Now she was on her toes. A precarious position under normal circumstances, but circumstances were anything but normal. She was off-balance—had been off-balance from the moment she’d met him—but she need not worry about falling. He was here to catch her.
Her bosom pressed against his chest in the most deliciously wanton way. And her legs… dear heaven, her legs! Without a gown and shift to fill the space between them with cumbersome yards of fabric, she was free to press her legs against his, to feel the strength and heat of his thighs firm against her trembling limbs. In fact, she realized with growing arousal, she could even feel—
“Langford?” a male voice shouted from the street. “Are you in there?”
Felicity and Giles jumped apart panting, staring at each other with wide eyes still full of longing. If the seat rail of her brother’s curricle hadn’t blocked their kiss from view…
“Back here,” Giles rasped as he straightened his clothing.
She tried to calm her heart. If Giles’s voice shook after that kiss, God only knew what sort of croak might exit Felicity’s throat if she foolishly tried to speak. She ran a hand down her bosom to try to smooth any wrinkles, then peeked around the carriage at the new visitor.
Visitors, plural.
The six lads from the day before, plus a tall man with auburn hair and a ready smile, and… two little girls?
The stranger bowed to Giles. “Kenneth’s elder sister Maria and Norman’s younger sister Beatrice, just as you requested.”
Two of the lads beamed with brotherly pride.
With an equally wide smile, Giles motioned for Felicity to step out from her hiding place. “Allow me to present Hugh Tarleton, a rector of St. Giles. The lads, you met yesterday. Two are from Hugh’s parish, and these are their sisters. Ladies, it is lovely to meet you.”
The girls tittered.
Mr. Tarleton cleared his throat. “And who is…”
Felicity’s heart skipped. Should she have stayed hidden? She didn’t recognize this man, but—
“My mechanic,” Giles replied easily.
Hismechanic. Felicity wished she hated the sound of that. Instead, it sounded like music. Like belonging.
Mr. Tarleton bowed again, despite not being given her name.
“You’re with the best,” he assured her.
“He’swith the best,” she shot back with a grin.
The girls stared up at her with wide eyes. “Are you truly a lady mechanic?”
“One of the best, man or woman.” Giles knelt to their height. “She’s a master artisan. That means she’s been an expert ever since she was your age.”
Every child’s eyes grew wide with wonder and awe.
Felicity wondered if Giles realized what a difference he’d made in their lives with one offhand comment. Not just for the girls, but for all the children. If Felicity could do it, they could do it too. There was a way out. They were all in the right place.
“Then they’re all in good hands.” Mr. Tarleton tipped his hat and left.
“Can I beyourapprentice?” the youngest girl whispered to Felicity.
She longed to say yes. Like Giles, she yearned to someday teach her own children to tinker with tools and carriages. For them, it could befuninstead of solely a means for survival.
The fact that Giles had paid attention to her words… Not only listened to her perspective, but took immediate action to include female apprentices the very next day… Felicity’s heart flipped. Had she thought the tea proved what sort of man he was? Had she believed a loaned set of trousers the greatest gift a non-family member had ever given her?
The inclusion of Beatrice and Maria was worth more than all the flowers in the world.
“I take it back,” Felicity whispered to the girls. “I’m not the best. Mr. Langford is the best.”
She would take advantage of every stolen moment she could have.
