Chapter Eleven #2
pass when he didn’t wish to kiss her again.
“For what?” She shrugged and hugged her arms around her body. “You were never dishonest. We both knew who was funding all
of this and why.”
“I understand why it rankles that whatever we find will leave England.”
She frowned. “Do you really care, Dominic?”
God, he loved the sound of his name on her tongue. The first few times she had said it, a lump had formed in his throat. But
now the lump was there because he foresaw how she would come to resent him at the end of all this—when he handed the hoard
over to Van Arsdale.
Even if she needed the payment the American offered, the reality of seeing all their hard work and discoveries shipped across
the ocean would displease her. Hurt her. He didn’t know how he’d abide that.
She’d asked him to tell her the truth all those nights ago in the carriage.
“I care because you care.” I care because you matter to me more than you sensibly should.
She bit her lip but said nothing. “Will I see you at the fair?”
“May I escort you?” He’d been longing for a chance to spend time with her again, beyond the dig site.
“No,” she said quickly. “I’ll be helping Mrs. Wells, but if you go, I’m sure I’ll see you there.”
It was as much of a dismissal as he’d ever had from a lady, but no other lady had ever gotten under his skin as she had.
He watched as she gathered her things and prepared to head off to Foxdene. She surprised him by striding back toward him again.
“What should I do with this?” she asked, revealing the piece of gold and garnet she’d found, still sheltered in her hand.
“Do you have some place you can lock it up at Foxdene?”
“You trust me with it?”
“Of course. I trust you entirely, Tess.” He could hardly confess how much he wanted that trust returned. Earning it had become
his deepest wish—one he’d whispered at the wishing hollow—especially after what her brother had revealed of Tess’s heartbreak.
If he could lay hands on whatever rotter hurt her, he’d be more than happy to break him.
“I’ll see you tonight,” she said, and then rushed off before he could say more.
Even as they’d worked together the past days, when they’d taken that night under a full moon, and today when she’d found the
first real sign of the treasure yet to come, he’d sensed a hesitancy in her. A wariness.
He’d never been more determined to win a woman’s trust. The hell of it was, he’d never wanted a woman as much either.
Tess favored the village fair in the spring. There was one held in autumn too, and it had once been her favorite—how could one not adore apple cider and pumpkin scones and the smell of crushed fall leaves?
But the autumn fair had been where she’d met Mr. Shaw, and when the spring fair came around the following year, it had been
such a bright spot. All the vibrant flowers and fruits had held a promise of a fresh start. A new beginning, even for a feckless
young woman with a broken heart.
So the spring fair was her favorite now, and she relished helping Mrs. Wells set up her booth and prepare the treats she offered
each season.
But after she’d assisted Mrs. Wells, she approached the main street of the village. Others had already gathered to prepare
their offerings and then enjoy the evening’s bonfire that would be lit in the field at the edge of town. Tess couldn’t help
remembering that autumn night years ago and how eager she’d been to fall in love.
And now, despite everything she knew, despite all the rules she’d made for herself, and all the ways she planned to protect
her heart, she found herself looking for Dominic.
Whatever she’d thought she found in Shaw was nothing to what she felt every time she looked into Dominic Prince’s eyes. His
scent, his nearness made her heart race, made her blood feel like syrup in her veins. And in the past days she’d found herself
wanting to believe in happily ever after again.
But it only proved she was still that foolish girl.
Nothing about a man like Dominic suggested he was at all interested in ever after or love or any sort of commitment beyond
a few nights of passion.
And a seductive and all too brazen voice in her head had begun to ask whether that might be enough this time.
A few nights of passion with a man who made her feel beautiful and desired and who didn’t make false promises of anything else.
Could she give herself that? Could she keep her heart from breaking when he left Norfolk?
“I haven’t seen you in far too long, Tess.” Bill Bromley’s wife, Sarah, drew up beside her with a basket full of fresh strawberries.
“Sarah, goodness, I’ve missed you.” Tess smiled and fell into step beside her friend. “Are you at the far edge of the fairgrounds
again this year?”
“I am. Will you walk down with me? I could use a hand with Benedict. That boy has a frightening propensity for wandering and
a nose for getting into mischief.”
Tess laughed. She could just spot the dark-haired boy in the distance, helping his father to assemble their booth.
“So you don’t recommend motherhood then?” Tess asked teasingly and with a glance down at Sarah’s growing belly.
“I recommend it wholeheartedly, just with the warning that you’ll be run off your feet if you happen to have a five-year-old
like Benedict.”
“Duly noted.” Tess had always wanted a family, a husband, children. After all that had happened, she’d wondered if any of
the men in the village would ever consider her. It was well known that she’d done more than steal a few kisses with Alister
Shaw.
And what if she gave in to her longing for Dominic and that were discovered?
“George Faircross mentioned that he hoped to dance with you at the bonfire tonight,” Sarah told her with a wink as if reading
Tess’s thoughts.
“Did he? He might have waited and said as much to me.”
“Oh, he’s Bill’s closest mate. He meant no harm by expressing his regard for you.” Sarah nudged her playfully with her elbow. “He’s not the only gent in the village who does—”
Sarah had stopped walking and stared off in the distance. Tess followed her line of sight and her heart began a wild tattoo.
“Is that him?” Sarah whispered as if he might overhear, despite the fact that he was far across the field and still striding
toward them. “He’s the talk of the town.”
“If you mean Mr. Prince, that’s him.”
“Mercy, I can understand why they’re all buzzing like hungry bees. And Bill says he’s affable and kind and pays well too.”
Sarah turned and eyed Tess thoughtfully. “What do you make of him?”
“I’m still assessing.” Though he was half a field away, Tess felt his gaze on her.
“Do let me know what you decide,” Sarah said cheekily, continuing to watch Dominic’s approach, and when he was almost within
earshot, she whispered, “It certainly seems as if he’s decided on you, Tess.”
Indeed, as he stepped closer, his mouth tipped up in one of those grins of his. Though he flicked his gaze down a moment,
still smiling, as if amused by how boldly they watched him.
“Good evening, ladies,” he said smoothly as he drew up in front of them.
“Mr. Prince, this is Sarah Bromley. Bill’s wife.”
He took her hand and gave a little bow over it like a nobleman at a ball. “Very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Bromley. Your husband
is an incredibly helpful man.”
Sarah chuckled. “That’s one way to describe him. He has nothing but approbation for you as well, Mr. Prince.”
“Then he’s very kind too.”
Sarah smiled, clearly charmed, and Tess knew her to be a woman who wasn’t easily taken in. “You must both excuse me. I was meant to get these strawberries to our stall by now, and heaven knows Benedict will have run Bill ragged.”
She turned so that Dominic could not see her and gave Tess a wink.
Tess resisted groaning at her friend’s clear glee at leaving her with a dangerously handsome man. Had Sarah forgotten everything?
“I found you.” He spoke the words quietly, his voice deep, and somehow they echoed in Tess’s chest.
“Yes.” She breathed the word and let something in herself loosen.
He stepped closer, and she didn’t retreat.
The tension had been building between them since the Walcott party. Not a day had passed when she hadn’t thought of kissing
him. Not a night passed when she didn’t think of him lying alone in his bed at the inn.
She felt as if she was on the edge of a precipice. At her back was a past she wanted to be free of and regrets she wanted
to release. Before her was the most tempting man she’d ever met. A man who could lead to even more regrets if she wasn’t careful.