“I’ve got one,” Mrs. Wilton called a few moments later. She stood behind them now, near the entrance of the barn, and waved a carrot.
Daisy seemed to understand and took the next few steps with less hesitation. Once she was close enough, Tess reached out and handed the lead rope to Mrs. Wilton.
“Oh, my dear girl,” she said as she patted the cow’s side. “Thank you both.”
“Pleased we could help,” Dominic told her.
Once they’d all stepped clear of the barn, Tess noticed the line of men, including Tristan, who stood at the ready to begin basic repairs.
“Thought we’d wait until she was out,” Tristan told her. “But we’d best start while the weather holds.”
The rain had now slowed to a light drizzle, though the sky remained darkened with gray clouds.
“How can I assist?” Dominic asked her brother.
Tristan handed him a hammer, but Dominic hesitated.
“You’ll be all right?” he asked Tess.
“Of course.” She offered him one of the smiles that seemed to come easily between them now.
In the past few days when he’d asked after her well-being, she’d initially snapped a reply, feeling a need to prove herself every bit as capable as the men working the site. But Dominic never treated her as if she was unequal to tasks the others engaged in, so now she tried to take his concern as a kindness. The man had sisters. Perhaps his thoughtfulness for the ladies around him was borne of that.
Yet his gaze lingered, reminding her that there was more between them. Something that had been there since he’d balanced on a rolling staircase above her in Lady Goddard’s library.
He took her in, rain-soaked and disheveled, eyes flicking down to her mouth, then lower to the damp curls at her neck. The way he looked at her made her skin tingle as if his gaze had left a mark wherever it touched her.
Then he turned away to help shore up the Wiltons’ barn, and Tess was left with a warmth unfurling inside her that she tried to ignore. The problem was that the more time she spent with Dominic Prince, the harder it was to dismiss him as nothing more than a seductive rogue.
Chapter Ten
Three days after being rained out, they’d made significant progress uncovering more of the darker tinted soil that Dom now believed, along with Tess, indicated an object, likely composed of wood, which had decayed over time on the site.
The previous day, a cross pendant had been found by Tess at the far edge of the trench that looked to be from the late medieval period. And they continued to uncover bits of animal bone and items that had been used to work the land, such as a weathered iron plowshare.
But the ideas about what might have left the marks in the soil were so debated that some of the men had begun taking bets.
Dom just wanted answers, but he knew patience would serve him best. Memories of Peter reminded him of the value of patience. He worked to summon some of his friend’s steady, hopeful nature at those moments when disappointment and frustration crept in at the end of a day with nothing found that could be classified as treasure.
Tess didn’t seem to share his struggle. She had a bit of Peter’s nature, joining persistence with hopefulness. Dom had never once seen her waver in her belief that the dig was a worthwhile endeavor, even after spending a morning listening to Fenbridge’s cynicism about what the mounds might hold.
Tonight, as the men stowed tools and prepared to quit the site for the day, Dom’s thoughts were fixed entirely on the sunny-haired beauty making notes at a table set up on the trench’sedge. Though he knew it was a special day for her, she’d treated it as any other—as her brother told Dom she would—working diligently, remaining focused on her tasks.
Tristan approached along the trench’s ridge.
“You haven’t forgotten about tonight,” he said in a low voice, his eyes flickering toward his sister.
“Of course not. I’m looking forward to it.”
Tristan shot him a half-smile. “She doesn’t like a fuss, so it will just be the few of us.”
“Thank you for including me.”
“See you in a bit.” Tristan clapped him on the back and strode toward his sister, who collected her things and offered Dom a wave.
He waved back, and the two headed off toward Foxdene.
Dom made his way back to the inn with a quick, long stride. He washed and took extra care with shaving and dressing, and then collected the item he’d ordered from London as soon as Tristan extended the invitation to join the family tonight.
