Chapter 5
Five
tête-à-tête, according to the Oxford English Dictionary:
to engage in private conversation (together or with another).
Two days later
Will added another sausage to his plate while he kept an eye on the breakfast-room door. He wanted to ask Miss Florentia to ride with him when they went to the castle ruins today. Before the pesky neighbor did. The green boy was barely nineteen and stared at her with soulful, adoring eyes.
Tia entered, her gaze searching the room until she found him.
She smiled, and his heart fluttered. Who’s the green boy now?
Did he care? He smiled back and met her at the table, ignoring the amused looks from Lord and Lady Hayward.
She was lovely in a Pomona green muslin, with a matching satin ribbon in her hair and at her waist. Her dark hair was pulled back in a simple knot, curls bouncing against the side of her face.
“Miss Florentia,” he began, holding a chair out for her, “would you like to be my partner when we explore the Castle Grounds today?” He settled himself beside her, careful not to make eye contact with Simon.
“Is today when we ride into Guildford?” she asked, her delicate dark brows arched. “I love visiting ancient places. Do you think it might be haunted?”
Will shrugged. “This will be my first time going, so I suppose we’ll find out. Do you believe in ghosts, Tia?”
She grinned. “I believe there are many things in this world—and out of it—that are beyond our reach to understand. Never say never!”
“Wise woman,” murmured Will, giving her a side-glance. “Do you enjoy history?”
“Oh yes. How can we preserve our future if we don’t learn from our past?” The gleam in her eyes was unmistakable. This was obviously one of her interests.
Will grinned. He’d stop in the library and see what he could find before they left.
“Remember to stay in pairs or trios if you wander from the main group,” announced Meg after the party had dismounted.
“These ruins are crumbling, so it’s best not to be on your own.
” They had ridden through the village of Guildford and now stood before a massive old stone keep.
Both Simon and Miss Florentia’s parents had preferred a game of lawn bowl at the manor to a long ride on a hot day.
The horses were tied near a deteriorating wall that stood before a quadrangular stone tower built after William the Conqueror’s invasion in 1066. The group climbed the hill, the men giving the ladies a hand as they proceeded up the steep incline. Once at the top, they stepped inside the empty keep.
“I read somewhere that the walls here—and most defensive castles—were built ten feet thick,” said Lady Adeline, her eyes squinted as she peered to the top of the roofless keep.
“It’s chilly inside these walls, even with the sun shining down on us.
How do you think they managed to build them so quickly? ”
“Cheap labor,” said Miss Florentia. “Serfs did what they were told, and I’d imagine the townsfolk would be terrified after the Normans ransacked the villages.”
Will tossed an appreciative glance over his shoulder. He liked an intelligent woman, and the thought occurred to him that Miss Florentia would get along well with his sister.
“My father said when the lead roof was removed they used this for a cockpit,” said Matthew, the squire’s eldest son. “The Duke of Norfolk purchased it last year. I wonder if he’ll put any blunt into it.”
“I understand this was also used to house criminals for centuries. There was a dungeon below,” added Miss Florentia.
“A true medieval castle,” murmured Simon. He shivered. “I’m happy to be living in more civilized times.”
“We always think our present times are more civilized than the past,” said Meg. “What do you think they’ll say of us in a few hundred years?”
“True, we’ll seem just as backwards and rudimentary as our ancestors,” said Will. “Yet if each generation makes the world a little better during our time, the future will always be brighter.”
“An optimistic view,” noted Miss Florentia. “I must agree.”
Simon and Meg wandered beyond the structure, with Lady Adeline and the squire’s eldest son, Matthew, following behind at a leisurely pace. Will had other plans. He studied the circular stone stairway that was still attached to the building.
“Would you like to go up and see the view?” he asked.
Miss Florentia strolled to the steps and peered up. “Do you think it’s safe?”
“I’ll go first. If it holds me, we’ll both go.” Will carefully tested each uneven stone block as he went up. At the top, the view of Guildford County spread before him. Yes, this was perfect.
“I shall lead, and you can hold my coat as we ascend,” he told Miss Florentia upon his return, adding hopefully, “Unless you’d rather I held your hand?”
With a heart-melting smile, she held up her gloved hand. He took it in his, the warmth through the soft leather soaking into his palm. “Stay close to the wall,” he warned as they moved up the first semi-circle.
When they reached a small flat surface at the top, Miss Florentia gasped. “What a perfect view of the countryside.”
“I thought you’d enjoy it.” He breathed in her sweet jasmine scent. Her riding habit was a deep midnight blue that showed off the rich hues of her red hair.
They stood side by side for a few moments, enjoying the landscape. The original castle grounds had been rented out to local farmers, and the various greens and browns below reflected the individual plots being worked.
“They say prisoners were chained to the walls, awaiting their execution, and still haunt the keep.”
Miss Florentia glanced up. “I don’t think I’d visit at night.”
“I would protect you from any lingering spirits,” he said, placing his hand on her lower back, worried about the drop off the platform. “But truthfully, I would need a generous boon to come myself.”
They returned to the ground floor of the keep, Will taking the lead and stepping sideways to maintain a hold on Miss Florentia’s hand. She let out a breath once both feet were on the flat ground.
“There’s definitely an eerie atmosphere to the place, isn’t there?” she asked.
When she turned to him, her soft pink lips slightly parted, his body reacted rather than his brain.
He pulled her close with one hand, tipped her chin with the other, and kissed her lightly.
It was only their third kiss, but he already recognized her taste, the feel of her mouth against his, the familiar curves of her body melding against him.
With a start, Will realized he’d been looking for Miss Florentia Baldwin for quite some time, waiting for her in a sense.
Her hands cupped his neck, and her fingers entwined in his hair, giving him permission to wrap his arms around her lush form.
He feathered kisses along her jaw, across her chin, desire soaring through him when she whimpered softly.
His palms lingered on her hips, cradling her against his manhood.
Blast the ruffles covering her neck, he thought as his lips met the fluffy linen.
She threw her arms around his neck, returning his kiss with a fervor that sent a wave of longing through him. This must be what heaven felt like.
Ending the kiss, he watched as she slowly opened her eyes. Her chest heaved with the effects, but a smile curled her swollen lips. “You are quite good at that,” she said breathlessly.
“The more we practice, the better it gets,” he whispered in her ear, biting the lobe. Then he grabbed her hand and led them outside the keep.
“Who is your favorite historical figure?” he asked. “I was always quite impressed with Alexander the Great. He accomplished more in his short life than most men who live to be a doddering old age.”
“He was quite accomplished,” Miss Florentia agreed. “I would choose either Eleanor of Aquitaine or Elizabeth. Women who refused to give up power and bow to the men who insisted on the male right to rule.”
“Ah, so you believe in women’s equality to men?” He stepped around several large rocks in their way, guiding her to a more stable path.
“Don’t you?” she asked, stopping to give his answer her full attention.
“I believe both sexes have their strengths. Literally, we tend to be stronger than females. Yet our brains can be equal when women are given the same education as men.” He hoped she found his answer acceptable.
“My sister was always awake on every suit. Much cleverer than I was growing up. I admit it irked me at times.”
Miss Florentia laughed. “Yet your ego remains intact.”
“I accepted it over the years.” He placed her hand in the crook of his elbow and continued along the path toward the others. “Annette has an unbelievable memory, which I envy. I, on the other hand, am much better at putting facts together and coming to a logical conclusion.”
“My mother shudders when I speak of such things. She is traditional and feels Father always knows what is best for us.” She gave him a side-look. “I know some of my father’s midnight activities, so I steadfastly disagree.”
“With what he does or whether he knows better than you and your mother?”
“Both,” she said with a chuckle. “He enjoys… the questionable interests of many men when he leaves his club. My parents did not marry out of love, though I believe Mama is content with her life.”
“What are your hopes for the future? Love? Marriage?” he asked.
“If I marry, it will be for love. And only to a man who respects my opinion and wants a partnership as well as a wife.” She pressed her lips together as if she’d said too much.
“Any gentleman who didn’t allow you to be your own person would be a fool,” he said sincerely.
“Really? Would you converse with me on politics? Debate world affairs?” she asked.
He let out a loud sigh. “I deal with those issues every day. I can’t say I would want to come home and continue talking about them.
” She stiffened, and he realized she had wanted a different response.
“It’s not that I don’t want to discuss serious subjects with a woman.
I just want to leave the strife of the court behind me after a long day. ”
Her shoulders softened, and she nodded but gave no response.
Will changed the subject. “Favorite animal.”
Miss Florentia smiled. “Tortoise.”
He stopped, laughing. “I was not expecting that.”
“Good.” She continued forward and pulled him along. “A tortoise is slow, steady, and always prepared.”
“How is it prepared?” His mood lifted again. He loved how she could always surprise him.
“It carries its shelter on its back, so he can be at home anywhere,” she said with a smirk.
“I’m thinking you also enjoy riddles and charades.”
“Very much,” she agreed. “And I’m very good. You should always be my partner at charades or you will lose.”
“Competent and confident,” he surmised. “I like those qualities in a wi-oman.”
“A what?” she asked, looking up at him with a furrowed brow.
“A woman,” he repeated succinctly. “Favorite sweet.”
“The lemon ice at Gunter’s. But you haven’t shared your animal yet.”
“Oh, yes. Elephants. Smart, huge, and intimidating, and those trunks are just incredible. They do so much with them.” Will slid back into the light conversation. The safer conversation. “Is it a nose? A mouth? A hand? It works as all three.”
“And they were once used in war, to the horror of the Romans,” she added.
“Back to the lemon ice. I find you to be quite the paradox. Lemons are tart, yet it’s your favorite sweet—”
“When used in a dessert.”
“You are a graceful, beautiful woman, yet the cumbersome and unattractive tortoise is your favorite animal.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I love a conundrum.”
Miss Florentia grinned up at him. “Then you shall soon be quite infatuated.”
Oh, the vixen.
“I cannot pass up a trifle. Those layers of cream, and fruit, and sponge cake…” He licked his lips, and he noticed her eyes focused on his mouth and winked at her. The red creeping into her cheeks was delightful.
“Favorite color,” he began again. “I’ve always been partial to blue. The color of the sky, the ocean, blue birds.”
“White.”
“Clean palette?”
“Exactly.” She pursed her lips. “Favorite outdoor activity.”
“Riding, of course. As a lad, it was climbing trees.”
“I climbed trees as a girl, but I kept it a secret from my parents. Papa would have scolded me, and Mama would have fainted.”
“My mother died when I was a lad. Annette grew up with three brothers and a father who spoiled her rotten, and we included her in all the rambunctious antics of mischievous boys.” They had all worried about Nettie being lonely without another female to raise her, so the male Pages had made sure she felt included in everything they did.
“She climbed trees, rode bareback and astride, learned archery, and how to defend herself.”
“How did you teach her to defend herself?” Her eyes brightened with curiosity. “Not boxing?”
“Exactly that. Though it led to her ruin during her first Season. She has a wicked right jab.”
“How did boxing lessons ruin her?”
“Long story for another time.”
“Your family sounds… remarkable,” she said wistfully. “Do you enjoy having siblings? I only have one brother.”
“I do. Even when I’m in Town and my family is spread about the country, I never feel alone. Memories bring them back to me on a dismal night and cheer me.” He rolled his eyes. “Do I sound pompous or philosophical?”
“Earnest. I appreciate a person who is honest and not afraid to admit love for his family. My parents are not really affectionate toward each other or their children.” She paused, then explained, “It’s not that they don’t love us, they just—like many people—weren’t brought up to be demonstrative in their feelings. ”
“And you? Are you like your parents?” He wondered about her childhood compared to his. “My father prefers hugs to handshakes and never sent us to bed without telling us he loved us.”
Miss Florentia sighed. “He sounds like an extraordinary father. And I understand he’s remarried recently?”
Will nodded. “Yes, Alice offered to help my sister enter society. Father began courting her then, and she became a second mother to us. The woman is a treasure to put up with all our shenanigans. We all love her very much.”
“Are you the only sibling not married?”
“Yes, for now.”