Page 20

“Then we will pay a visit to Arabella’s house to look at her artwork,” Betsy said. “I know the perfect painting for you to takehome with you, Edie—she has a wonderful one of the widow’s manor! One shivers to look at it. It is ever so dramatic!”

Edie instead of Lady Edith, was it? The Reeve girls were quick to be so familiar, but Lady Margaret seemed to encourage the friendship.

Caroline said, “You will not be disappointed, Lady Edith. Arabella’s paintings are the finest in Inverley.”

Lady Edith smiled at her. “The Reeves have been telling me of your accomplishments since I met them, Miss Seton. I look forward to seeing your paintings.”

She was a polite young lady, and Arabella smiled at her and Grace. “You and Miss Linfield would be very welcome to stop by any morning.”

“Now, shall we stroll?” Caroline asked Arabella.

Arabella hesitated, then took Caroline’s hand and patted it into the crook of her elbow. Not because there were any gentlemen about, jostling for an opportunity to escort them—but because she wanted to. Because she could.

Because Caroline gave her the sweetest look when she did.

“I would love to,” Arabella said. “Let us go the full length of the walk and admire the view at the pier.”

They quickened their pace to pull ahead of the group.

It wasn’t enough anymore to look for moments like this one, enjoying a publicly affectionate and appropriate touch of hand upon arm that nevertheless lit her senses on fire.

“Thank you for suggesting we walk together,” Arabella said. “I wanted to speak to you in private.”

“Of course. You’re my best friend, Arabella. We will always have time together to talk.”

Best friend.

Arabella squeezed her friendly hand on Caroline’s and tried not to notice how warm and snug it was against her friendly bosom.

But a flame of annoyance flickered inside. She was feeling decidedlyunfriendly.

They reached the edge of the promenade and turned onto the pier that jutted into the sea. The breeze picked up once the water was churning on both sides of them. It blew a fine spray on their faces and ruffled their skirts about their ankles. Caroline licked the salt from her lips, and Arabella felt her lower belly tighten.

They had left their party long behind them, and there was no one else walking this far on the pier. Private enough for her purposes.

Arabella cleared her throat. “I thought perhaps we were getting a little beyond friendship yesterday.”

“Yesterday was wonderful, Bell.”

But the look on Caroline’s face was pinched, as if something was bothering her. Arabella wondered if it was related to how she had acted yesterday after they had made love. The experience had been wonderful, but then Caroline had seemed to pull away from her.

“I want more,” Arabella said. “Not just—sex.” Her mouth was dry as she stumbled over the word. It was the first time she had ever said it aloud in her life. There had never been a need for it. Until Maeve and Grace had come to Inverley, she had doubted she would ever talk of such things to anyone.

Caroline wouldn’t meet her eyes, instead gazing out to sea as they made their turn at the end of the pier and headed back to the promenade. “I can make a dalliance happen, Bell. Give me enough time and I can plan for a few hours here and there, for us to be intimate.”

Arabella frowned. “I don’t want toplanfor it. Can’t we see where this takes us naturally?”

“Where could it possibly take us?” Caroline looked at her then, her face full of surprise.

“I don’t know. All I know is that I care about you. Deeply.”I love you, in fact,she wanted to say, but didn’t dare. Not yet. “I want to be on this journey with you. I want to explore what we could be. What we could have.”

Arabella could hardly believe that she was saying this. For so many years, she had passively allowed her brother to arrange life around her, letting her own life pass her by without putting out a hand to stop it.

It felt grand to think that there could be something else. Something unexpected. Something new.

She felt free.

“I’ve never done this before,” Caroline said after a pause. “I have had brief affairs with visitors. Never anyone from Inverley, and not for more than a week or so. Nothing more than physical attentions.”