“My brother Harry taught me about guns.” How she missed her brother, she thought with a pang. She wanted him to meet Richard; she was certain the two would rub along famously.
“Your brother enjoys hunting?”
“Not really. It’s the explosion side of things that he’s interested in.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Harry’s a scientist and the genius of the family,” she explained. “He’s finishing up at Cambridge, and he’ll probably become a professor. Anyway, he’s been blowing things up ever since he was a boy, and he used to experiment with flintlocks all the time, trying to get a bigger bang.” She grinned, remembering. “When it came to target practice, however, I beat him every time.”
“You canshoot?”
“Well, yes, although I’ve never shot at amovingobject. Just at apples and bottles. Although,” she amended in the spirit of honesty, “I did shoot Tabitha once.”
Richard stopped in his tracks. “You shot awoman?”
“Oh no, Tabitha is Em’s cat. And I didn’t shoot her with a gun. That time, I was practicing with a slingshot.” Seeing his flummoxed expression, she added hastily, “I didn’t mean to hit Tabby; it was an accident. She wandered in front of the target at the last moment.”
“I… see.” His tone said he didn’t. “Do you have any other hidden talents I should know about?”
She was tempted to gloss over the truth. Yet another part of herwantedhim to know her, and how could he, if she wasn’t honest with him? If he was going to be disappointed, better now than after they were married, when it would be too late.
Gathering up her courage, she said baldly, “I can ride, shoot, and play cricket. I like swimming and acrobatics. With my trousers on, I can beat most anyone climbing up a tree.”
The way he was staring at her made her heart thump nervously. She didn’t want to shock or put him off, but she didn’t want to hide who she was either. It was one of those instances in which compromise didn’t come easily.
“Would you like to do those things with me?” he said.
Now it was her turn to stare. “Pardon?”
“Would you like to ride, shoot, and play other sports with me?” In the sunlight, his eyes had an iridescent gleam. “I could even teach you how to hunt—to shoot at moving objects, if you’d like.”
He couldn’t be serious.
“Are you funning me?” she said suspiciously.
“Not a bit.”
“You’d truly teach me to hunt?”
“Since I’m fairly competent at it, I’d be happy to give you a few pointers.”
Fairly competent?She’d never seen anyone handle a double-barreled Manton with such finesse and confidence. Why, to get tips from him, for him to even suggest such a thing…
“How are you at fencing? Archery?” he went on.
She shook her head in wonder. “I haven’t done either.”
“I have. I could teach you the fundamentals of both.”
By… Golly.Her spiraling excitement was almost too much to bear. “You’d do all that? Even though it would be, um, irregular?”
“Who’s to say what is regular between a man and his wife?”
His meaning sunk in—and gave her an undeniable thrill. “Are you trying tobribeme into marriage, Carlisle?”
“It’s Richard, and I’m just trying to sweeten the pot, lass. In fact, when we’re married, you could even wear your trousers from time to time—as long as you do so only in my presence.”
There was no mistaking the pure male anticipation in his gaze.
