“Now for your assignment. I want each of you to give a compliment to Mrs. Everard and Mrs. Kellaway today. You may report back to me later on how your compliments are received.”
I grinned at my brothers’ obvious signs of excitement. I had to admit that Owen had a way with them that I would never have.
Just as my brothers turned toward the house, I felt a fat raindrop on my arm, then a second, and a third. I looked up to see the rain intensifying. Thunder rumbled through the clouds. Drops landed on my face and in my hair, soaking through mygown. It was warm rain, and it took me completely by surprise. I hurried to my feet, but the rain was already falling down in heavy sheets.
Owen laughed, grasping my hand and tugging my attention away from the sky. I laughed until my stomach ached, nearly tripping over my wet gown. Charles took Owen’s other hand and Peter took mine, and we raced blindly to the house.
CHAPTER 18
We burst through the door and stopped in the vestibule, our laughter echoing off the walls. Owen released a sigh and raked his hand through his hair, releasing drops of water. “Well, that was…sudden.”
I nodded, trying to calm my laughter. My ribs ached and my lungs burned. I looked down at the muddy footprints on the floor by my feet. “I was hoping to avoid tracking mud into the house.”
Owen leaned closer with a secretive smile. “I won’t tell anyone.”
I met his gaze with a grin, and I was suddenly breathless.
The sound of humming reached my ears. Owen and I stopped and looked toward the end of the vestibule. It was a strange, high sound, and I couldn’t decipher a tune at all.
“That sounds like my grandmother,” Owen whispered.
Just after he spoke, she appeared, walking past the end of the adjacent hall. She glanced lazily down it, and took another step. Then her gaze jerked toward us again. Her eyes lit up like she had just struck gold. Her lips pursed into a tiny heart.
I held my breath.
“Boys!” Mrs. Everard yelled down the hall to my brothers. “Come along with me to dry off.” She waved them forward, taking their hands once they reached her. Her lips were still pursed, her eyes gleaming with mischief. She turned and shuffled away, pulling my brothers along with her.
I grimaced. She had obviously taken Peter and Charles just to leave me alone with Owen. I could hardly understand her. One moment, she was eager to introduce me to all the eligible neighbors, and the next she seemed intent to throw me at Owen. I glanced up at him tentatively, hoping that he didn’t recognize his grandmother’s scheme.
He was smiling down at me, and it made my heart skitter. The rain was having a very unfair, favorable effect on his appearance, soaking his hair, dripping down his face, and catching in his lashes. I didn’t dare imagine how I must have looked. I could feel my hair hanging loose, plastered to the sides of my face.
He lifted his jacket and shook the water from the outside of it, then draped it over my shoulders.
“You don’t have to?—”
He waved off my protest. “Take it. Would you like to sit down? We can light the fire in the parlor and dry off. Besides, you now owe me a question.”
Oh, yes. Another question. My stomach fluttered, but I flashed him a smile anyway. “That sounds pleasant. Thank you.”
After Owen lit the fire, he positioned two chairs closely across from each other, and we sat down in front of the fireplace. I wrapped Owen’s jacket snug around my shoulders and sat back, sinking into the comfortable chair. I could already feel the warmth of the fire wicking away the water from my gown and skin and hair.
Owen leaned forward in his chair, watching me intently. I tried to ignore him, looking at the flames dancing in thefireplace, but each time I peeked at him again, he was still staring at me.
“What?”
He scrunched his brow and narrowed his eyes. “I’m thinking of a question.”
I nodded in understanding and looked back to the fire for a while, but I could still feel his gaze on my face. I looked at him again. He was still watching me. And in my current state, it made me feel especially self-conscious.
“Do you have to stare at me while you think?” I blurted.
He looked down with a soft laugh, then up again. “There is nothing I would rather look at.”
I looked down, feeling my face burn, regretting that I had even asked.
“I have chosen a question,” he said finally.
My eyes shot up to meet his. My heart pounded hard in my chest.
