“This outing reminds me of when we travelled to Edgewater Heights.” Lilly spoke casually, seeming to read Michael’s mind. And then her eyes grew wide. “Not exactly, though, mind you. Certainly not the—well, not all of it!” She blushed and looked away from him.
He smiled and finally was able to take hold of her arm. He would reassure her. She could speak freely with him today. “It was idyllic, wasn’t it? Spending time with sympathetic companions, friends, not merely acquaintances of theton.”
Their steps fell in line with one another. They walked silently for a while, enjoying the beauty around them.
Being with her, he felt a sense of lightness. His worries distanced themselves. He was not the duke, but simply a man.
“Did you have a chance to speak with your father before he passed? Was he able? Did he recognize you?” She’d known he and his father had had something of a tumultuous relationship.
“Several times he spoke to me as though I were Edward,” Michael answered her candidly. “But there were moments…I told him about you. I told him of my wish to marry.”
Lilly glanced at him sharply upon hearing this. “What did he say?”
She might rather appreciate the irony. “He told me I was too young. He told me to wait.”
She didn’t say anything at all.
But then a bark of laughter escaped her. “Oh, Michael.” And then she groaned a little and laughed some more. Her eyes glistened as she sobered. Michael wanted to touch the corner of her eye and catch the single tear that had escaped.
But Lilly turned serious once again. “Did he know about Edward? Did he know you had become the heir?”
“No.” Michael remembered. “But I realized my resentmenthad been idiotic. I think as youths, we naturally rebel, at times imagining the worst in our parents.”
“Oh, yes.” She agreed readily. “And how did you learn this?”
He hadn’t ever discussed this with anybody—not even Hugh. “He told me how proud he was of my military service. And he asked me about the war…he wanted to hear stories.” In dawning appreciation, he realized he’d done his best to bury his memories of those weeks of what had seemed like unending death. But he had experienced some moments of contentment with his father.
Some peace.
Michael pushed a branch away from the path so she could pass in front of him. “In all my life, I’d never had my father’s undivided attention as I did those last nights.”
Lilly glanced at him sideways, smiling. “You brought him comfort, then.”
Raising his brows, he considered her statement. “Perhaps I did.”
And then he asked about her last days withherparents. He’d known her mother, but not her father at all. She told him of the last Christmas she’d spent with them both—and after—how she’d cared for her mother, read to her all of their favorite books. Lady Eleanor had travelled over for her mother’s funeral and brought her Miss Fussy.
And then she told him of some of Miss Fussy’s antics.
They laughed together and then fell into a relaxed silence.
A cool breeze rustled the leaves above them, and silver ripples appeared on the surface of the lake.
Lilly stopped to behold the view and inhaled deeply. “Being in the city, one forgets how perfumed country air can be.”
But he had eyes for only her. “What perfume is in this air, Lilly?”
Stopping, she closed her eyes and inhaled again. “Pine, sage, grass, lavender, and…” She trailed off and then opened her eyes. For Michael had stepped within inches of her. He’d not done so consciously. But it didn’t matter.
Nothing else mattered.
“No peach blossoms?”
At that moment, he was only aware of the fragrance of her, of Lilly. Memories and emotions assaulted him. Her closeness ignited a hunger he had hoped would fade away.
She held his gaze unwavering. Neither of them spoke. The sound of a few birds could be heard in the distance, and then the rustling of leaves again, as the cool wind tilted the tall grass.
And then, oh, so tentatively, Lilly’s hand extended upwards, and she grazed her fingertips along his jaw. Michael grasped her hand, cradling it. Turning his face and closing his eyes, he pressed a kiss inside her palm. If he didn’t breathe, time would stand still.
