“I can help him marry off Arabella to someone suitable. Men have no idea about these things.” She folded her hands in her lap.
“Dear me,” he said.
She drew her eyebrows together. “It’s not entirely ethical, is it? To manipulate a dear friend into an arranged marriage, when she’s sworn to marry only for love—in return for a stupid letter. How horrible of me to even think of this. I’m worse than Judas.”
Henry knocked his pipe against his seat and brushed the ashes away. “This won’t do at all. Maybe you should just talk to His Grace and be agreeably surprised that he’ll write said letter without any kind of trade,unethical or otherwise.”
Lucy shook her head that her curls flew. “You are too positive-minded, Henry. I like that about you.”
Their eyes met. His shone bright blue in his tanned face.
Lucy blushed and looked away.
She pointed to the distance. Ashmore Hall appeared in front of them, a sprawling, Palladian structure crowning a hill, a tremendous lake in front, surrounded by Henry's beautiful gardens. “Just look at this—terrible glory!”
“Why terrible?”
“Because it looks terribly intimidating.” Lucy gazed at in in despair.
Henry stopped the cart. “It is quite something to look at.”
Lucy slumped in her seat. “I’m not doing Arabella a favour by visiting her. It isn't good for her to be seen in my company. They’ll say I’m a bad influence. They’ll say I’ll corrupt her. Yesterday, you said the worst thing that could happen to me is that my entirely life becomes utterly ruined from being with you here. Well, it doesn’t matter in the slightest to someone who is already considered being on the very bottom of the social scale. So there.”
“You are being very hard on yourself, my girl,” Henry tugged on one of her curls. His finger brushed her cheek and Lucy wanted to turn her head and bury her face in his big, warm hand.
“I don’t care for all the lofty lords and dandies that parade about there. I would like to marry a normal man. One who is kind and who likes me just for myself. Someone with a little house and a garden. A—a gardener would do nicely. I’m sure I would love to be married to a gardener! It sounds heavenly. I could help with the work and I’m certain I can bake great crumpets, you know? I mean, I haven’t actually baked crumpets before, but it can’t be that difficult. I’m sure they would turn out fantastic. And in the morning, I can help with the roses, and maybe there would be chickens that need to be fed ... ” Her voice petered away. Her face flushed. She'd as good as propositioned marriage to him. And he wasn't responding. He wasn't even looking at her. His eyes were fixed on Ashmore Hall.
“Despite everything, you are a lady and belong to the Hall, Miss Lucy Bell. Your world is not mine.” He smiled sadly.
“I know.” She choked.
“It’s really better to just walk in there, and play along with all the parties, dances, teas and whatever it is you fine folk do, and pick up a dandy and marry him. It is the better life.”
“I would so much rather marry a gardener.”
As his eyes melted into hers, she saw something in them that tugged at her heartstrings. Lucy felt she could drown in them. His face was close, oh so close. She could count the fine hairs on his eyelashes.
Her heart thudded.
Lucy didn’t think. She reached up, pulled his face down towards her, and planted a kiss on his lips. They felt soft, warm, spicy. A feeling like warm honey oozed through her body, leaving a delicious tingling sensation that made her toes curl.
Shocked by her own action, she let go.
“I just kissed you,” she blurted out.
“So you did.” He blinked.
Her fingers wandered to her lips. “I’ve never kissed anyone before.” She looked at him with enormous eyes. “I don’t regret it. Not for a moment.”
He reached out and brushed his rough thumb gently over her lips. She quivered. He looked at her for a while longer, a quiet smile lurking in the depths of his eyes.
Something in her lap yipped and bit her thumb. Little Bartimaeus had woken up.
Lucy laughed breathlessly. The spell was broken.
Henry dropped his hands and picked up the reins. “Let us proceed to Ashmore Hall.”
Lucy marvelled how it was possible that with asinglekiss, her entire world had shifted.
