I laughed as I watched his look of dismay.
“You wouldn’t want her to forget, now would you?” Owen asked.
Realization crept over Peter’s face. “No.”
“That is right.” Owen gripped his shoulder with a smile. “But what you must know about love, is that simply speaking of it doesn’t make it true. If you love Annette, you must also find ways to show her. You must always treat her with kindness and respect.”
My brothers both nodded with determination.
I couldn’t contain my smile. All of this schooling would likely be forgotten by tomorrow, but it was entertaining to watch.
Owen excused my brothers from their first ‘lesson,’ and they ran immediately to the waterfall. They took turns dipping their hands under the stream of water. I kept them in clear view, making sure it didn’t turn into a splashing battle of some sort.
Owen stretched his legs out in front of him as we watched Peter and Charles. The space they had occupied on the fountain between us was now empty. “They are good boys,” Owen said, breaking the silence. “You are raising them well. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise.”
I thought of Mr. Coburn and Aunt Ruth. Had I listened to them? No one had ever told me what I was doing right—only what I was doing wrong. “Thank you,” I said in a quiet voice. “And thank you for giving them their first lesson. They seemed to enjoy it.”
“I did too.” He gave a crooked smile, his gaze lingering on my face for a long moment. “So. Shall I ask you my first question now?”
Blast it all.I had nearly forgotten about my ‘payment.’ Actually,Iremembered quite clearly, but was hoping that Owen had forgotten.
I should have known he wouldn’t forget something like that.
“I suppose.” I was proud of how normal my voice sounded.
He looked at the sky in thought. “There is something I have been curious about. I first noticed your aversion to the rose I gave you, and then to the colors in the morning room. Why are you so repulsed by the color pink?”
My stomach dropped. I turned to him with the most convincing look I could muster. “It simply isn’t pleasing to my eye.”
He lifted a skeptical eyebrow. “I can see there’s more to it than that. You seemed almost…afraid of that rose I gave you.”
I drew a deep breath. Could he read my mind? Is that how he always knew the most personal questions to ask me? I cleared my throat. “It’s my least favorite color, and it always has been. Nothing more.” I looked up at him, hoping to convince him with the false sincerity in my eyes.
He gazed into my eyes for a few seconds. “You’re lying.”
“What? No, I’m not.”
He gave a knowing smile. “You are. And you are terrible at it, by the way.”
“I am not!”
“Most people are. It’s simple to see once you learn how to sort out their lies.”
“And how do you sort out their lies?” My voice was heavy with doubt.
“Everyone does something that betrays them.”
My curiosity forced me to inquire further. “Well, what do I do?”
He leaned forward. “Are you admitting that you’ve lied to me?”
“If you’re the expert you claim to be, then you should know if I have.”
He let out a sound that was a mixture of a sigh and a laugh. “If I tell you, then I won’t be able to discern when you’re lying anymore. You’ll learn how to hide it.”
I sighed. I needed to know. It would bother me all day. This called for extreme measures. “Fine. Tell me, and on my word of honor, I won’t lie to you ever again.”
He eyed me carefully. “That’s a fair price.” He turned, hiding his growing smile. “It’s your nose.”
