Carey went next. Thomasin let her eyes rest on his broad shoulders, on the slashes in his sleeves, white in the evening air, on the thick mane of hair on the back of his head.
As they were enveloped in the scent, he turned and caught her looking. “Thomasin? You look serious.”
She smiled. “Do I?”
He laughed. “A little. Why has the queen been watching you so closely tonight, but has now left you with me? Do you think she will chide you later?”
“Oh, you think this is some sort of test?”
“Do you? Will she warn you, later tonight, to stay away from a married man? To guard your tongue before a member of that family?”
“I don’t think of you as being part of that family. You seem separate. You said so yourself.”
“But she may still see the ties, and may distrust me. How do you see me, then?”
“As a friend,” Thomasin blurted out quickly. “As someone I feel comfortable with.”
He nodded. “Someone you can trust? A confidant?”
“Yes, I suppose so.” She reached up and plucked some honeysuckle.
Carey stepped back and sighed. “Always everyone’s friend, dependable, plain Will.”
She looked at him curiously. “Is that not a compliment? What more would you wish for?”
“To be seen, valued, for my own self.”
It was an easy reply to find. “Well, of course I do. You are valued for yourself, for your kindness, your company. I am pleased you are here.”
“Really?”
“Of course, I would not say otherwise.”
“Do you not fear being out here alone with a married man?”
Thomasin could not help but smile. “Fear? You? No, not at all. Why should I fear you?”
He stepped closer, his eyes darkening. “You do not fear talk? That your reputation might be compromised? An innocent girl and an experienced man?”
She stepped back, brushing against the bush. “That’s not what anyone would think.”
“No? Not me? Not you?”
She looked at him anew, this gentle friend with the damaged heart and the warm eyes. She enjoyed his company, but he had never moved her in the way that Rafe had, or even Nico; she had never felt captivated by passion when she was with him. Could he really be suggesting there might be something between them?
“Do you not see me in any other way than as a friend?”
Thomasin shivered, seeking an answer that would not clarify.
“Come on!” Ellen had emerged from the garden with a handful of flowers.
“I had better go,” Thomasin said, with a sense of relief. “The queen will be waiting.”
“You have no thoughts about my words?”
“I don’t know. I had never… It is complicated.”
He held up his hands.
