dinner.
“Mmm.” She let out an embarrassing little moan as she let the last bite melt in her mouth, her eyes closed to savor every last taste sensation. When the last of it was gone, she sighed and opened her eyes to find Damian staring at her.
Not just staring. His eyes were dark and heavy-lidded and so intently focused on her she found herself jerking back with a start, her hand coming up to her lips to ensure there were no embarrassing crumbs or smears of jam causing this sudden interest. “What is it?”
He cleared his throat and shook his head. “I have never seen anyone enjoy anything as much as you have that tart.”
She bit her lip, a blush threatening to make her face a mottled mess. “Oh, er…” She looked down at her lap, searching for an excuse for her unbridled joy that did not include explaining Aunt Eleanor’s strict diet.
“You should always be eating treats.”
“Pardon me?” She looked up in surprise to see him blinking as if coming out of a daze.
“It’s nice to see someone enjoy their food,” he said, but he wouldn’t quite look her way. Then he was dusting crumbs from his hands and standing. “Shall we?”
“Shall we...what?” she asked, still completely perplexed.
His smile was slow and...wicked. There was no other word for it. She no longer believed him to be wicked, but when he smiled like that…
A girl could forget.
He reached a hand down to her and after glancing over at her scowling chaperone who would report everything that happened today to Aunt Eleanor, she accepted. He helped her up and linked her arm through his so he was leading them away from the fair, toward the grove of trees on the neighboring farm.
“Where are we going?”
He glanced down at her. “I was not lying when I said we would have a lesson today.”
She bit her lip, stealing a glance back at her chaperone who was far enough away not to hear every word, and still… How much had she heard?
Her stomach toppled and turned at the thought.
“Pru?” He peered down at her. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. No. Not really. But right now was not the time to think about the world of trouble she would be in when she got home. Nor was it the time to lose focus of her goal.
To win over her new
