“My lord,” he corrected her again.
“That too.”
Garrett smiled. He could not remember a time when he’d last smiled this much. He leaned forward, sliding his hand to just below her knee. His fingers massaged her calf muscle lightly.
Natalie reached her foot forward. “So this”—she indicated his touch—“is mutually exclusive from love?”
Well.
That was effective.
Garrett released her and sat back on his seat. Did she want an answer?
He searched her expression.
Yes, she did.
“I believe it is.” He would not lie. “Unlike that love you told me about that controls a person and leaves them feeling guilty, passion can be exceptional on its own.” He shrugged. “I believe passion to be a benefit one ought to experience with a spouse. I believe if one vows to forsake all others, then one ought to have every intention of doing just that.” He looked off across the lake, surprisingly not sure where his words came from. “And if there is no passion within the marriage, fidelity would bring with it a great deal of sacrifice for both partners.”
This was why he avoided the idea of marriage. Unlike many members of theton, he was not of a mind to carry on with a mistress after he’d taken a wife.
“And friendship?” she persisted. “And trust?”
Garrett lifted his shoulders to show her he’d not considered these questions. “I suppose both of those ought to exist within a marriage.”
“Well, my lord, I think if you take passion and throw in some friendship and trust, well, that is love.” She pulled back on the oars again. “You are as much a romantic as I. You wish for love in your marriage as well.”
Garrett leaned his elbows on his knees and contemplated her. “Oh, hell.”
Natalie continued rowing, smoothly, quietly, both of them lost in thought. A few unthreatening clouds appeared in the flawless sky. Birds flitted from tree to tree, and a wisp of wind rustled the leaves.
“And where does romance fit into this ideal relationship consisting of trust and friendship and passion?” Garrett asked, breaking the silence, as though there had been no pause in their conversation.
Natalie tilted her head and closed her eyes. “‘The smiles that win, the tints that glow, but tell of days in goodness spent. A mind at peace with all below. A heart whose love is innocent.’”
Garrett chuckled. “Ah, yes, Lord Byron. That fellow has ruined ladies throughout the kingdom with his drivel.”
Her eyes narrowed at his comment.
Yes, yes, a heart whose love is innocent described Lady Natalie perfectly. He paused before continuing, “‘She walks in beauty, like the night of cloudless climes and starry skies; and all that’s best of dark and bright, meet in her aspect and her eyes…’ But the lady Byron refers to has raven tresses, I believe.”
“Is that the romance you refer to,my lord?” Natalie drawled. “What do you think romanceis,after all?”
Garrett raised one hand and rubbed his chin in an honest attempt to appear thoughtful. “Flowers? A waltz? Moonlitwalks in the garden? Or perhaps around a lake?” He lifted one eyebrow as he made his last suggestion.
“You are hopeless, and a cynic to boot,” Natalie said in exasperation.
Garrett opened his arms wide. “At last, you understand me. Although I prefer you think of me as a realist.”
“ ‘So we’ll go no more a roving, so late into the night, though the heart be still as loving and the moon be still as bright…’ ” Natalie spoke the words softly.
Garrett knew this one as well. “ ‘Though the night was made for loving. And the day returns too soon. Yet we’ll go no more a roving by the light of the moon.’”
Both contemplated the words they’d spoken as Natalie continued to row.
“It isn’t all drivel, Garrett Castleton.” Natalie broke the silence.
Natalie was tired from rowing but would never make such an admission. Lord Hawthorne had tilted his head back and closed his eyes. No man ought to have such long lashes. Relaxed, sitting in the boat in his shirtsleeves, he looked both virile and vulnerable at the same time. What a pair they were! It seemed that neither she nor Lord Hawthorne knew what they wanted from one another. Well, they did not know what they wantedlong term,anyhow.
