His brows lifted. “Because I squeezed your fingers?”
“Notbecause, necessarily, but that was the moment I realized what I felt. Truth is, it’s also partly why I ended up in Lord Richmond’s parlor. Seeing you with Miss Chessington was just a little too much to bear. Well, that, and the fact I’d just told Mama I was willing to marry Mr. James Barclay. I was in dire need of a quiet place in which to contemplate my sad fate.”
“Good Lord,” Maxwell muttered. “I knew you were attracted to me, but I had no idea it was that bad.”
Her fingertip ceased its journey. “You knew?”
“From the start. You gaped at me when we first met in the stables.”
She snorted. “I did not gape, Maxwell.”
“You certainly did, my sweet. And blatantly. Your father noticed it as well.”
“Hmm, all right. Maybe I did gape a little.” Her fingertip drew circles on his breastbone. “So, whendidyou fall in love with me?”
He grimaced. “I can’t believe you agreed to marry Barclay.”
“Maxwell!”
“Hmm. Actually, I think it might have been before we met.”
Louisa chuckled. “Don’t be silly.”
He frowned. “I’m not. I’m fairly sure it was on a breezy day back in February, when I’d ridden up onto the moor from the village, following a suggested short-cut to Highfield Hall. Didn’t see a soul at first, and then, all at once, I spy this horse and rider flying across the moor at an all-out gallop. A woman, no less. Intrigued, I stopped to watch, only to see her hat fly off. I expected her to stop, but instead she let out a joyous squeal of laughter. That sound stirred something within me that I’d never felt before. It was a moment I’ll never forget.”
“Then how come you’ve never spoken of it till now?”
“I put it down to fanciful thinking, which is not something I generally entertain, and chose to ignore it.”
“Oh. Well, in any case, it doesn’t mean you fell in love with me. You can’t love someone you’ve never met, Max. Even my fanciful imagination doesn’t go that far.”
“Nevertheless, something inexplicable took hold of me that day, which is why I went to retrieve your hat. Much like the prince and the glass shoe, I was determined to find its owner. I had no idea you were a Northcott till you appeared in the stables.”
“Looking rather the worse for wear, I’m afraid.”
“Aye, like you’d taken a tumble in the heather.” He kissed the top of her head. “Still beautiful, though.”
“I still have the hat.”
“I know. I noticed it atop your armoire.”
Louisa fell quiet for a moment. Then, “And now, here we are, all because we were discovered alone in Richmond’s off-limits parlor.”
“I have no regrets, my love.”
“Me neither. Not a one.” She chewed on her lip. “But there’s something about the parlor, and more specifically the artwork, that I haven’t told you.”
Maxwell’s brows lifted. “And what might that be?
“Before I tell you, you have to swear not to tell anyone else.”
He looked down at her. “I cannot remember the last time I was this intrigued.”
“Swear it,” she said.
“All right, I swear.”
She winced as she spoke. “I know who the artist is.”
