Chapter 1 #2
When he exhaled, he seemed to lose some of the proper starch.
Tossing the towels down beside him, he rested one elbow on the pile.
“It is a lovely spot.” He pointed to the next bend in the river.
“I’m rarely able to get away from work, even when I’m supposed to be socializing, but Lady Dumpkins recommended this spot for Matthew and me to enjoy when we’re able. ”
Once a week, according to his son. So this intriguingly handsome man was a guest at the Dumpkins house party? She’d only attended one of the balls—the masquerade where her newest illegitimate brother was formally introduced to the clan—and a few of the daily outings, and she hadn’t seen him before.
Athena would have remembered such an attractive gentleman, especially a widower.
Deciding the informality of the afternoon—her son was cavorting naked, by St. Columbine!—called for relaxed standards, Athena offered him her hand. “I am Athena Oliphant.”
He hesitated for a moment, then took her hand.
A tingly warmth—an awareness—encased her fingers and flowed up her arm toward her heart. She tamped down a shiver and met his gaze boldly.
Dear Lord in Heaven, but this man could make her do all sorts of things. She didn’t know him, but she knew what she liked. And right now, she liked him very much!
“You can call me Cash,” he finally said.
She cocked her head to one side, studying him, glad he hadn’t released her hand. “Why? Is that yer name?”
He opened his mouth, but hesitated again. Slowly, as if considering his answer, he said, “It is part of my name.”
“Then I have no choice but to assume your given name is Cassius.”
From the river, his son’s voice called out, “His given name’s Adolphus!”
A laugh burst from her, and when the man pulled his hand away, she was immediately sorry. Instead of apologizing though, she offered him another smile.
“I think, were my given name Adolphus, I would choose to go by my family name as well.” She guessed “Cassius” was his last name. “I apologize for giggling.”
He shrugged and draped his forearms across his knees. “No one calls me Adolphus. I wasn’t aware my son even knew my name.”
She was surprised. “He is a smart lad, why would he no’?” Before he could answer, she teased him, “So I shouldnae call ye Dolly?”
She was relieved to see his lips twitch upward as he snorted derisively. “I had an aunt who called me that. I hated it.”
Glad he was accepting of her teasing, she said, “Then ‘Cash’ it is. It is better than Adolphus Cassius, which is truly horrible.” She winked. “I am pleased to meet ye, Cash.”
There was something about the day’s informality which gave her the bravery to nudge his shoulder with hers. From the startled expression on his face, he hadn’t expected it. He turned thoughtful blue eyes on her, considering his words, before nodding.
“I think I’m very pleased to meet you, Mrs. Oliphant.”
Missus. The reminder he assumed her married should’ve been a bucket of cold river water over the warmth of the encounter. But she was far too used to the sneers of Society, and her body’s reaction to him was far too intriguing, to be shunted aside by some flimsy reminder.
“Oh, ye should call me Athena,” she corrected him. “Since we are being informal.” She nodded to the river, where Matthew was trying to coax Callan to sit on his shoulders. “Callan, Matthew, Cash and Athena.” She shot him a cheeky grin. “Just four people enjoying the summer.”
He nodded slowly. “Yes. Yes, I think I should like that very much.”
Out in the river, the lads seemed to be competing for who could hold their breath the longest now, but since Callan couldn’t count reliably past twenty, it was hampering the athletic competition.
“I know I was underwater longer than twenty-two seconds, Callan!”
“I counted right!”
The older lad propped his hands on his hips, just visible under the surface of the river. “Show me,” he demanded.
Callan lifted his fingers and began to count. The higher the numbers, the harder it got. “Thirteen, fourteen, fourteen, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty, twenty-eighteen, twenty-six, twenty-twenty, eleven!” he finished proudly.
Instead of being irritated, Matthew laughed and lunged for the younger lad, wrapping his arms around the lad’s smaller chest, and catapulting them both into deeper water.
Suddenly alarmed, Athena sat forward, her eyes on the twisting swirl of water where they were playing, ready to spring to her son’s rescue if necessary.
But a hand on her arm stopped her.
“Don’t worry,” Cash said in a low voice. “Matthew won’t let anything happen to your son. He’s a strong swimmer.”
Nodding, Athena settled back on the blanket, though her attention never left the water. “And a good lad. He accepted Callan as a friend immediately.”
“He doesn’t have many friends,” the man admitted. “My position—”
He must’ve decided whatever he’d intended to say would mar the tranquility of the afternoon, so he bit down on his words. When she glanced at him—after ensuring both lads’ heads were above water once more—he shrugged.
His grin was almost sheepish, and she decided she very much liked seeing him disarmed, instead of the cool and commanding personality he’d originally portrayed.
“I understand, milord,” she intoned seriously, certain her eyes betrayed her mirth, as she made a point of lifting the edge of her bathing costume’s skirt between two fingers and nodding solemnly.
It was as close to a curtsy as she could get while reclined as she was.
“Thank ye for lowering yerself to play with peasants such as ourselves.”
The bark of laughter which escaped his lips seemed to surprise him, which caused Athena to grin.
“Ye can laugh, then?” she teased, which elicited more chuckles from him.
Finally, Cash settled back against the towels, more at ease now, as they watched their sons play. “I think, here, I’m not milord, and you’re not a lady.”
“Oh, I am no’ really a lady anywhere,” she corrected him cheekily.
Her father was technically an earl—although Highlanders cared more about his title as Laird Oliphant—but her decisions five years ago meant no one in Society thought of her as a lady anymore.
Cash’s eyes were twinkling speculatively as they swept her relaxed and lounging form there under the oak.
“Really?” he murmured. “Lucky you.”
Now it was her turn to laugh, just as Matthew succeeded in standing upright in the water with Callan on his shoulders.
“Look, Mama! Look!”
Still chuckling, she sat forward again so she could clap appreciatively. “Well done, Callan! Well done, Matthew! Can ye walk with him like that?”
It appeared not, as they were simply too unstable. But she liked that as soon as Callan tumbled off Matthew’s shoulders, the two of them popped right back up and tried again.
“He’s a good lad,” murmured Cash. “Your husband must be proud of him as well.”