He smiled a little and some of the tension left his face.“I’ve also never enjoyed being trapped inside four walls.Give me a breeze in my face and blue sky above me.Oh, I see mud there on the path, let me help you.”
She glanced ahead to where he indicated and found that there was a large mud puddle in the pathway.He held out a hand and she stared at it.He was wearing gloves, of course, because he had been riding, but this would be the first time he’d touched her since they kissed.
But there was no way to avoid his offer without treading through a nasty puddle so she placed her hand in his and tried to ignore the electric reaction that seemed to jolt through her entire body.
If he felt it, he gave no indication, only maneuvered her around the outer edges of the puddle.But the larger center was going to be more difficult.The hill above the path was slick with water and below was the little cliff into the Serpentine.
“Hmmm, perhaps we should just go back,” she suggested.
“Or…” he said, and placed his boot in the center of the puddle.The water went over the sole and muddy sludge tarnished the fine leather.
“What are you doing?”she gasped.“Your boots.”
“Can be cleaned,” he said.“Now I would suggest you hike up your skirt a little and then step on my boot to clear the puddle on the other side.”
She stared at him.“Use you as a pathway?”
“Please,” he said, and shifted, his face twisting rather comically.“And quickly, if you don’t mind.I can feel the cold of the water and the wet will be next, no matter how fine the boots are.”
“Oh dear,” she muttered, and did as she’d been told, lifting her skirts to mid-calf and then stepping lightly on his foot to clear the puddle.She turned back and was surprised to find him offering the same kindness to Fanny.
Silas would have let her ruin her skirt and then screamed at her for it later.And he certainly wouldn’t have given a damn about the safety of her maid.
Once they were both clear of the puddle, Callum returned to her side.He placed his wet foot on the edge of the grass and wiped some of the mud and muck from the leather.
“I shall pay for whatever cleaning or repair that requires,” she said.
He glanced over at her, one eyebrow arched.“Don’t be ridiculous.I’m fine and my boots will be fine.They’re just things, Valaria.”He shut his eyes.“Your Grace.I apologize for the over familiarity.”
She drew in a long breath.“I suppose, when we are alone, you calling me by my first name is not so very distasteful…Callum.”
She saw how much her saying his given name moved him.Saw it flicker over his face even as he tried to hide it.It was such a strange thing to see and recognize his desire.
Stranger still, she didn’t recoil at the expression when she always had with Silas.Callum’s expression only made her think of his kiss and that was not an unpleasant memory even if she’d tried to suppress it to no avail.It seemed her idea that she could make him meaningless to her was foolhardy.
She cleared her throat.“You said you run mad inside.Do you have regular pursuits that take you out of doors?”
He nodded.“Oh yes.The usual for gentlemen.I hunt and fish on my property in Blackvale during the summer and autumn.I enjoy snowshoeing when the weather turns foul enough.I like a good festival, Blackvale Village has the most remarkable apple festival.You really ought to see it some year.”
Valaria caught her breath at how easy he was with her.Desire or not, he wasn’t forcing it or himself on her.He chatted with her in nothing more than a friendly manner.It was very disarming.And charming.The man was charming.
“Of course, I also ride.”He reached over and patted the big chestnut horse he was still guiding by the reins along the path.
She smiled and stepped back to stroke the horse’s nose.Now that her initial reaction to the animal had passed, she was drawn to the gentle beast.“I would like to ride, as well, if it could be on this beauty.What is his name?”
“Fox,” Callum said.“He is quick as one.Though he has a sad history.I bought him off a breeder who mistreated him.”
She flinched and looked up into the soulful eyes of the animal.“But you survived it, didn’t you, Fox?”she said softly, and smiled.“So you are twice as strong for it.”
Callum was so quiet that she turned her face to look at him.Once again his intense focus was entirely on her, just as it had been when he first saw her.
“What is it?”she asked, almost afraid of the answer.
He cleared his throat.“I fear there was something about Silas that I didn’t know.Should have known, perhaps, if it is true.It would be my failing.And it is none of my business, God knows.But…but I still feel compelled to ask you.”
She stepped away from the horse and stared at him, heart throbbing so wildly her chest hurt from it.“Compelled to ask me what?”she whispered, glancing back at Fanny.
He opened and shut his mouth.“Did he mistreat you, Valaria?Did he do something so horrible beneath my nose and I was too blind to see it?”
