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Am I seeing the real him or who I want him to be?

“There! That’s the mother.”

Animated again, he leaped across the grass, eagerly beckoning her over. He produced a short brass telescope from his pocket, the end of it glinting in the sunlight.

“Here,” he said, passing it to her. “Take a look there, up in the branches.”

Alicia held the telescope gingerly between her fingers as there was a fluttering of wings in the canopy, and she watched the buzzard landing in the trees ahead of her.

She looked down at the telescope, not knowing how she to use it.

“Here,” Seth said, standing behind her and putting his arms around her.

She sucked in a breath as his fingers closed over hers and he brought the telescope to his eye before lowering it for her.

“Here. Lean back into me, and you should be able to see what I see.”

Alicia moved her head back so one eye was hovering over the end of the telescope and looked through it. She had never used such an instrument before, and she was not expecting the magnification to be so good.

Through the tube, she could see the flapping wings of the parent bird. It had a worm in its beak as it slowly lowered its head over a tiny bundle of fluff, just visible in the nest.

She gave a little cry of surprise and looked back at Seth in amazement.

“They have young?” she asked excitedly.

“They do. I have not seen them here before, but I have always suspected it. Last year, a tree fell; you can see the remainder of the trunk there. It has allowed us a vantage point that did not exist before.”

Alicia grinned, looking through the telescope again before handing it back to him.

Seth took it, looking through it eagerly, but he did not move away from her.

They fell into happy silence as they took turns using it to watch the little bird eating, then watched the mother bird fly away, going out to search for more.

Alicia strained her ears, and she could just make out the cheeping of the baby bird in the distance.

“How amazing,” she breathed. “I never would have been able to see this without you.”

The silence behind her made her pause, and she turned, looking up at him as his expression changed, softening somehow.

“As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to show you.”

Alicia’s body trembled at the intimate tone of his voice. She did not know what to say in response.

“When will your sister arrive?” Seth asked suddenly, breaking the tension in the air.

Alicia stared at him in surprise—she had completely forgotten her sister’s visit that afternoon.

“I think they said just after midday. And now I have something very special to show her! Isn’t it wonderful that new life is beginning on your estate?”

“Onourestate, Duchess. You are not rid of me yet, despite your best efforts.”

He held out his arm to take her back to the manor.

“Come, let us find Dove. She is bound to have escaped and ended up stuck upside down somewhere again.”

Alicia was aware of Jane’s eyes on her throughout supper.

The cook had outdone herself with a beautiful roast chicken, perfectly cooked potatoes, and honey-glazed carrots. The sweetness of the vegetables, coupled with the saltiness of the gravy, was exquisite.