Page 28 of Cupid Comes to Little Valentine (The Venturesome Ladies of Little Valentine #1)

“Oh, I think I am beginning to see you quite clearly, Miss Honeywell,” he remarked, and made an immediate retreat before she could run scared from him once again.

Clementine moved to the open window of her bedroom.

She could see a bright stretch of blue sea from her vantage point, and she sat down to brush out her loose hair.

The scent of night-scented stocks drifted up to her, a perfume so entangled with memories of her childhood and summer and her mama that she felt nostalgic for a time when life had seemed far simpler.

She had believed herself content with her lot.

Her life was a busy one, and rich in interest. Living in this beautiful town, surrounded by people she had known all her life, seemed a blessing beyond anything she could imagine.

The people here liked and respected her, and she had envisioned herself growing old here, keeping her father company in his twilight years, and then moving to one of the little rented houses along the seafront.

No doubt her sisters would be happily married by then, and she would spend a good deal of time with them and their children too and be a favourite auntie.

Suddenly, that prospect was not as appealing as it had once been, and she felt a surge of irritation towards Lord Beaumarsh, for which she immediately berated herself.

She had wanted to be his friend, had she not?

Here the man was, trying to be just that, and she was cross with him because she could not keep her growing attraction to him under control.

That was her fault, not his, and she must do better.

Of course, she likely would not see him again, and so the point was moot.

But then she had not expected to see him today and be taken out for ices.

It had been a delightful afternoon, full of laughter and interest and…

how she wished he were not so handsome. If he looked like Lord Stonehaven, she would not be so afflicted by the sight of his smile, or by his deep blue eyes that seemed to reflect the ocean back at her, and the way they crinkled at the corners when she said something to entertain him.

A soft knock at the door returned her attention to the present.

“Come in.”

Beatrice stuck her head around the door. “I’m not disturbing you?”

“As if you could,” Clementine replied with a smile, making room on the window seat for her lovely sister.

Even with her hair tied in rags and a nightgown that had seen better days, Beatrice looked like an earthbound angel.

She wasn’t. Oh, she was kind and sweet and good natured and quite the nicest person in the world, but she was also quietly stubborn, surprisingly brave when the occasion merited it, and had a lively sense of humour.

Clementine knew it irked her when people, especially men, looked at her and saw only her beauty, and it was this that made her shy and not wish to put herself forward.

“Did you have a nice day?” she asked as Bea settled herself on the seat.

“Oh, yes. A wonderful day,” Bea replied, and Clementine noted the glow in her eyes with sudden disquiet. “I never expected such a treat, and out of the blue. I shall never forget it.”

“It was only ices at The Mermaid’s Tale,” Clementine teased her uneasily.

Bea shrugged, looking out of the window, a faraway look in her eyes. “I know.”

Clementine waited, wondering if she would say more. She felt like Bea wanted to talk, but sometimes you had to wait and give her the time to order her thoughts. Her patience was rewarded some minutes later.

“Lord Stonehaven was very kind, was he not?”

And there it was, Clementine thought with a sigh.

“I had such a lovely time talking to him. Raspberry ice and the company of such an… an interesting and charming man. It was more than I ever expected when I woke up this morning,” Bea said, her eyes sparkling.

Well, of all the mismatched couples, Clementine thought with a groan.

Stonehaven seemed aggressively masculine, rather overpowering, and certainly far too harsh a fellow for her gentle sister.

He would crush her, literally and figuratively.

Yet somehow he had captured Bea’s attention.

And then there was that business with Mrs Adamson.

She was a sensible woman and if she held the man in such dislike, which she clearly did, there must be a reason for it.

Yet, Clementine dared not say anything of the sort to Bea.

Human nature being what it was, she would only like him even more if anyone said a word against him.

“It was a very pleasant afternoon, and Lord Stonehaven was most entertaining,” Clementine replied cautiously.

“It was so strange, however. Just think, we go for years and years without seeing a nobleman and then two turn up at once. Still, I doubt we shall see them again,” she said confidently, as much for her own benefit as for her sister’s.

“Oh, I do not know about that,” Bea said, with more assurance than Clementine was prepared for. “I think we shall certainly see Lord Beaumarsh again soon. So perhaps his friend will accompany him.”

Clementine turned to look at her sharply. “Why should we?” she asked, her heart performing a complicated series of beats in her chest that made her feel quite winded.

Bea laughed, pulling her knees up to her chest as she regarded Clementine. “Oh, Clemmie, you are far cleverer than I, but sometimes I swear you cannot see the nose on your face.”

“Whatever does that mean?” Clementine said, staring at Bea and wondering what on earth it was she had missed.

“There is obviously something between you and the earl. I could sense it all afternoon. You could hardly look at him one moment and the next you could not look away.”

Clementine blushed, horrified by the notion she might have behaved so blatantly.

Bea grinned at her, a mischievous look that few people got to see. “Oh, don’t look so appalled. I’m sure no one else noticed, but I did.”

“You misunderstand,” Clementine said hurriedly.

“Yes, there was… something, but it’s not what you think.

It’s only that we had a bit of an… an accident.

It made us both feel rather foolish. Well, it made me feel foolish, and very aware of Lord Beaumarsh, who obviously delighted in making me even more flustered whenever he looked at me.

It’s silly really. Nothing at all to get worked up over, so don’t read anything into it,” she begged.

Bea, however, only looked increasingly intrigued. “What kind of accident?”

“The kind where I knocked him flat and found myself lying on top of him,” Clementine said with some heat. “One of the wretched kittens finally caught a mouse, and I was chasing it, and then there he was, on the garden path. I couldn’t stop in time.”

Bea’s eyes grew very large and very round. “Clementine!” she exclaimed, and pressed her hands to her mouth to stifle her mirth. “O-Oh, Cle-Clementine,” she sputtered, before dissolving entirely.

“Yes, well,” Clementine said with what dignity remained to her. “Now you see. It was nothing romantic in the least. Simply… Simply….”

“Animal spirits,” Bea wheezed, before going off into another peal of laughter.

Clementine sighed and waited for her sister to regain her wits. It took a good few minutes but finally, Bea sat meekly beside her, pink-cheeked, her blue eyes shining.

“I beg your pardon,” she said gravely.

“Hmph.” Clementine shook her head. “Do not go getting any silly notions about me and Lord Beaumarsh. I will admit, the incident was shocking, and it made me feel—” Clementine searched for the right words, words that would not incite another round of hysteria.

“Very… aware of him. As a man, I mean. He was just so big , up close. Strong, too. So robust. All that hard muscle and…”

Clementine swallowed, the memory too vivid for her to dare another word on the subject.

“Oh, Clemmie,” Bea said, her voice laced with a mixture of pity and exasperation.

“Oh, go to bed, you vexing creature,” Clementine said, shooing her sister out of the room with good-natured little pushes. “And don’t you dare tell Isabelle. I cannot endure both of you teasing me!”

With that, she shut the door on her sister and went to bed, determined not to give Lord Beaumarsh another thought.