Tabitha nodded dutifully and headed toward the parlor. No sooner had she crossed the threshold when the bedroom door closed tight behind her.
True to his word, Mr. Frampton did not tarry long with his morning ablutions. In scant minutes, he emerged from the bedchamber dapper and freshly shaved, with casual buckskins stretched across his powerful legs. Beneath his dark grey coat was a burgundy waistcoat. The silk threads of its embroidered edges perfectly matched the deep rose of Tabitha’s gown.
She could not help but wonder if such serendipitous coordination was happenstance, or if Mr. Frampton had planned out every stitch of the clothing in their trunks with the same precision he executed all the other tasks he regularly undertook.
“Come on, then.” He held out his elbow. “We’ll request to have our breakfast bundled for travel.”
She hurried to take his arm. “Where are we going?”
“On an adventure.”
In no time, they were out of the inn and back onto the main street. Mr. Frampton strolled with Tabitha on one arm and the brown-paper-wrapped parcel containing their breakfast beneath the other.
She did not ask again where they were going. Her life had been devoid of spontaneity—even her future husband had been chosen for her before she was even born—and she found she quite enjoyed the element of surprise.
Tabitha glanced at each building they passed with curiosity. Would this be the one they stopped at? No. None of the taverns, pubs, inns, and public houses. Not the brewers’ field or the botanical gardens.
Soon enough, they were headed out of town altogether. There were no more people or buildings. Just a thick green woods… and a narrow dirt walking path she’d never noticed until just now.
“How did you know this was here?” she asked in wonder.
Mr. Frampton sent her an arrogant look, as if to say there was nothing in this world that escaped his notice.
Tabitha was inclined to believe it.
The path was likely intended for single pedestrians, but they strode along the rocky soil hip-to-hip. Leaves rustled overhead with the breeze. Other than occasional birdsong, little broke the peace and quiet.
That, or Tabitha’s heart was thundering so loud, a parade of elephants could have been stampeding behind her, and she would not have heard them.
Mr. Frampton’s steps slowed seconds before she registered the soft sound of running water. The next curve in the path took them beside a burbling river, its surface shimmering beneath the dappled sunlight.
He disengaged their joined arms in order to brush off the top of a knee-high fallen log, more than wide enough to support two derrières.
She gasped in delight. “A riverside picnic?”
“Sit,” he replied gruffly.
She sat, and grinned at him as he unwrapped their breakfast, balancing the brown paper and its contents on his lap. This was nothing like the five-course meals she was accustomed to, or the countless candlelit dinner parties she attended every year.
This was the most romantic meal of her entire life.
She selected a bun followed by slices of fresh fruit. They rested shoulder-to-shoulder in quiet companionship, listening to the breeze and the birds, and gazing at the reflection of white clouds and blue sky in the sparkling water as they broke their fast.
Mostly gazed at nature. Tabitha stole several sidelong glances at Mr. Frampton between bites, and several times caught him doing the same.
As their bellies filled, the silence vanished, and they fell into easy conversation. The warmth of the day, the sweet smells of spring, the crispness of the breeze… anything but the real reason they were here. That Tabitha had run away, rather than wed her intended. That Mr. Frampton would lose his post if he didn’t deliver her back into Viscount Oldfield’s clutches, safe and sound.
“Why aren’t you married?” she blurted out.
He raised his brows. “How do you know I am not?”
“You’re not wearing a ring,” she stammered, her cheeks heating at having been caught looking.
“Perhaps I was once married, but no longer have a wife.”
“Did you lose someone you loved?” she asked in horror.
“No.” He turned his gaze back to the river. “I have never had anyone to lose.”
