Chapter 6
Sebastian pulled back quickly, horrified by what he’d done and elated that he’d done it.
Good grief but this was confusing.
For one long moment they stared at one another with wide, shocked eyes and parted lips, the cold air steaming between them as they labored for breath as though they’d just raced a mile.
“I’m sorry,” he said on a rush of air as reality returned along with all the consequences involved with kissing a sweet, naive girl like Sally.
Strong and brave and genuine and kind, yes. But also sheltered.
And his family’s guest.
He ran a hand through his hair and turned away from her wide eyes just as the stable boy brought Beast over to where they stood, fully saddled and ready for Sally’s first ride.
“Beast is ready, my lord,” the boy said.
“Beast?” she echoed.
“My brother and I named her that in jest,” he hurried to reassure her. “She’s so very gentle the name is quite laughable.”
Her smile was small and wary, but at least her gaze was focused once more. “I’ll take your word for it.”
He swallowed thickly in relief. For a moment there when she’d looked all dazed and dreamy, he’d been worried.
This was precisely why one did not dally with sweet, innocent girls. Any fool knew that. He liked the girl. He truly did. But his father wasn’t entirely wrong about him. Oh, he’d grown up. He’d matured. But that did not mean he was ready to settle down with a wife and family. Not that he was opposed to such a thing. But he hadn’t expected to meet a girl like this so soon. He wasn’t certain he was ready. At least, not right this very moment. And who knew what notions a young sweet lass like Sally would get in her head after a kiss like that.
A kiss like that.
He swallowed hard as his mind called back the feel of her lips, the soft sound of surprise she’d made. The way she’d all but melted into his arms as if she belonged there.
More than that...as if she trusted him to catch her.
“So? What next?” She turned to him with expectant eyes and for a moment his heart faltered in his chest.
What next, indeed? His heart ran away from him as his mind searched for words to answer. They would take things slowly, of course. But he couldn’t deny this draw. Perhaps if she were willing to wait. Give him time as they got to know one another and—
“Shall I mount her here or once we get outside?” Her brows were drawn together in confusion at whatever it was she’d seen on his face.
He cleared his throat. “Yes. Right. Let’s learn to ride, shall we?”
She grinned up at him and he was certain he felt his heart cry for mercy.
A short while later they arrived back at the stables winded, laughing, and so engrossed in their conversation that he didn’t realize until too late that the others had already returned from town. Not until he and Sally walked back inside and heard them talking.
“Bluestocking battalion! That’s what they’re called,” a gentleman’s voice said so loudly that Sebastian paused beside the partially open door to the drawing room. He turned to Sally, ready to laugh at the odd phrase but stopped short at the stricken expression on her face.
He realized the reason why a moment later when Lady Gertrude responded with a voice filled with laughter. “How absurd. One must feel sorry for the girls, raised in such an odd manner.”
He winced, ready to go in there and put an end to it but Sally placed a hand on his arm and gave a shake of her head.
“Miss Rebecca is charming though.” That was young Miss Grace. He’d always liked that girl.
“Oh yes, she’s darling,” Miss Eversaw agreed. “But we shall have to take her under our wing, shan’t we?”
Everyone agreed as one and he caught Sally’s rueful eye roll. At least she did not seem irate. He would have been furious if people were speaking of him and his family this way. He and his father and brother might have had their problems but they were still family, after all. What Sally had said earlier came back to him and he shrugged it off.
She had a point, and they both knew it. He likely hadn’t tried his best to make his father see what the army meant to him. He’d done nigh on nothing to show that he’d matured into his own. In fact, he’d found himself going out of his way to shock his father and irritate his brother at every turn. Just like he had as a willful child.
Was it any wonder his father still felt he was unreliable and reckless? Or his brother too?
“Miss Sally, however,” one of the ladies said with a sad sigh.
He winced again, turning to mouth, Let me end this.
But she shook her head with a wicked grin. Reaching for his arm she tugged him to keep moving, though snippets about Sally’s many oddities reached them before they’d made it to the library, where he shut the door behind them to block out the cruel gossip.
“We shouldn’t be in here alone,” Sally said promptly.
He rolled his eyes, though he knew she was right. He opened the door again. “I’ll ring for your maid to come join us as well.”
She nodded. “That will do, thank you.”
Laughter drifted down the hallway, making him cringe but he noticed that Sally looked more relaxed than ever as she wandered over to the shelves and ran her finger over the books’ spines. “This is my favorite room in your house,” she said, her tone so wistful it made him want to sweep her into his arms just to hear her gasp again. She glanced back with an impish grin. “My sister Hattie would be in heaven if she saw this.”
“A big reader,
