“What do you think Lady Gertrude meant about father?” Rebecca asked.
“Please, do not let their wagging tongues bother you,” Sebastian said before Sally could reply.
“Yes, but—”
“Their comments reflect more on them than on us,” Sally said primly, echoing words Minerva had said to them when they were younger and the townsfolk teased them for being their father’s so-called ‘bluestocking battalion.’
Was our upbringing unusual? Min would say. Yes. Of course. But unusual is not always a bad thing.
“I suppose being unusual isn’t such a bad thing,” Rebecca said under her breath. Clearly she too remembered Minerva’s lectures.
The difference, of course, was that the teasing mockery of the townsfolk had never felt cruel or even ill-intentioned. The Jones family was beloved in their little town and so the teasing had never bothered any of them to any great degree.
This was different, and they both knew it.
She suspected Sebastian knew it as well.
He leaned over now as Rebecca and their maid wandered the grounds. “That stretch over there,” Sebastian said. His voice was low as though letting her in on a secret and the rumble of his voice made her shiver.
No, it wasn’t his voice. Surely not. It was obviously the chill in the early evening air that made her shiver, that was all. “What about it?”
He turned his head and a lock of chestnut hair fell into his eyes, which glimmered with mischief. “That’s the best spot for a race.”
She blinked up at him. “A race?”
“On foot, of course. Until you’re comfortable riding, in which case I will happily race you on horseback.”
“But I—I never—that is…” Oh drat. She was never a flustered ninny, but nothing about this man was predictable. One minute he was charming society matrons with his perfect manners and the next he was scandalously offering to race her.
The laughter in his eyes made her breath hitch and her belly flutter. First her heart and now her belly? Had her body forgotten that it was solid matter and not a wisp of silk?
She turned back to look at her sister. “I don’t do that sort of thing.” He started to protest and she hurriedly added, “Away from home, that is.”
His low laugh warmed her more thoroughly than a fire. She wanted to join him in laughing. She wished she could toss her head back like he did and let out a boisterous laugh like he’d done back on the cliffs. But she was not him. And this was not the seaside. Or ‘that remote part of the country,’ as the earl had put it.
“Oh come on.” He leaned over and nudged her arm with his elbow. “You know you want to laugh.”
She did. But she kept herself in check as she turned to him. “I must be on my best behavior lest I give your father and his friends an even worse opinion of my family.”
His smile fell. “I’m sorry for the way they were acting. A newcomer in this crowd is quite the novelty. I’m afraid you and your sister are their source of entertainment.”
She gave him a small smile because his regret was genuine and clear. “It’s nothing we cannot handle.”
The warmth in his eyes was heartening but she caught the flicker of concern when he turned his gaze to Rebecca who was now flitting about the lawns as though she were quite at home...and not seeming to realize that the entire drawing room was no doubt watching her from their warm perch behind the glass doors.
“Don’t worry about Rebecca,” she said softly. “She might be naive and too sweet for her own good, but she has a good head on her shoulders and understands more than people give her credit.”
No, Rebecca was not a fool. Just a romantic. Which some, including Sally, might argue were often one in the same, but only when it came to one topic. When it came to their station in life and what they could expect from this house party and its guests, Rebecca was levelheaded.
“So long as no flirtatious young dandy comes along and tries to turn her head, Rebecca will be in no real danger.” As soon as she spoke it she wished she could call the words back. With a grimace she turned back to Sebastian but there was that understanding again. More disturbing, there was the look he gave her that made her think that perhaps he did understand.
Once you are familiar and comfortable, I imagine you’ll be unstoppable. I shouldn’t try to hold you back.
She turned to face Rebecca and struggled to swallow. For the past twenty-four hours those words had been ringing in her ears. She kept thinking about what he’d meant. Nothing, of course, but she couldn’t seem to shake the memory. She pushed the words away again and tried to explain. “I didn’t mean to insinuate...that is, I would never suggest that my sister—”
“Please.” He cut her off with a gentle smile. “I would never presume you meant anything ill against your sister, and I’d like to think that as friends we can be honest with one another.”
She hesitated before nodding. It wasn’t until Sebastian had offered his friendship that she’d realized it, but the truth was...she didn’t have many friends. She had her father and her sisters, of course. But she did not have friends. Certainly none who were so very…
She cast him a sidelong look.
Male. She definitely had no friends who were so very male.
But everything in her said that he could be trusted. He might be a tease and a charmer, but her instincts said he had a good nature. A solid character despite his propensity for teasing and laughter. And one lesson their father had instilled time and time again?
Instincts were everything.
Not emotions, mind you, he’d say. But instincts. If a man smiles and it makes you want to run, then by all means...run as fast and far as your legs will take you.
“We did
