Chapter 5 The Courtship #3
“My brother, Edward, is four years older. He has always been my hero. I trailed after him for the better part of childhood. Before he went off to school, he showed me how to be a hellion, just like him.” He chuckled softly to himself, almost as though forgetting she was there.
“My father’s property is huge. It encompasses two lakes, several streams, a very large forest, and more meadows than I could count.
For a couple of young boys with active imaginations, these places transform into an entirely different world.
We were pirates, Robin Hood, and battling knights.
Many evenings we would forget to return home until after dark.
” He grinned sheepishly. “That earned us a thrashing every time.”
She imagined him as a youth, trailing after an older boy. “So you and Edward are close then?”
They had stopped walking and were looking out over the slow winding river. He raised one fist to his mouth and looked away from her. “We have grown apart.”
Ah, so there was some sadness in his life. No family, it seemed, could escape it.
“It is difficult when one sibling becomes an adult and the other is still a child.” She could not help thinking about her own sister, who had married while she was yet in the schoolroom.
He cleared his throat and turned back to her with a smile on his lips.
It did not reach his eyes. It was not his real smile.
“The heir to a dukedom requires training. He is separated from everyone else and taught to live his life independent of other children. There is little room for mistakes. My brother was distanced from me by my father.”
“Your father separated his sons from each other?”
“It was necessary…and my brother—well—he changed. He has grown to be much like my father—disciplined, rigid, aloof—but we all must grow up eventually.” With her hand tucked into his arm, they strolled alongside the river’s edge.
“What of your family? I can already tell you have a good relationship with your mother—and your aunt seems to think highly of you as well.”
He was changing the subject. Was he estranged from his father and brother? As the second son, perhaps he’d been neglected. She must allow him his privacy in this—for now.
“I had an older sister, Rose, born ten years before me. She was beautiful.” Lilly glanced over at him, feeling sheepish.
“She was tall and elegant with gorgeous chestnut hair.” She touched her own hair self-consciously.
“I always felt like the ugly duckling around her.” She grimaced at how self-pitying that sounded.
“She was as much a mother to me as Mama is.” Why had she told him that?
Why had she drawn his attention to the unusual color of her hair?
She hoped he did not decide she was unattractive now.
“We lost her three years ago. It sometimes feels like summer will never come again. My parents adored Rose. They were so proud of her. She was beautiful, perfect.” Lilly shook her head sadly. “She was a wonderful mother.”
He was looking at her curiously. “Ah, but you have become a swan.”
She felt her cheeks turn warm. She had not been fishing.
“But Rose married and left me all alone.” She feigned a sigh, to show him that she was mocking herself, and then looked up at him to grin. “But she had a beautiful baby. Glenda is an adorable child. I visit with her whenever I can.”
“How old is your niece?” He sounded genuinely interested.
“She is all of eight years old and has already surpassed me in sophistication. She is not as playful as she once was. Ever since Rose fell ill…”
“The child remains with her father?” Captain Redmond asked.
“Oh yes, but his estate is not far from ours, just over an hour’s drive.
Her father is…” Lilly searched for the best way to describe Lord Beauchamp.
“Somewhat reclusive, although he dotes on Glenda. He rarely ventures away from his property. We retrieve Glenda every other week and bring her home for a few days at a time.” Lilly laughed and shook her head.
“Even I will admit she is becoming spoiled! She needs a mother in her life, but…” She trailed off, realizing what she was about to tell him.
“But?” he prompted. He was a good listener. It was as though the things she had to say actually mattered! He was a captain! He’d fought in a war and returned safely. He’d won metals. And yet he wanted to know her thoughts—her opinions.
“My father wishes for me to take on the position!” There, now. She’d said it.
She was going to have to explain such an announcement.
“I love Glenda, truly, I do, but I could never marry Lord Beauchamp.” Never.
Never, ever, ever. “First and foremost, he is Rose’s husband.
So horribly wrong! And secondly, he is so very old!
Thirdly and most importantly, I am not comfortable with him.
He has this mustache that is absolutely ridiculous… ” Lilly trailed off.
She really had said more than she ought.
“It is not legal,” he said.
Lilly shrugged. “My father and the vicar have discussed this at length. Apparently, the vicar believes the law contradicts the Bible, and so he is willing to abide by my father’s wishes.”
Oh, dear. She’d told him far too much. For a moment, she thought his jaw clenched. At the same time, his arm went tense beneath her hand. She would change the subject. She ought not to talk about such things with him…even if it did feel as though she’d known him forever.
“What about you?” Lilly asked. “Does your father press you to marry?”
“No,” Captain Redmond answered, “I am not the heir. That particular expectation has been placed solely upon my brother.” He sounded irritated.
Lilly wondered if he was offended by what she’d said about Lord Beauchamp, her father, and the vicar.
She really must learn more restraint! Nonetheless, the whole of the situation was a sore spot with her.
She had no wish to marry her sister’s widower.
“But—” He stopped and turned to look at her. His expression was serious, stern even. “—perhaps when I’ve found the right match…” He stepped closer and put one hand up to her cheek. Pausing momentarily, he glanced toward the hill behind them.
Not a soul in sight.
Lilly realized they’d stopped in a somewhat secluded location.
Lifting his other hand, he then tipped her bonnet back. Lilly inhaled the warmth of his scent. Nothing could stop this. Nothing could stop them.
Needing to be closer, she pushed herself up onto her toes and tilted her head back. Oh, yes, she thought, before parting her lips.
His face moved closer and blocked out the sunlight.
And then his lips were on hers.
It was exactly what she’d been craving.
“Oh,” she whispered at his touch. His lips nibbled at the corner of her mouth, and she tasted the essence that was him. Not sure what to do with her hands, she fluttered them at her side before placing them on his hips. His arms wrapped completely around her as he deepened their kiss.
Lilly was lost to all reason. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears as she gasped for air. She clung to him, lest her knees give out. Breathe, she reminded herself. Breathe. She was not going to faint during her first kiss. She melted into him further.
Michael growled and explored her mouth. With their bodies pressed together, he felt hard all over, his arms like steel around her. And then his lips abandoned hers. Hot breath trailed from her chin, to her jaw, and then her neck.
Lilly had never felt anything like this. Surely, she was turning to liquid. Heat poured through her limbs and settled between her thighs. What was this? In that moment, she no longer felt she belonged to herself. She was a shared person, open to this man she’d only just met.
A cool breeze alerted her to the fact that she no longer wore her bonnet.
A few strands of hair had tumbled out of her coiffure.
The thought of her hair being down in public frightened her.
Suddenly realizing their vulnerability, her vulnerability at being discovered in such a compromising position, Lilly stiffened.
“Captain,” she said, “Michael, we must stop.”
Michael stilled as they both sought to regain some composure. His head remained buried in her neck, but he had ceased whatever it was he had been doing to render her so unhinged.
“Lilly.” His voice was somewhat muffled.
“Yes, Michael.”
“You are definitely not going to marry your brother-in-law.”
“Of course not,” she said.