Chapter 6
IF NOT FOR several pairs of eyes following her around, Hannah would have been content to roam the haberdashery with Sir James for the rest of the morning.
The shopkeeper graciously kept himself busy while everyone inside waited out the storm, but the three other ladies in the shop were all too eager to stare at Hannah and Sir James and whisper to each other.
Sir James seemed intent on ignoring them while he perused a collection of buttons, and Hannah wondered how he did it when the mutterings were clearly about the pair of them.
Shifting closer to the man, Hannah kept her words to a whisper. “I do believe we have become persons of interest.”
“They think anyone who isn’t themselves is interesting,” he murmured back, his lips lifting into an amused grin. “That being said, we are quite fascinating.”
“You are,” Hannah replied, feeling the women’s stares on her back. “I am an unremarkable stranger.”
“Another lie?” He clucked his tongue. “Miss Faircott, you are turning out to be quite the rogue.”
Face heating, she busied herself with a large array of embroidery thread, touching each color with her finger. “What did I say that was untrue? I am a stranger to them, and you are fascinating.”
“You called yourself unremarkable.” He looked at her, sincerity shining in his eyes. “I’ve never heard anything further from the truth.”
She was going to burst into flames if he kept looking at her like that. “You don’t know me, Sir James.”
“But I would like to.” His expression faltered, making way for something more anxious, and he glanced back at their audience. “Forgive me, Miss Faircott. That was too bold of me.”
“It wasn’t!” Hannah grabbed his arm, realizing her misstep too late when the whispers behind them grew louder. She quickly pulled her fingers back as unease churned in her stomach.
She had made a mistake when she ventured out on her own, and now all of Upper Lambourn would think the worst of her.
Had she damaged Sir James’s reputation by coming into the shop with him?
It had been to escape the rain, yes, but she shouldn’t have been standing alone in the road with him to begin with.
Oh, what was Mother going to say when the gossip reached her? Perhaps she would push even harder for Hannah to meet the man she was to marry, before gossip turned into an actual scandal.
“It was too bold,” Sir James said again, even quieter than before, “but that does not mean I wasn’t in earnest.” As if to demonstrate, he offered his arm to her.
Hannah stared at it, desperate to take it but worried it would only make things worse.
“I wonder,” he said at a normal volume, “if you would be kind enough to help me choose a ribbon for my ward while you wait for the rain to slow.”
“Of course!” she said too quickly and slipped her arm through his. He was so warm, and she hadn’t realized how chilled she had become from their race through the rain. She longed to lean into him and soak up that warmth while contemplating what it meant when he said he wanted to know her.
Instead, she let him lead her to the other end of the haberdashery, where dozens of ribbons hung on display.
“She likes blue,” Sir James said, twisting his mouth to the side as he studied the options.
Hannah hadn’t fully recognized what he had said before until just now. “You…have a ward?”
Chuckling, he fingered a length of sky-blue ribbon.
“Not anymore, though it often feels like I am still looking after her. She started as a ward of my father’s, and I took on the responsibility after he died.
She is of age now and determined to make her own way in the world, but I am hoping she still lets me dote on her now and then. ”
“You and your hope,” Hannah said, smiling at his optimism.
Or perhaps she was smiling because there was a good chance that the young woman he had helped at the harvest ball was his former ward.
Before she got ahead of herself, she addressed the other thing he had said. “I am sorry about your father.”
Sir James flexed his arm but didn’t look at her. “Thank you. I’ve had a few years to grow accustomed to a life without him, but the loss still stings.”
“Does it get easier?” She didn’t realize she had asked the question out loud until Sir James looked down at her, his brow furrowed. “I lost my father a year ago,” she explained and reached for a lavender ribbon as a distraction before the tears came.
“I am sorry.” Sir James put his hand over hers. “It does get easier, but I don’t think it will ever be easy.”
“I was afraid you would say that.” Swallowing, she dropped the ribbon and moved to another. “My parents were unable to have more children, so my mother and I have no one but each other. I suppose that makes me sound awful when you know I have been avoiding her, but—”
“You have your reasons.” He sounded so certain that Hannah met his gaze to try to find those reasons in his eyes. They really were such lovely eyes, warm and gentle. She could look into them for hours. Sir James, it seemed, was just as intent on gazing back.
“Ah!” one of the women said, startling Hannah and Sir James.
“It looks like the rain has stopped!” She gave the pair of them a pointed look as she and the other two ladies headed for the door.
Their pace was slow enough that Hannah was certain they were not about to leave her alone in the shop with Sir James.
Perhaps it was for the best if Hannah followed them out. Another moment longer, and she might have done something especially rash and asked Sir James if he was looking for a wife.
“What about this one?” she asked, pointing to a lovely satin ribbon the color of forget-me-nots. “It is my favorite of them all.”
Sir James’s smile lasted only until Hannah slid her hand from his arm. He masked some of his disappointment after glancing at the slow-moving women, but he clearly was reluctant to let her go. “When will I see you again?” he asked in a low murmur.
Oh, that question was likely to send Hannah’s heart beating right out of her chest. “I don’t know,” she admitted. Mother had several outings planned for their stay, many of which would supposedly be attended by the son of her friend, but would Sir James be on the guest list for any of them?
Sir James’s eyes flitted to the door again, and his eyebrows slid downward. “If I come to the inn to visit you—”
“My mother would never allow it,” Hannah said, shaking her head. “You are a man she has never met. How could I explain this?” She waved her hand between them.
One of the women loudly cleared her throat.
Sir James clenched his jaw. “You should go, Miss Faircott. Before I get you into trouble.”
“We will see each other again.” Hannah couldn’t possibly promise that, but as she crossed the shop and joined the relieved ladies at the door, she looked back at Sir James. If he could live on hope, so could she.