Her throat tightened and Amelia nodded.
He sighed heavily and leaned back in the chair. Lines of exhaustion bracketed his eyes, and he rubbed his face, holding a hand over his eyes like his head pained him. Amelia sat back, folding her arms around herself. She shifted to get comfortable, enjoying the freedom of movement the trousers allotted her. It had been so long since she’d swapped places with Sam, she’d forgotten how easy it was to dress in boys’ clothing.
“Thisiscomfortable,” she murmured.
He dropped his hand for just a heartbeat, then lurched forward, grabbing her knees and locking them together in hisiron grip. Amelia lurched forward in surprise, bringing them face to face.
“What are you doing?” they both said in unison.
“You cannot sit like that,” he said, voice thick.
His hands were still on her knees, and she could now feel the warmth of his touch through her trousers. It trickled up her legs, and strangely, she enjoyed it. No one had ever touched her like this. Gripped her. Held her... her knees. She bit her lip. Her knees were just knees, and yet the touch felt... scintillating. Intimate.
“A woman can’t sit like a man. It’s improper.”
So were his hands on her knees, but Amelia would not state that fact aloud. Because then he’d remove them. And he’d no doubt be scandalized and horrified. But somehow it seemed he hadn’t noticed he was touching her. In fact, henevertouched her. He might extend a hand, offer an elbow, do as gentlemen do, but there was always a buffer of air between them. And Amelia usually rebuffed his offered touches, but now his hands were on her, and it was... hot. Her skin flushed. She was growing warmer every second he touched her. Maybe it was simply that it was a needed distraction from all her cares, but she discovered she liked it—this fire and heat, this touching that had never existed before now.
She feigned innocence. “Why ever not?”
“You just . . . can’t.”
“But you can do it, so why can’t I? Dresses don’t let me sit like that—too narrow—but in trousers it’s so freeing. My legs feel unrestricted and weightless.”
He swallowed. “As a woman, it is wholly improper.”
Amelia rolled her eyes. “You said that already. And anyway, you can’t use that argument anymore. You staying here while my brother is recovering is also improper. So we must suspendjudgment of what isn’t and what is improper for the time being. Don’t you think?”
“Only when necessary. Which isn’t right now. I insist you remain cognizant of that fact.”
“But we’re alone.”
“Lady Amelia, please . . .”
“What is it that so offends you?”
“I can see too much of you.”
She snorted. “These trousers are not transparent.”
“No, indeed. But you are shaped differently.”
He spoke every word with difficulty, like he had to wrestle each one off his tongue.
“Yes, I concede that is true. But you sit like that, exposed to the world with all your shapes, and think nothing of it. Can you explain that to me?”
He stilled. “What?”
Amelia bit back a smile. “If we are speaking of differences in shapes, it may as well be said that as a woman, I have an absence of shapes in my trousers while you—”
He covered her mouth with his hand. Amelia just sighed. She could not read his expression, but he’d taken a hand off her knee, and it appeared the spell was broken. He quickly let go of her altogether and hugged a pillow over his lap. Amelia did the same.
“See how ridiculous this is? Men behave as though my body is something that I must cover and protect, and yet yours is displayed quite openly. You’re free, and I am in a prison made of muslin because of what, exactly?”
He said tightly, “Society’s rules are for your protection.”
“Protection from what?”
“The perversion of abuse and defiling of your body comes from bodies like mine.”
