“What are you doing? Put me down!” she demanded.
He grinned at her. “I’m going to toss you in the lake.”
“Don’t you dare!” She squirmed in an effort to free herself, but he wouldn’t let her go.
“It’s time you had a swimming lesson. Since I’m apparently never going to get you into my bed—remember, you’re not in a dress yet—I need to impart something useful to this delightful relationship. Swimming is a life lesson everyone should learn.”
“I refused this lesson the first time you offered it. Besides, you’ll ruin my boots and will have to buy me a new pair.”
“Can they be female boots?”
“No, I’ve got lots of those. You’ll have ruined my only pair that’s manly.”
“Sweetheart, there’s nothing manly about you. And you realize, of course, you could remove the boots before the lesson. Besides, it would be worth the price of a new pair of men’s boots. I’ll take any excuse to put my hands on you.”
She should have gasped, but instead she laughed and wiggled harder to get out of his arms, finally succeeding. “You’re incorrigible—and I’m going home to put on a dress.”
“Not on my account!” he yelled after her as she returned to Snow.
She leapt and pulled herself into the saddle, then glanced down at him. “A race?”
He grinned. “Really? A kiss if I win?”
“How about never mentioning kissing again if I win?”
He laughed and pointed to a lone oak in the distance. “There’s the finish line.”
She knew he’d win if they raced only that far, but she was fairly certain he’d lose a longer-distance race. So she said, “Back to the stable and I’ll agree.”
“Wager accepted!”
She didn’t cheat; she let him mount his horse before she turned Snow back toward Dawton Manor. And he got far in front of her rather quickly, but the horse he’d borrowed from the stable wasn’t a thoroughbred, and it soon tired, letting Snow catch up and take the lead. She left a trail of laughter behind her.
Chapter Seventeen
CARRYING THE LAMP FROMher room, Vanessa walked silently down the corridor in her bare feet. She’d taken a nap, was surprised she’d fallen asleep when she’d been gloating so much over winning that race with Monty today. She’d awakened to the knock on her door when her dinner arrived. And after that had come the excruciating wait for the house to become utterly silent. But finally it had, and now she was on her way to her sisters’ room.
She knew which room her sisters would be in, the same one they’d shared as children. She’d had her own room across from theirs in the family section of the main house, on the east side, but the twins didn’t want to be parted even for a night, so they shared one. And the door wasn’t locked. She didn’t think it would be.
She set her lamp on the night table and removed her cloak. She’d taken off her pants and was wearing only a clean linen shirt and knee-length drawers. That was the best she could do not to look mannish for them. She didn’t want them to start screaming because they thought a man was in their room, especially since their mother’s room wasn’t far down the hall.
She stood there staring at her sisters for a long while. She was so pleased that they had turned out so pretty, that they still had things they could giggle about, that Kathleen hadn’t turned them into mindless puppets.
She wasn’t sure how to wake them without causing any loud exclamations, worried that she might not be able to contain her own. She couldn’t exactly cover their mouths at the same time. One would wake before she reached the other and she was afraid they’d think they were being attacked and start screaming. She decided on a very quiet approach and sat on the floor, leaning her back against the side of their bed.
“I’m home and you’re going to greet me quietly. Layla, it’s Vanessa. Em, wake up and see for yourself, I’m really here. You aren’t dreaming, my sweets. Your big sister has returned to you.”
She repeated the greeting in a soft voice that wasn’t much louder than a whisper and winced with each word, hoping she wouldn’t elicit any squeals in response.
A few minutes later she heard, “Really?”
And the second voice finished, “You expect us to be quiet about it?”
“Yes, please,” Vanessa said with a wide grin and tipped her head back to look up at the two wide-eyed faces peering over the edge of the bed at her.
And then there were the squeals, somehow quiet ones, as the twins tumbled out of bed and onto the floor with her, one on each side, and smothered her in hugs. She laughed because she couldn’t get her arms around either one of them, so she finally leapt to her feet and pulled Emily up with her.
“I want to do some hugging, too,” she said, wrapping her arms around Emily, then held out a hand to Layla.
