CHAPTER 1 #2
Rowena brushed her fingertips over the curls by Blair’s cheeks, tousling them.
They were as soft as silk and as fine as a baby bird’s feathers.
She pondered over the nurse’s speculations.
Lord Forres was hunting for a wife to heal his broken heart?
Her own heart twinged in pain at thinking of how lonely he must be.
He sounded like a man who loved deeply. Rowena couldn’t help but feel drawn to him now, knowing he bore such pain. It was rather romantic, in a sad way.
Before she could speak again, a man burst around the hedgerows, sprinting toward them. It was Lord Forres. His dark hair was in wild tangles about his head as though he’d dragged his hands through the strands, and his lips were peeled back in an almost feral snarl.
He skidded to a halt just a few feet away when he spotted the nurse first.
“Mrs. Finch!” he bellowed at the nurse. “Where the devil have you been? I’ve searched the entire house for you and Blair…” As he stared at his child, safe in Rowena’s arms, the wild look in his eyes softened slightly.
“She’s safe, my lord,” Rowena said as she stood, tucking Blair against her right hip.
“Papa!” The little cherub smacked her hands together, wriggling in Rowen’s hold.
“Oh, my wee heart.” The earl strode over to Rowena and plucked Blair out of her arms before she could even protest.
Blair’s cheeks pinkened and her little lips quivered when she seemed to notice her father’s distress.
“There, there,” Forres shushed the babe.
“She’s fine, truly. I was able to catch her before she fell in,” Rowena assured him.
“Fell in?” Clear eyes, gray as a winter’s sky, met hers.
A tremor rippled through her. How had she forgotten what looking at him made her feel?
Dizzy, excited, and a little anxious. Of course, last night they’d had a dozen people between them, and all manner of candles, dishes, and other things to block them from speaking directly.
Yet there had been one moment, when he’d joined in the toasting for the evening and he’d raised his glass.
His eyes had traveled from face to face, lingering only on hers.
“Yes, she was climbing onto the edge of the fountain when I found her.”
“Good God,” he muttered. “I only knew she’d wandered away from the nursery.” He gave Blair a kiss on her forehead before looking toward Rowena.
He combed his fingers through hair that was a little too long for the current fashion.
There was something different about him, as though the suit he wore was a costume.
With his broad shoulders, great height, and muscled form, he was more fit for the role of a Scottish warrior of old than a gentleman in a garden.
The thought of him in a kilt, brandishing a sword, like a man out of her deepest, secret dreams…
another shiver rippled through her and she swallowed hard.
She was still young enough to have silly daydreams about handsome lords whisking her away to castles.
“Thank you, Miss Rowena. I apologize for my…harsh reaction.” Forres gripped little Blair’s head gently with one strong hand as he clutched his daughter to his chest. He closed his eyes and nuzzled her soft curls.
“No need to apologize,” Rowena said. She smoothed out her skirts, feeling a little embarrassed at witnessing such a strong show of emotion from a man who the nurse had said guarded his heart.
Forres met her gaze. “I went to check on Blair and when she was gone, I panicked…A footman said he thought he’d seen her leave the house.” He shook his head as though to banish dark thoughts. “I’m just glad she’s all right.”
“’Course she is, my lord. The young lady caught her right quick. The wee bairn was safe in her care,” Mrs. Finch told Lord Forres.
“Why don’t I take the lass inside for a bite to eat and a nap?” Mrs. Finch reached for Blair, but Forres didn’t immediately hand his daughter over. When he finally did, it was with a sigh and great reluctance.
“Be a good girl, Blair.” He chucked her under the chin and the little girl bobbled up and down in her nurse’s arms.
Rowena watched this familial intimacy, her heart flipping inside her chest. Mrs. Finch started to walk back toward the main house, and as she passed by Rowena, Blair reached out with one chubby little hand and waved at her before resting her cheek on Mrs. Finch’s shoulder.
A strange pull in her made her want to rush after the child.
The Earl of Forres cleared his throat and Rowena came back to herself.
“Have you been enjoying the house party, Lord Forres?” she asked, hoping that was the right course of conversation. It was the first time she’d been alone with a man besides her father or servants.
Alone with a man…
Rowena’s heart tripped and she had to collect herself before she panicked.
Her sister Milly had just gotten engaged early this morning, against her will, because a fortune hunter had snuck into her room the previous night and been caught by their mother.
Nothing beyond that had happened, but it had been enough to scandalize them into marriage.
Was being alone with Forres like this enough for a scandal?
“The party has been a pleasant distraction,” Forres admitted.
She nodded. “Yes.” She swallowed. Why was she so nervous? Normally she loved conversation and could talk about almost anything. Being alone with him left her tongue-tied and tingling as he drew near.
He held out the crook of his arm in silent invitation. The gesture was gentlemanly, but also natural and masculine.
The heat of a blush worked its way to her cheeks and Rowena didn’t know what to do.
“Oh, come now, Miss Rowena, ’tis only my arm. I won’t bite.” He grinned at her and chomped his white teeth together in a mocking way.
A giggle escaped her, startling them both.
Then he laughed, too, but there was a surprise in his expression as though he was astounded at his own amusement.
The sound of his laugh was rich and warm and oddly comforting, given that he was a complete stranger.
After only a brief hesitation, she placed her arm in his.
Little tingles shot up her skin at the point of their connection.
“Allow me to escort you back to the house.” Forres nodded toward the massive tan stone edifice of Hampton House.
It reminded her so much of Pepperwirth Vale, her family estate only four miles away.
Two ancient families, the Grahams and the Pepperwirths, had been neighbors for nearly two hundred years.
She and Forres walked in silence for a few steps before Forres spoke.
“I wish to thank you again for rescuing my daughter. Blair is…” He paused, and Rowena peeked up at him, noticing a slight ruddiness to his cheeks. “Blair is very precious to me. I’m afraid I’m overly protective of her.”
“I understand, my lord. I was informed you’d lost your wife a year ago, my condolences. It must be hard for any parent to raise a child alone.”
Forres halted and turned to face her, his eyes slightly wide in surprise. “Yes…yes, it is hard.” He recovered himself. “Blair is a wee bit wild, as I was when I was a bairn.”
Rowena couldn’t resist smiling. “You were once a wee child?” Her own childhood had been full of adventures, as much as a well-bred English young lady could have had in the country, but she imagined Forres had a much more colorful life.
“Oh, aye…” His Scottish accent thickened to a richer brogue as he spoke. “I was always off in the woods or on a horse. My nurse couldn’t keep me in a clean set of trousers to save my life.” His solemn gray eyes held a hint of warmth as he led her through the maze of gardens.
“And little Blair is like you.” Rowena laughed in delight. The idea of the darling child running among the Scottish heather, wild and free, was a wonderful thought.
Forres nodded. “Yes, but she could use a wee bit of taming.”
“Taming?” Rowena asked, tempted to smile. “All children need to be able to run free sometimes. I was often getting into scrapes when I was younger.”
Forres gazed at her. “Now, that I cannot imagine! A proper young lady like you?” His expression was serious but there was a hint of gentle mocking in his tone. He was teasing her and she couldn’t help but grin at him, temporarily forgetting how nervous he made her.
“Oh yes, I was a bit of a tree climber and I was always bringing home tadpoles, baby birds, and all other manner of fauna. I once nursed a baby deer back to health after its mother was killed one spring.” She’d always loved taking care of wounded creatures great or small, and her parents had been thankfully indulgent of her desire to play the healer.
He covered her hand with his where it rested on his arm.
“I was much the same. Always bringing home creatures. I rescued a pine marten one winter, raising the kit in my bedchamber beneath my parents’ noses.
It was a fine beast, a smart creature. He lived for nine years as a devoted pet, much to my mother’s dismay. ”
“It must have been wonderful to grow up in a castle in Scotland as a child.” Rowena sighed dreamily, picturing the earl as a boy scampering about the woods.
“It was, but southern England here is just as beautiful. You live on the neighboring estate, don’t you?”
“Yes, Pepperwirth Vale. It is a lovely house and all my memories there are happy ones.” She was beginning to see just how fortunate she had been to grow up so loved and cherished and free of tragedy.
Before they could speak further, they’d reached the doors to the veranda at the back of Hampton House, and Rowena’s mother was rushing toward her.
Her mother, usually one to be immaculately dressed, was now wearing a wrinkled gown, her hair a bit frazzled.
She must have been up all night worrying about Milly’s situation.
“Rowena! Dear, you must come at once, your sister…” Her mother halted at the sight of Lord Forres standing beside Rowena, their arms still linked.