“I can see how that would require complex maneuvering.”
“Unlike what people think, a proper jape is no simple endeavor. It requires planning and commitment. It’s not for the faint of heart.”
“No one could ever accuse your heart of faintness.”
It was what he liked best about her, in fact.
She had nerve.
She had heart.
Her eyes filled with a new intensity. “You must’ve known that I would be angry with you.”
“But you wouldn’t be humiliated.” That was the main point.
Her head canted. “Wasn’t that as much as a high-flying Windermere deserves every so often?”
“You didn’t deserve that.”
That seemed to take the wind out of her sails as she released a breathy, “Oh.”
He could stop here—heshouldstop here—but truths that wanted out had been too long pent up. “You possess a wildness, Delilah.”
She snorted. “All England, Scotland, and possibly Wales know that.”
“I have no desire to see it tamed.”
Her mouth snapped shut as a flood of emotions swept across her face.
“I like knowing it’s out in the world,” he continued.
“I had no idea.”
“You on that stage…” He couldn’t seem to stop revealing truths. “It was the most foolhardy thing I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s been publicly established,” she said, cool and dry as a wintry desert.
“But it was also one of the bravest.”
She blinked. “Bravest?”
“I’ve never known anyone with courage like yours. When you gave that speech fromKing Lear, I understood why you’d done it.”
“I had a bet with Archie that I was determined to win. And I was winning it, for the record, until very suddenly I wasn’t.”
Sebastian shook his head. “That wasn’t why you did it. That’s the excuse.”
“Then tell me why I did it, since you’re such an expert on me.”
“Performing is your passion, Delilah. You saw an opportunity to live that passion, and you seized it.” He spread his arms wide, indicating their surroundings. “Like being part of a traveling theater company. You’re not doing it because you’re a spoiled Windermere brat.”
“Thank you?” she said with a befuddled knit of her brow.
Even as a smile wanted release, he wouldn’t be distracted. “You’re here because you’re living your dream. I admire you, Delilah.”
Even as the beat of his heart accelerated, time did the opposite and slowed. The next words that wanted to fall from his mouth… Perhaps he shouldn’t speak them.
For there would be no returning from where they would lead.
