Chapter 5
MISS FAIRCOTT IS staying at the Rose and Boar.
James could think of nothing else as he descended from his carriage in the center of town, then helped his mother down after him.
The town’s only inn stood just down the road, and though he hardly expected Miss Faircott to be there at all hours of the day, the thought that he might see her again wouldn’t leave his mind.
He had gone two full days now without seeing her, and he was starting to fear he might never encounter her again.
“Thank you, dear,” Mother said, patting his cheek. “Will you join me inside?”
“In the dressmaker’s shop?” James barely managed to avoid wrinkling his nose.
The last time he had spent more than a moment inside the shop, Louisa had argued with him for a full hour because she didn’t want him to pay for her new dress.
The poor dressmaker had practically thrown them both from the shop once she had all the necessary measurements.
“No, you are more than capable of handling yourself.” His eyes drifted in the direction of the inn, as if he might see into the front room from his current position.
With a sigh, Mother shook her head. “You keep disappearing, James. I have half a mind to think you’re avoiding me.”
He was avoiding her, and the guilt of it gnawed at his stomach.
He hadn’t meant to stay away from home for as long as he had the other day, but Everett had taken advantage of James’s desire not to meet Mother’s friend and led him on a bruising ride across the countryside.
It had been a welcome distraction from Mother’s increasing discontent about his single status, and Everett always made life feel more like an adventure than tedium and monotony.
Business had occupied the rest of James’s time until now, but he hadn’t been able to tell his mother no when she asked him to accompany her into town.
“I thought I might get Louisa some ribbon,” he said, which wasn’t entirely a lie; he simply hadn’t thought to do it before this moment. “She was upset after ruining her gown at the ball, but you know she’ll never accept a dress if I purchase one for her. A ribbon is a more manageable gift.”
Mother squinted at him in the way she always did when she thought someone wasn’t being truthful. “What do you know of ribbons, James?”
That got a chuckle out of him. “Enough to know that if I choose one in Louisa’s favorite color, she won’t refuse the gift.”
“Yes, I dare say you are right about that.” Apparently mollified, Mother patted his arm, then made her way to the dressmaker on her own.
James couldn’t believe he had managed to turn her away so easily. He would, of course, have to find a ribbon before he returned to collect her, but she would be in the shop for an hour, at least. That gave him plenty of time to hunt for Miss Faircott.
With a new skip in his step, he hurried down the street and thought through what he might say to the lovely young woman if he found her.
Their conversation on the road the other day had felt awkward and stilted, in part because James had been painfully embarrassed, but also because Everett had been there.
James was already a poor conversationalist when under pressure, and standing next to the handsome and charming half-American had only compounded his unease.
James had never considered himself charming. Not the way his friend was.
Miss Faircott speaking to him again had been a miracle unto itself, and he wanted another chance to try to be someone interesting. Particularly one without Weston Everett there to witness his pitiful attempts at flirting.
The Rose and Boar was unusually crowded this morning, and James kept close to the wall as he slipped into the tearoom to avoid colliding with anyone.
Scanning the tables, he grew more and more disappointed with each person who wasn’t Miss Faircott.
He’d known finding her wouldn’t be as easy as coming into the inn, but he had hoped.
More than he ought.
He knew next to nothing about the woman aside from that she was easily frightened and sometimes avoided her mother.
He didn’t even know why she had been avoiding her mother, even if he empathized with her.
But despite James lacking information, Miss Faircott intrigued him.
She had a pleasant personality, possessed enchanting hazel eyes that danced with happiness, and she didn’t seem the least bit romantically interested in Everett.
Were these good reasons for seeking her out? James knew they were weak at best, but that didn’t stop him from inching deeper into the tearoom to see if the young lady near the back was the one he wanted to see.
It wasn’t Miss Faircott, and as far as James could tell, she wasn’t here at all.
Disappointment settled heavy in his stomach as he worked his way back to the inn’s entrance.
He had expected this, but other than asking the innkeeper if the Faircotts were present, which felt too invasive, James had no other ways to find Miss Faircott.
Relying on happenstance when she was only in town for a few weeks would only get James so far, and it had been two days already since their encounter on the road.
With a sigh, he stepped outside and headed for the haberdashery. He would find Louisa’s ribbon, then wander the streets of town until Mother would be expecting him. “Perhaps this is why you are single,” he muttered to himself. “What woman would take interest in a man who does nothing but hope?”
“I happen to find hope admirable,” a soft voice responded at his side.
James yelped and tripped over his own foot, nearly toppling over into the dirt.
He managed to stay upright, but only barely, and a part of him wished he had fallen and hit his head.
At least then he would have avoided the embarrassment of turning to see Miss Faircott with a gloved hand pressed to her mouth, her eyes wide.
“Oh,” she said, slowly lowering her fingers. “It seems you are just as skittish as I am, Sir James.”
He exhaled sharply and looked around. By some miracle, they were the only two people on the street at the moment. But he wanted to be sure. “Did anyone else witness that?” he whispered.
Miss Faircott bit her lip to hide a smile, and it took James a good deal of effort not to stare at her mouth. Blast it all, he shouldn’t be thinking about kissing the woman when they were all but strangers.
“I do believe you are safe,” she said. “But I will inevitably need your forgiveness for laughing when I think of this later.”
“You’re going to think of me?” James asked eagerly, then grimaced. “Er, of course, you’re allowed to think about whatever you’d like. It shouldn’t matter to me what occupies your thoughts.”
“Shouldn’t it?” A lovely shade of pink splashed across her face, and she pursed her lips as she took a step closer. He treasured that step. It meant she wanted to be near him. “I confess, Sir James, that you have been on my mind more than you ought.”
“Me too.” He coughed. “That is, I’ve been thinking about you. I was just at the Rose and Boar, hoping to see you.”
Smiling in a way that made James’s heartbeat double in speed, Miss Faircott glanced at the inn. “And here I am. Not at the inn, no, but meeting in strange places seems to be our way of things, doesn’t it?”
“In the middle of the road and a quiet corner of a ballroom,” James said with a smile to match hers.
With some measure of hesitation, he cut the space between them with another step.
They were close enough now that he could reach out and touch her hand if he chose, which was why he clasped his hands behind his back.
He was testing the boundary of propriety already, speaking to her alone like this.
“What are you doing out on your own this morning, Miss Faircott?”
As the color in her cheeks reddened, she glanced around the empty street again. “I was stretching my legs and didn’t want to take Rachel away from her duties at the inn again.”
“What of your mother?”
“She went to visit with the reverend’s wife in the hopes of meeting more people in Upper Lambourn.”
James frowned. “Did she not invite you to go with her?”
Something akin to guilt flashed across Miss Faircott’s face, and she looked down at the dirt beneath her feet. “I complained of a headache this morning.”
“I am glad to see you have recovered.”
“Yes, well, that was easy, considering I didn’t have a headache to begin with.” She peeked up at him.
That should have discouraged James’s interest, knowing she had lied to her mother, but he found himself grinning. “You invented a headache to avoid socializing? I wish it could be that easy for me.”
Miss Faircott’s shoulders relaxed as she lifted her head the rest of the way. “Do you not think me terrible?”
“I think I need to learn a thing or two from you, Miss Faircott. Maybe then, I’ll be able to—” A drop of water landed on his nose, cutting off his words, and he looked up at the rain-heavy clouds hovering over the village.
A second later, a few more drops fell, and then it was a torrential downpour.
Grabbing Miss Faircott’s hand, James pulled her close and led her to the nearest shop.
He burst through the door, eliciting a few cries of alarm from people inside, but he couldn’t stop grinning as he removed his sopping hat from his head and turned to see how Miss Faircott had fared through the rain.
Her shoulders were quite wet, but her bonnet had protected her head from the worst of it. A few tendrils of wet hair clung to her fair cheeks, and he only just ignored the temptation to brush them back. Otherwise, she was safe and sound.
“Does it always rain so suddenly in Upper Lambourn?” she asked him breathlessly. Heavens, her smile was intoxicating, and James couldn’t look away.
Not even when someone in the shop cleared their throat.
Though he took a step back to put a proper distance between himself and Miss Faircott, James kept his eyes on hers. “Not always,” he said softly. “Sometimes it comes even faster.”
Miss Faircott laughed, filling the room with light. “I suppose I should always be on my guard, then.”
“That would help you avoid being startled as well.”
She grinned. “I have only been startled once, sir, while you have been frightened twice now.”
“I wouldn’t say you frightened me on the road.” James scrambled for something to add that would explain his reaction. Something that wouldn’t make him sound like an utter fool. What would Everett say in this situation? “I was, however, stunned by the sight of you in the sunlight.”
Her blush nearly pulled him in close again. “Was I that appalling?”
James laughed, unable to help himself, and he was rewarded for his mirth by the warmest smile Miss Faircott had given him so far.
Perhaps hope wasn’t such a foolish thing after all.