Page 38 of Whispers of Shadowbrook House

Pearl was so surprised at the offer she didn’t even think to argue. She should be the one to serve him, but he moved quickly to the table and pulled open a scone. “Jam first or cream first? Think before you answer. This is a very important question.”

“Indeed it is, because if you did it wrong, I’d need to close my scone, turn it upside down, and eat it bottom to top.”

“Ah, Miss Ellicott, you haven’t answered my question, but you’ve taught me some things about yourself.”

“Have I? And what might those things be?”

Oliver wagged a finger toward her. “Answer first, then I’ll tell you.”

“Cream first, obviously.” Her smile grew wider by the word.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Oliver prepared her scone.

“And here I thought you were the perfect woman. A shame you eat backward.” He spread a generous measure of clotted cream over the scone and topped each half with a dollop of bright, sweet preserves.

Handing her the plate, he smiled his forgiveness for her silly preference.

Pearl laughed softly. “I suppose you consider your way the proper way.”

“Only because it is,” he replied, spreading his jam and then spooning on a dollop of cream.

It took some mighty self-restraint for her to wait for him to finish preparing his own breakfast treat before she picked hers up and took a bite. It was as delicious as it appeared, and Oliver had overdone the toppings in the most generous way.

Between bites, she asked him what it was he thought he’d learned about her.

“First and most important, that you are the kind of woman who will allow me to be of service to you.” He settled himself so his food was in easy reach and he could look directly at Pearl.

“The trouble with a person of your competence is that you are perfectly capable of doing all things yourself. I imagine you’re used to it.

But you allowed me to prepare your food. ”

She was eager to know more of what he thought he’d discovered, but he took another bite of his jam-first scone, so she had a moment to ponder his comment. He wasn’t wrong about her abilities. Nor about her habits.

It was her practice as well as her duty to perform service. It was what she was paid for. This morning, she was simply too tired to argue with him about the details. But her simple assent meant something larger to Oliver, and she was glad she’d agreed to his offer.

He raised the remaining bit of his scone toward her in a salute.

“Second, Miss Ellicott, by your suggestion of closing the scone back up, I learned you prefer to eat each half separately, which suggests you are a person who does not object to more preserves and cream. I am in favor of more preserves and cream as well.”

She nodded. “Bread in all its forms is merely a vehicle for whatever goes atop it. And this is a perfect, delicious vehicle.”

His answering smile warmed her.

Without a word of warning, he reached across the short distance between them and touched his finger to the corner of her mouth, wiping a spot of sweet, sticky jam from her lip. A jolt of pleasure ran along her spine at the unexpected intimacy of his touch.

She couldn’t take her eyes from Oliver’s face. The moment required her to say something, so she asked if there was anything else he’d learned about her.

One of his dark eyebrows quirked in an arc that mirrored his smile. “At least one more thing.”

“Oh, dear. Your expression worries me. Will I hate what I hear next?”

He made a show of lowering his brow and softening his smile. “I certainly hope not.”

She smoothed the fabric of her skirt over her legs. “All right then. No fear. I shall bear your revelation, whatever it is.”

Oliver leaned close and took both Pearl’s hands in his own. “Just this: It’s clear to me you’re comfortable with us getting to know each other’s secrets, at least a few of them. I see this as a good sign of things to come.”

After so much practice disagreeing with Oliver, one corner of Pearl’s brain wanted to argue that Oliver had discovered a few of Pearl’s habits, but that didn’t mean he’d unearthed anything secret.

And she’d learned little or nothing about him.

But the better part of her mind was full of Oliver’s gaze, the warmth of his strong hands wrapped around hers, and the way his smile tugged the left corner of his mouth higher than the right.

Not to mention his deep brown eyes, which were currently staring straight into her soul.

She had no practice speaking of such things to a man. When she talked of moments like this with Nanette, the subjects of their discussion were always fictional. But Oliver had opened himself to her. He had made, if not a declaration, at least a suggestion of a future for the two of them.

Pearl needed to say something. More, she wanted to. She tried to think of a clever response, but all cleverness was drowned in a flood of exhaustion. The best she could do was nod. “A good sign indeed.”

Oliver still held both her hands in his. His expression turned solemn. “There’s something I want to discuss with you, and I hope you’ll keep an open mind.”

Was he going to say what she thought he might say? If this were a story, this would be a perfect moment for him to make some sort of avowal.

It’s not a story , she reminded herself.

“My mind is open,” she said. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she asked herself if her words were true. She was certainly open to discussion about some things.

Before Oliver could say anything, a gasp and a wheeze from Maxwell pulled Pearl’s attention to the other side of the room.

Immediately, she was on her feet and at the boy’s side. His eyes, still closed, seemed to dart from side to side beneath his lids.

A change in Maxwell’s condition—but was the change positive or negative?

Only time would tell. And she would stand beside him at every moment.

She would not allow herself to become distracted, not even by someone as lovely as Oliver.

No alteration in Maxwell’s situation would happen without her notice from here on.