“I—” He stopped, torn between horror and laughter. It sounded just like one of Chester’s plans. He could picture it so clearly in his head.
“That’s twice today!” she crowed. “Oh, I am going to make it a goal to flummox you speechless at least once at each encounter, my lord. It’s great fun and terribly satisfying.”
“Cupids arenaked,” he said with gruff disapproval.
“Not all of them,” she countered. “Some wear charming, short tunics slung over one shoulder. Of course, I would never recommend you go into a drawing roomnude.”
“Of course, you would not.” He rolled his eyes. “In any case, my list is quite rounded out. It’s your list that needs filling. It makes more sense ifyoutraipse about as a cherub—and please, do warn me ahead of time, for I’d dearly love to see you in such a get-up.”
She gave him a twist of a grin. “Ah, well. It was worth a try.”
He merely looked at her for a long moment. “Painting,” he said softly.
“What’s that?”
“Painting. That should be on your list.”
A look of longing crossed her face. He left off rowing. The current took them up and set them drifting slowly along. “Not grand portraits. Not for you. You’d do the sort of character studies you mentioned. A dirty chimney sweep with a cheeky grin. A wistful wallflower watching the dance. A maid sneaking around the corner to toss back the dregs of sherry left in the glasses.”
She blinked at him. “How do you know that?”
“Because what a painter chooses as his subject says as much about him or her. And because you cansee, Miss Mayne. In a way that many others do not.”
She sat quite still a moment, then gave a shaky little laugh. “Well! Nowyouhave struckmespeechless. I suppose you’ve taken up the challenge and will try to match my number.” She leaned over and dipped her fingers into the water. “You are still behind one for the day, then. And I scored another on that terrace, the first night we met.”
He lifted a shoulder. “I believe I canceled that one out when I practically dragged you out onto the dance floor at Lady Chester’s soiree. You were uncharacteristically silent at the start, if I recall.”
“Fine, then.” She still didn’t look at him, but watched the small wake trailing behind her fingers. “That leaves me one ahead, still.”
They drifted into a shadow cast by a grove of elms in the curve of the river. The temperature in the shade noticeably changed. The sun had begun to sink below the tree line. He should get them back. But he didn’t pick up the oars. He frowned instead and studied her.
“How goes the hunt?” he asked abruptly.
Straightening, she shook her fingers, sending droplets flying. “Hunt?”
“For a husband. Are you still set on pinning one down?”
She met his gaze, her shoulders stiff. “I am.”
The thought of it bothered him. She was different. Funny and proud and clever. A challenge. She needed someone man enough to appreciate her.
“Don’t settle for a puppy like Rostham.” It popped out without conscious thought. He instantly regretted it.
Her brow raised. “I thought it was marriage as an institution you disapproved of.”
“It is. It’s nothing like so many debutantes think it, all flowers and smiles and dances and stolen kisses. All that lasts a very short time indeed, and then you are shackled for life to a person who never showed you his true self.” He snorted. “I don’t think Rostham is old enough to even know his true self.”
“That all may be true. Perhaps the romance masks the truth. Or perhaps it makes what is necessary more palatable. And for the majority of us, it is a necessity.” She considered him closely. “You were the one who spoke of the duties and obligations that restrain us,” she reminded him. “Do you think that women carry no such burdens?”
“I suppose I hadn’t thought of it.”
“Well, then.”
Mulling it over, he took up the oars. She’d mentioned a sister, hadn’t she? And Chapman had said ‘siblings.’ He wondered just how humble their village home might be. As the eldest sister, she might take on the responsibility for bettering her family’s circumstances—especially as it looked as if her uncle would not.
Well. He could certainly relate to such a view. And he had to respect both her integrity and her wishes.
But it was a damned shame.
