“What?”
Drat. She had forgotten about his hearing. Wanting to make sure he understood her, she took a step forward, so that only a few inches separated them.
“I said, may I ask you something.”
Rhys’s pupils dilated as he stared at her.
“Of course,” he said gruffly.
“Why do you have all these animals? I mean, I’m aware that your goal is to run an operational estate, and farm animals are essential to that, but why Honey? Why the cat with the missing eye from the inn?” She paused, trying to understand. “It seems that you’ve only gathered animals that are half useful.”
That was perhaps the wrong thing to say, as Rhys’s expression turned cold.
“I don’t see them as half useful.” He glanced at Honey. “In fact, I dare say they are more useful. Every eyeless cat or three-legged dog or production stunted cow shouldn’t be counted as less because of their shortcomings. Just this morning, Cyclops caught three mice, and I bet he’ll catch at least a dozen more before the day is over. And Chauncy over there.” He pointed to an old sheepdog lying in a pile of hay next to a dozen baby sheep. “He might be missing a leg, but I wouldn’t trust those little lambs with any other dog, the way he protects them.”
“And Honey?” Louisa attempted.
“And Honey here, well, she’s just not come into her own, that’s all,” he said stubbornly. “But none of these animals are only half useful. They’re more determined, more focused, more—”
But Rhys’s words died away the moment Louisa’s hand touched his forearm. She hadn’t meant to agitate him, but he had become very passionate about the animals all of a sudden and she wasn’t sure how to express that while she did find it odd, she wasn’t against it.
His dark, guarded expression made her sympathetic.
“I agree with you,” she said firmly, so as not to let him believe she was only trying to placate him. “I don’t think animals should be tossed aside when they become less than some arbitrary standard that humans have placed on them.” Her fingers tightened ever so lightly on his arm. “But I do think Honey could use a companion.”
It was wonderous to watch his face go from bitterly defiant to suspicious, to acceptance. Neither spoke for a long time. They only stared at each other, seemingly trying to read the other person’s thoughts.
Then.
“I apologize about my temper,” Rhys began. “I’m afraid I become irrational when I talk about animals.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” she answered. “Have you always loved animals with such passion?”
“No, actually,” he said, as he held out his arm to her. She took it as they exited the barn. To her surprise, Chauncy the dog and his lambs followed them out, one by one. “I didn’t really ever care about animals before the war.”
“Something happened there that changed your heart?”
“Nothing in particular,” he said as a spring breeze rushed past them. “But a few weeks after I returned to London from the war, I was invited out to some dastardly place where there were bets being made of dog fighting. I had seen it before and hadn’t cared about it one way or the other, and yet, I couldn’t stomach it. I watched two terriers nearly murder Chauncy and I became physically ill over it. I nearly fought everyone in that gaming hell that night, but I left with him.” He bent down and ruffled the dog’s long fur, before looking up at Louisa. “I’m sure it all sounds ridiculous to you.”
“No,” she said, instantly bending down on her heels. “I think it’s quite noble.”
He shook his head.
“Please don’t call me that. I don’t like it.”
Louisa couldn’t understand that, either. Time and time again, her husband was proving to be the most honorable, noble person she had ever met, and yet every time it was mentioned, he would cringe away from it.
“Then I won’t call you that,” she said, before adding, “But I will be thinking it.”
And then, before he could counter, she leaned forward and kissed him.
It must have stunned him just as much as it stunned her, because neither moved except for where their lips touched. It was a chaste kiss and Louisa, unlearned in these sorts of things,began to pull back when suddenly one of his large hands was at the back of her head, pulling her closer.
His tongue swept into her mouth, seeking something she couldn’t name. It felt wonderful and right and she couldn’t help but lean forward. Her hands went up to his collar, in an effort to anchor herself to him, but in the next moment, he broke their kiss to stand, as he pulled her up with him.
Slightly dizzy, Louisa blinked several times as the warm spring sun shone down from behind him, causing a halo-like effect around his head. She could vaguely taste the tea he had for breakfast linger on her own lips and she licked them.
Rhys made some sort of growling noise.
