Page 10

“Anxious, are you?” Edward moved a few of the vines away from the door’s lock, inserted the key, and with some force, turned the locking mechanism. “It’s been made much easier since Kitty utilized the space recently. I remember when rust made turning the locking mechanism much more difficult.”

“It’s impressive, nonetheless. Imagine a hidden place tucked away in the woods where no one would bother you.” As the earl pushed open the wooden door, she held her breath and followed him. The panel creaked and groaned with age and hinges that hadn’t been oiled, but they quickly entered the tower.

“It’s close quarters, but there is a room at the top. That is where my sisters used to conduct their tea parties and play their games.”

“And you? Did you join them?”

“Only if I could be a knight riding to their rescue on my horse.” He closed the door, and shadows swallowed up the space. “Then, because I was a bit of a prick, I would demand they all come home to the manor house where they would learn to act like proper ladies.”

“Clearly, I side with the girls.”

There was a decided chill inside the stone folly, and it was full of shadows since the only windows were high up.

A narrow stone staircase wound tightly upward, and that’s where Edward led her.

Someone must have been tasked with caretaking the structure, for there was not the grittiness of dirt beneath his boots nor were there cobwebs clinging anywhere.

“Of course you would, but I didn’t want them to grow up hoydens.”

“But you also didn’t want them to exclude you in their play time.”

“There is possibly some truth to that.”

She heard rather than saw the grin in his voice. “Yet according to you, Kitty became a hoyden anyway. Did you think you’d failed as her older brother?” It was a fascinating peek into his world.

“A bit, for she was the baby of the family. I wanted the best for her.” The sound of their boot soles hitting the stone steps seemed to echo in the silence. “But everything worked out as it should when she married my best friend.”

“You were quite fortunate in that. She could have married someone you didn’t favor, and he might have taken her away from you.”

“There is that, and for a long time, I fought against her encouraging Reggie’s suit.”

“Why?”

He shrugged. “I didn’t think him good enough for her, but then he made me realize there are many different sorts of men in the world, and they don’t require a title to be useful or even upstanding.”

Then they reached the top where the stairs emptied into a hexagon-shaped room with two windows.

Furnished like a bed chamber in any manor house but on a smaller scale, the room contained a bed, a square table with four wooden chairs, a wooden shelf that still held books and games, all waiting and ready for those four little girls to remember their presence.

Sheets protected the bed, and as Edward tugged the same from a rather comfortable-looking brocade winged-back chair, she suddenly had the opportunity to peer into his childhood.

“Why is there not more dust here? The room has been perfectly preserved.”

“Every quarter, someone comes down to clean the folly and check it over for repairs.” His voice echoed slightly in the silence. “At times, when I’m in residence at Armestead Hall, I pop over here for some quiet reading time… or the opportunity to vanish if I don’t wish to be found.”

“I don’t blame you. It must be a burden having the title of earl bestowed upon you.”

“It is, rather.”

As she looked about the space, she noted a stack of modern novels and books touching on various subjects stacked near the chair.

On a nearby table rested a pipe and a porcelain box that probably contained tobacco leaves; even the air retained a hint of that scent as well as a bit of oak and apple.

A thick woolen blanket had been draped over the back of the chair.

The room held all the trappings of a gentleman’s retreat.

“I’ll wager you come here more often than you care to admit.” Not that there was anything wrong with that. Even an earl needed privacy at times.

“I won’t deny it.” His chuckle echoed in the room and tickled through her insides. “It’s easier to think here, somehow, and now I understand why Kitty used it to get away from everything… including me.”

“Siblings do that.” She moved to the window.

Down below and in the distance through the winter-bare branches of the trees, the greenery gathering party was visible.

A snowball fight had apparently just gotten underway.

Softly grinning, she turned about to regard her unlikely companion. “It doesn’t mean she didn’t love you.”

“Perhaps. Out of all my sisters, she’s proved the most interesting.”

Nancy nodded. “She is a lovely friend and confidant.”

“Which is odd unto itself. But I shall refrain from questioning you about that for a later time.” He joined her at the window, and immediately the heat of him reached out to her.

“In all honesty, I don’t know what I would do without my sisters and their husbands.

They are my family, and somehow, having them close during this time of year makes me miss my parents a tiny bit less. ”

“I understand that all too well,” she admitted in a low voice. “I miss my own parents terribly; they died in a carriage accident several years ago, and I don’t have any living siblings.”

“You are truly alone in the world then.”

“Except for my son.” A sigh escaped her. “Life is like that. However, I do keep in touch with my mother-in-law. The dowager viscountess lives with her daughters in Kent. Though she has difficulties getting around, from her letters, she is happy there.”

He briefly touched her hand. Awareness shivered over her skin. “And you will have the training of your son to take the title someday.”

“I will, and that is another thing that worries me. So much of that life was shut away from me, for my husband rarely talked about his position, and he was rarely home as well. What if I fail my son?”

“You won’t, for you are a strong woman. And if you are still on speaking terms with your in-laws, then that whole side of the family wasn’t as foul as your husband.” When she raised her gaze to his, he nodded. “Between all of you, he will have the gist.”

“I can only hope you are right.” What must it be like to lean on his strength for a few moments?

For long moments, he held her gaze, and she trembled from the intensity of that stare. “Why doesn’t she live with you? From what I’ve seen of you, there is quite a lot of compassion and nurturing there, even if you are holding onto anger.”

Nancy narrowed her eyes at him. “As if you aren’t?

” One of her eyebrows rose, and he had the grace to blush.

“The pair of us need to find an outlet for tamped emotions. Perhaps indulging in the snowball fight that is raging outside would be a start.” But she didn’t wish to move from the folly.

There was a certain sacredness here, a removal from the world, and she rather enjoyed sharing these moments with him.

“Regardless, the dowager doesn’t care for London.

Despite wishing to hide from society just now, I usually adore the hustle and bustle of Town. ”

When he grinned, she stared, for it made him appear younger and took some of the stress from his visage. “So do I. There is so much life in London.”

Again, the thought of being kissed by him crossed her mind. “We have already discussed it, but I miss some of the parties and routs in society, but I don’t miss them at the same time. It is difficult to explain.”

“I understand that more than I can also explain.” For whatever reason, he lifted a hand and twirled an escaped lock of hair about his gloved index finger. “Now I wonder if it’s age, a sudden feeling of mortality, or regret that’s holding me captive.”

She couldn’t breathe for he was so close, but the word “regret” bounced about her mind like a soap bubble.

To what did he refer? Had he once loved a woman, but it wasn’t to be?

Then, as she raised her gaze to his, nearly tumbled into those dark depths, the idea that perhaps he regretted letting her go suddenly danced into her brain.

Surely that wasn’t true, for they’d barely known each other years ago, and still didn’t.

“Perhaps a mixture of both. We all have regrets; we’ve all tortured ourselves with stories of how our lives might have gone had we made different decisions.”

“Even you?” The words were said in a barely audible whisper.

“Yes.” Every thought fell out of her head, for he moved his hand to cup her cheek, and his gloved fingers furrowed into her hair. “Yet without the decisions we did make, we wouldn’t be the people we are today.”

“That is true. When did you become so wise, Nancy?”

The sound of her name in his voice sent a shiver of need down her spine. “I’m not sure I feel particularly wise most times,” she managed to get out from a tight throat.

“Perhaps it doesn’t matter.” Then he lowered his head and claimed her lips with a gentle kiss that left her senses reeling and every nerve ending calling out for more. It was much different than the kiss he’d given her years ago, but it didn’t demand her attention any less.

Seconds later, he pulled slightly away, his gaze searching hers for something she didn’t know, but she gave him a tiny nod and rested her palms on his chest. A thrill zipped down her spine when he pulled her into a loose embrace and kissed her again.

The firm press of his warm lips had tiny fires starting in her blood and need coiling in her lower belly.

Before she could do much more than curl her fingers into the lapels of his greatcoat, he broke the embrace and let her go.

They stood staring at each other. The shock in his dark eyes mirrored what washed over her, but there was also surprise and a tiny bit of growing hunger there as well.

Exactly what rushed through every point of her body.

“I apologize. That wasn’t well done of me.” His breath clouded about his head, yet oddly enough, she’d forgotten about the cold.

“Don’t ruin the moment with an unneeded apology.” Her laugh sounded far too nervous for her liking as she backed away. “It is somewhat comforting to know you haven’t lost her potency over the years, but perhaps we should head back to the greenery gathering party before they start searching for us.”

“Right.” The earl nodded. “Wouldn’t want to cause a scandal.” A touch of bitterness went through his words.

She blew out a breath. “That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

“I wouldn’t want the magic of this particular moment destroyed by someone who wouldn’t understand the spirit in which it was offered.” Then, because she was swamped with confusion, Nancy fled the room and took the twisting stone stairs more quickly than she ought.

The sound of his bootheels on the treads behind her let her know he’d followed. Once at the ground level, he stayed her with a hand on her arm.

“Thank you for that interlude.” There was nothing but honesty in his expression. “It was unlike anything I’ve had in the past several months. Perhaps it is the shove I’ve been needing to finally make that first step onto my new path.”

She nodded. “You are quite welcome. I hope we both find what we are searching for soon.” Was coming here a mistake after all?

Too soon to tell.