The group at large halted, each one turning to look over their shoulder at me. I only paid attention to one of them. Arabella’s eyes were wide, and her mouth unhinged.
“String bean,” I repeated, this time in a more normal volume. I felt like the characters in novels that I continually criticized in my articles who acted out of character. But desperate times gave rise to newfound courage, and I would not step down. I had meant to get Arabella’s attention, and now I had it, but could not fathom what to do next. I glanced upward for some heavenly guidance and saw the bright white stars gleaming above me. “The stars.” I pointed to the celestial landscape. “In the shape of a string bean.”
“Oh?” Mrs. Delafield cranked her neck backward and several others followed. I pointed at a random set of stars, since any one of them could be connected into a line. “There, do you see it? You might have to step away from the torches. It’s as clear as day.” I jumped off the path myself and walked backward with my hand pointing to the sky, moving in the direction of Arabella until I maneuvered myself beside her. “Doyou see it?” I asked.
She stared at me as if I had gone mad.
Mr. and Mrs. Mason had stepped off the path and started calling out the well-known constellations. Mr. and Mrs. Delafield followed them.
“Mr. Clodwick, can you make it out?” I asked. “I daresay, it could even be a giraffe. A rarer beauty I have never seen . . . with such celestial legs.”
Arabella coughed next to me, her hand fisted to her mouth.
“Is it attached to the Vega star?” Mr. Clodwick asked.
I hesitated, feeling undereducated in my star-mapping abilities. “Well . . .”
Elizabeth came forward and took Mr. Clodwick’s arm. “I would be happy to show you. Step this way.” She led him several feet off the torched path in the opposite direction from us.
Arabella glowered at me, though I saw a hint of amusement playing around the corners of her mouth. “What exactly are you trying to do?”
I cleared my throat and clasped my hands behind my back. “I found your childhood likeness in the stars. Is that not flattering?”Pleaselet it be flattering.
“That you think I look like a string bean is as insulting now as it was then.”
“I’ll have you know that string beans are my favorite vegetable.”
Her lips quivered, and I knew she was fighting a smile. “They are not.”
“They might have been lower on the list before my visit here, but I assure you that they sit at the very top now.”
“Let me guess, the giraffe is your favorite animal?”
I feigned a look of shock. “How did you know?”
She shook her head. “Does this flattery come with a purpose?”
I stepped closer, lowering my voice. “I cannot help it if I find you as radiant as the stars.” If there was any more light, I swear I would havecaught a subtle blush. Could Elizabeth be right? Did Arabella care for me as I did for her? “Would you do the honor of walking with me?”
She glanced at the others engaged in their stargazing pursuits. “I suppose it would be all right to walk ahead.”
I held out my arm. The pressure of her small-gloved hand against mine might as well have been an intoxicating kiss. I felt a touch heady as I led us back onto the path. Our privacy would be short-lived, and I had to make the most of it. “Arabella, I hope you know that I am in earnest about my desire for you to select your own companion in marriage.”
“I know,” she said softly.
I glanced at her, my measured steps leading us away from the others. Her skin gleamed like milk in the moonlight, and the glow of the torches in her eyes held enough warmth to burn me. It was time to confess the feelings storming in my chest, mounting with every swish of her skirt against my leg, and the press of her fingers on my arm. “Do you also know that I am equally earnest in another direction as well? I desire above all else for you to change your mind about me. Something has shifted between us these last few weeks. Something real and tangible.” The path curved out of view of the others, and I stopped just beyond it, turning to face Arabella. My hands slid up past her evening gloves to her bare forearms.
“I came here for a wife and no other expectation, but I fell under your spell the moment I saw you in Quillsbury. Am I alone in my feelings for you?”
I held my breath, studying her serious blue sapphire eyes, wishing I could read them better in the low light. I feared she would yank herself away, disgusted by my words. Instead, she did the unthinkable. She stepped into my arms, embracing me, and resting her head against my chest. For a moment, I was too stunned to act. But then I was too excitednot to act. My hands found her waist, sliding around the sleek fabric of her gown. I clung to her, my nose burying against her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. “Is it too late?” I asked. “Please, tell me it isn’t too late.”
“I’m confused, Rowan.”
My chest tightened. Those weren’t the words I so desperately wanted to hear.
I pulled back just enough to lift her chin so we could see each other. “Your confusion is only natural considering our history, but can we not sort it out together?”
A commotion of steps sounded on the other side of the bend, and Arabella pulled away, leaving the front of me doused with cold in her absence. I squeezed my hands into fists to keep from reaching for her again. If only we had a few more minutes to speak privately. Arabella rubbed one arm and glanced anxiously at the bend in the walk as we both anticipated the others to join us at any moment. “C-can we speak of this later?”
