Not that there was anything to pry into.
She came to stand. “What are you sitting around here for? There are plenty of chores to be done before dinner. Just because Minerva isn’t here to ring a bell and keep order doesn’t mean this household should devolve into chaos.”
“It wasn’t chaos while you were gone,” Hattie said with a pout. “Abigail was mostly off with her pirate, and Father was busy at the fort, and I…” She sighed. “I had peace and quiet.”
Rebecca scoffed, looking to Sally. “Why do I suspect our beloved little sister is not as pleased as one might hope to have her sisters back home.”
“I am pleased,” Hattie said as she headed toward the staircase. With a mischievous grin she turned back to add, “But I did enjoy the silence.”
Rebecca followed Hattie up the stairs. Heading up to change, no doubt. Rebecca had decided that one of the aspects of country manor living she enjoyed the most was the frequent wardrobe changes and she was determined to bring that home with her.
Sally watched them go, already heading for the front door. They wouldn’t leave her alone about Sebastian for long. Rebecca hadn’t pried much when Sally had burst into tears on the carriage ride home, but that tactful distance wouldn’t last for long. The Jones girls weren’t exactly known for tact. And there was no such thing as personal space between the sisters themselves.
With that thought, she reached for a second wrap hanging near the door. Some fresh air would do her good. This sinking feeling, the ceaseless, nagging thoughts about how she might never see Sebastian’s face again…
She gave her head a sharp shake. Sitting here and stewing would do no good.
No, she would go for a walk. A walk that would likely lead to a run. She slipped out the door, her head tucked down as she turned back to gently close the door so no one heard her leave.
If they did, they might get it into their heads that she needed company. Or a shoulder to cry on. Heaven forbid. That was the last thing she needed. What she needed now was—
Sebastian.
“Oof!” Sebastian grunted as she whirled around and ran smack into him.
Again.
“Sebastian?” She felt winded as well, even though she’d only bounced off his chest, stepping on his toes in the process. “What are you doing here?”
He grinned down at her, his dark hair tousled and windblown, his eyes alight with such humor, such intelligence. She bit her lip to hold back a cry.
But he was smiling.
Wariness overtook her urge to cry and she frowned instead. “Why are you smiling like that?”
He gripped her arms and held her for a moment, eyeing her from head to toe before pulling her tightly against his chest as if he might never let go. “Because I missed you,” he said.
“It’s been a day,” she felt the need to point out. But her heart was racing and those tears were stinging because… “I missed you too.”
The truth slipped out on a whisper and she was rewarded with a tight squeeze and the feel of his lips on her temple. “Tell you what. I won’t run from you if you promise never to run from me again either.”
She was torn between a laugh and an exasperated sigh—the sound that came out of her was somewhere in between. “When have you ever run from me?”
“Never.” He pulled back. “And I never would. So, yes, admittedly I have the easier part of the bargain there.”
“Sebastian, I—” She paused with her mouth open as her insides were torn in two. Seeing him here, every part of her wanted to leap into his arms and hold him tight. Walking away from him had been the hardest thing she’d ever done.
But she’d done it. And now, him being here meant she’d have to do it all over again.
That tightness in her chest was back, and for the second time in her life she blubbered like a fool in front of the man she loved.
He pulled her in tightly, wrapping his arms about her as he rocked her gently. “Shh,” he hushed. “It’s all right. Everything is going to be all right, I promise.”
She pushed against him so she could see him properly. Her hands were trapped between them, pressing against the solid wall that was his chest. She wanted to run, to be free...and yet this embrace was easing that dreadful tension inside of her as surely as racing in the rain.
But that was terrifying. Couldn’t he understand that?
She didn’t want to need a person to feel freedom. She didn’t want to need anyone for anything, for that matter. She was the one who was needed.
She had no idea how to rely on someone else.
His gaze was warm, affectionate, and so very understanding. Almost as if he could read her every thought. “This scares the dickens out of you, doesn’t it?”
She blinked in surprise. He truly had read her mind. Or maybe she was just easy for him to read. And maybe she could read him too.
She certainly knew what it meant when his lips quirked up like that. Her breath was stolen from her lungs when he tilted his head to the side and leaned down…
His kiss seemed to be speaking directly to her heart. A warm wash of relief and comfort had her head swimming. The promise of passion that coiled in her belly made her weak.
But she wasn’t weak. She couldn’t be. For his sake, she wouldn’t be.
She pulled back but rather than be discouraged, his smile widened. “I know what you are going to say.”
“You do not.”
“I do.” He adopted a ridiculously high voice that sounded nothing at all like Sally’s. “But Sebastian, your family will never approve—”
“They won’t.”
“And my family needs me—”
“They do!”
“This would never work.”
“It won’t.” Her voice wobbled and she smacked his arm hard enough to make him wince. “How can you be teasing
