“Worrying is not something a person chooses to do. It merely happens.” He hadn’t moved, nor had he looked at her again, leaving her free to study the fit of his jacket across his broad shoulders and the manner in which his breaches hugged his legs. He’d worn tall Hessians for the outing today, and Margaret had always believed that boots showed a man off better than any other piece of clothing.
“I am sorry to have worried you,” she offered. “We are friends and I ought not to have snapped at you.”
After a moment, he nodded and then turned back to search her eyes. “Is that what we are? Friends?” He was not smiling. “And soon, it seems, you are to become my aunt. Dearest Aunt Maggie.” One corner of his mouth tilted up ironically as he awaited her response.
She swallowed hard. She did not think of him as an aunt ought to think of a nephew. An aunt did not ogle one’s nephew’s fine thighs. Was this what had been bothering her all day?
“I am sorry you were concerned. Because, yes. You are my friend.”
Taking a moment, he seemed to visibly force himself to relax. “Of course.” He then offered her his arm. “Would you care to have my escort back to the manor, or would you prefer I follow you at a distance in order to give you the illusion of being alone?”
“I prefer to have your escort, if you please.” She reached out to him but he did not tuck her hand into his elbow. He clasped her wrist instead.
“The ring is too small.” He held her hand, examining her finger.
Margaret grimaced. The swelling was not exactly attractive, nor was the discoloration around the metal. “I can’t get it off.” Oddly enough, she nearly choked on a sob as she said the words. Luckily, she stifled it before it could escape.
“This is not good.” He examined it closer. “It must be painful.”
It was. “My maid and I tried lard and lavender oil. I’m waiting for the swelling to go away.”
He did not release her hand though. He narrowed his eyes, as though deep in thought. “Is it tingling? Numb?”
“A little. Right here.” She pointed at the section just above her knuckle. “My efforts have only made it worse.”
“Do you have a ribbon?” His question surprised her. An odd request, but…
“Will this work?” She pointed at the silk securing her bonnet.
“It might.” He grimaced. “But that ring has to come off.” Sebastian gestured for her to sit on the grass and not having any notion as to what he had in mind, she did just that. Once there, he settled himself beside her, cross-legged, and then reached across to her chin. “May I?”
She nodded and tilted her head back. Just as she reached to untie it, his fingers gently brushed her hands away and he worked at it himself. Feeling it loosen, she lowered her chin again, lifted the bonnet off, and handed it over. The cool breeze tickled her hair, causing a tremor to run through her.
“Are you afraid? This won’t hurt. I promise.”
“No. I trust you.”
“Cold?”
She shook her head again.
Satisfied that she was not uncomfortable, he withdrew a knife from his boot but then paused and sent her a teasing glance. “Not another favorite, I hope?”
“It is not.” His ability to make her laugh when she needed it most struck her as uncanny.
Once he’d separated the ribbon from her hat, he took hold of her hand again. Margaret watched patiently, still curious as he twisted the ring slightly and attempted to work the silk in between her flesh and the tight metal. Having little luck, he furrowed his brows in concentration and then retrieved his knife from where he’d balanced it on one of his knees.
“I’d rather keep my finger, if you don’t mind.” Margaret smiled again, not worried at all, in fact, trusting him implicitly.
He lifted his gaze to meet her eyes and shook his head at her joke before looking down again and concentrating fully. Using the tip of the knife, he then incrementally wedged the ribbon into the seemingly nonexistent space that existed between her flesh and the ring.
“Stop me if it hurts, Maggie.” But before long, he had slid it through and very precisely wound the leftover ribbon snugly around her finger, rather like a stripe on a barber’s pole.
For the first time all day, Margaret felt at peace. And safe.
Using the end he’d inserted beneath the ring, Sebastian slowly began unwinding it. Amazingly, it eased the ring along with it. Past the swollen part. Past her knuckle.
And off.
