She was wearing a faded black dress that highlighted her soft, clear skin. The fabric of her dress shifted as she took off her cloak and smoothed down the sides.
Authur cleared his throat, snapping Thomas out of his dreamlike trance. “May I introduce Miss. Rosaline Berry.”
“Pleased to meet you,” she said, nodding at him casting her eyes down.
Her gentle tone threw him off guard.
Thomas noticed that her lashes were long and brushed against her cheeks as she tilted her head. Her auburn tendrils fell over her face as she lifted a hand to sweep them back. She was trembling slightly as she straightened and looked him in the eyes, a slight blush tinting her cheeks.
He stared at her as she held his gaze, heat rising unexpectedly up the back of his neck.
“Let me take your cloak,” Buena interrupted the moment as she bustled forward, having already made her introductions out in the yard. “Supper will be ready in two shakes of a lamb’s tail,” she said pleasantly as she took the cloak and hung it on the hook behind the door.
Rosaline’s frame was slender and pinched at the waist, and Thomas felt his pulse race as she bent to take the seat that Buena held out for her. There was something about the way she held herself while she continuously brushed her hair behind her ears that muddled his thoughts. He had to reach for the words he wanted to say.
Despite his best efforts, he found his tongue glued to the roof of his mouth, unable to move. He fought a silent battle in his chest.
“Take your seat, son,” his father addressed him from the door as he set down the valise.
Thomas gingerly made his way to the table and sat across from Rosaline as she accepted the cup offered to her by Buena.
This is it. He thought to himself. Taking a deep breath he raised his head, poised to begin.
The gentle smile that pulled at her lips when she thanked Buena made him stop and avert his gaze. He stared pensively at the row of pots that hung on the wall above the giant stove.
Why was he so nervous? This woman didn’t mean a thing to him, he chided himself but couldn’t bring forth the words he had practiced.
Something about her presence left him unable to speak, and he felt the urge to be gentle in his manner towards her. He couldn’t quite explain his reluctance to be as curt to her as he had rehearsed.
Busying himself by reading the spices that sat on the shelf, he listened intently as Buena did her best to put Rosaline at ease.
“I hope you had a pleasant journey?” Buena enquired.
“It was lovely, thank you,” she said nervously as she sipped her tea.
Thomas felt his father's gaze and turned to see him staring intently at him, his eyes pleading with Thomas to be polite. He felt a nerve twitch in his jaw.
“You must be tired,” he relented and bluntly addressed Rosaline.
He could see that she was taken off guard when she jumped slightly in her chair and fiddled with her cup.
“I am a bit tired. I... I wasn’t expecting the journey to be so long,” she stammered and tucked another loose tendril behind her ear.
His heart was beating a pace in his chest that both perplexed and angered him. He resented his reaction. “You came from Delaware?”
Arthur’s words came back to him from their heated exchange the day before as he sought for something to talk about.
“Yes, Wilmington.”
He averted his eyes and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Buena had busied herself with the cooking, and his father was watching the exchange over the brim of his cup.
They sat in silence for a moment or two as he worked up the courage to give her his speech.
“I think you should...” he began but his words caught in his throat as she looked at him through earnest eyes. They held an innocence that choked his words.
“I think you should rest,” he mumbled gruffly and stood as he pushed back his chair, the legs scraping loudly across the stone floor. “We can talk after dinner.” He turned and stormed out of the house without looking back.
The cool evening air kissed his face as he hurried towards the stables. His emotions were a tangled mess. What he was feeling or why he was feeling it was a mystery to him. All he knew was that he needed to get as far away from the house as he possibly could.
