He might not have been flirting with her, but all this talk of two bodies becoming one was a bit close.
Placing her hands on the low wall, she hoisted herself up to straddle it.
He grabbed her quickly to steady her.
“I’m hardly going to drown in two feet of water.” She watched the river flow beneath her feet. He was right, the two streams flowed into this. “So, a confluence is like a marriage, a fork is like a divorce.”
He was silent for a moment.
Well, he had started it, talking about bodies coming together; he couldn’t complain when she followed the same vein, could he?
“I don’t think so,” he said at last. “A confluence happens naturally, a marriage or a divorce would be more like a man-made structure with stones or concrete to force the rivers together.”
Interesting. She let the sound of the water running over pebbles, the rustle of leaves in the bushes nearby fill the silence. His hand had gone to his chest again, pushed inside his jumper to stroke his breast-bone.
“You don’t like the thought of marriage, do you?” she asked gently.
“No, not even marginally,” he answered reflexively. Then a moment later, “Is it obvious?” He finally turned to face her.
“Very.” She smiled to soften her answer. “But it’s alright. Marriage is not for everyone.”
He seemed to relax, and his ghost of a smile returned.
She’d met commitment phobic men before, but never one that seemed so… so…allergic. Another thought occurred to her. “Does it bother you? My job, I mean, all this talk about weddings?”
He drew in a long, difficult breath. “Truth?”
“Of course.”
“A bit. At the beginning.” He glanced at her then away to the horizon.
“Sorry.”
“Hardly your fault.” He glanced back at her. “When I came up to your studio today, I thought I would see masses of white fluff.” He said the word ‘fluff’ the way people might say ‘car crash.’ “But you’re not that kind of wedding designer, are you?”
“No. Not even marginally,” she mimicked, making them both laugh.
Chapter Twelve
The next morning before breakfast,Du Montfort sent for her. She had just been trying on a pair of earrings. No reason. But with her very short hair, the garnet drop earrings looked nice. She wasn’t giving up her vow of spinsterhood, of course not. But there was no reason not to look nice for herself. And dark read had always suited her colouring.
She smiled at her reflection in the mirror just as someone knocked on her door.
“Only me,” Pierre called from outside.
It made Laura smile wider. She liked Pierre a lot and the two had forged a tentative friendship.
“Ready for breakfast?” Laura asked as she opened the door and stepped out into the hallway.
“I wish.” Pierre pulled a face. “Lord M wants to see you immediately.” Then she took in Laura’s dark leggings and knee high boots, the red earrings. “You look nice.”
“Thank you. ”
Lord M was in his study. And not alone. Liam was packing away his massage oils and arm splint. Nurse Ann had just come in with a breakfast tray and some medicine tablets.
And of course, Adam was there too. Taking Lord M’s blood pressure.
She kept her eyes on the old man as she walked towards him. “Good morning. You wanted to see me?”
