Kit’s immediate thought was that there were two ways this could go. Elise might see him in all his glory and be tempted to strip down and join him in the pool. That would be a delightful outcome.
Or—and this was, unfortunately, what happened—her features froze in scandalized horror.She reminded him of his aunt Lady Benson, whose drawn-on eyebrows made her always appear offended.
And that was just her reaction looking at Kit’s chest and legs. What would she do if he dropped the coat he held in front of himself? Because his reaction to her was immediate and very hard.
How could it not be? With the deep green of the forest bringing out the gold in her hair, the jewel brightness of her eyes, and the pouty fullness of her outraged mouth, even an octogenarian would have gone erect. Her beauty had that power, and he was no eunuch.
Slowly, Kit straightened his shoulders. He kept the coat as a shield, but he met her shock with a cool gaze. He had nothing of which to be ashamed—
She whirled and took off running back toward the road.
No hobble there. Her feet barely touched the ground.
Kit sighed. His little maid could be so dreary. She was as squeamish as a debutante. She’d only seen his chest, after all. Since he was holding his coat, she’d not had a chance to see anything interesting.
Besides, she was the one who came upon him. He would have to remind her of that fact.
Then he remembered he hadn’t actually said where he was going when he’d left her on the road. He’d been so annoyed, he’d just wantedto put distance between them. So, she had been caught off guard.
Still, she was not his responsibility. Being on the same ill-fated coach didn’t mean that he had to nurse her all the way to Ireland... although he didn’t wish to see anything bad happen to her. Of course, she’d just acted so scandalized, she’d probably wish him to the devil than to accept his help.
That was the way of it for him. He always wanted to do what was right, and it always went wrong.
The best thing to do would be to finish up here and find her. She would prattle on about how he had offended her. He would listen with one ear, let it out the other, but at least she couldn’t claim he reeked any longer.
He dropped his coat and waded back into the pond, razor in hand. The soap on his face was quickly drying. He wet it as best he could and began shaving. Tamsyn had not run after Elise. She’d stayed with him, and she acted as if the pool was a great discovery. She jumped in, splashing water everywhere, and swam great circles around him as he gently scraped the whiskers from his face.
When he was done, he tried to look in the pool at his reflection. He couldn’t see anything. Apparently seeing one’s reflection in water only happened in myths. He washed off all the soapand climbed out. He dried his body with his shirt, because it was all he had, and dressed.
Tamsyn happily bounded out of the pool, her tongue hanging wildly out of one side of her mouth. She shook hard, sending water flying.
“You had better be careful, too. She won’t be happy you didn’t follow,” Kit warned the pup as he pulled on his breeches. His skin was still damp and the buff leather didn’t glide smoothly up his legs. He buttoned them and threw his shirt on over his head. He quickly knotted his neckcloth.
He was tempted to not wear his jacket. The day was warm. However, at heart, he was a gentleman, and a gentleman always wore a jacket. He slapped the hat on top of his head and then rolled up his oilskin. He tied it over one shoulder to wear across his chest as if it was a pack.
“Come along, Tamsyn,” he said after he’d tugged on his boots. “Let’s go hear what lecture Elise has been preparing to deliver.”
The two of them headed toward the road, where he expected to find an angry little maid ready to give him a scolding.
But she had a surprise for him. She wasn’t there.
Chapter Eight
If you dig a grave for others, you might fall into it yourself.
Irish proverb
Elise was furious.
She couldn’t walk fast enough away from Kit and his nonsense. He’dleftheraloneon the road without a word. He’d just sauntered off.
Elise had assumed he had needed amomentof privacy. She hadexpectedhim to return. She’d waited. After all, to this point, they had been in this disastrous situation together.
When he hadn’t appeared in a few minutes, she had paced until she realized his suggestion she rest her feet was a good one. She had chosen a relatively dry, high part of the banking beside the road to sit. Her feet were overjoyed for the respite, and she would have stayed there except for an oncoming group of laborers walking their way down the road toward her. Their clothes were dirty and their shoes worn.
They had been approximately Elise’s age, maybe younger. They were loud and in high spirits. Their steps had slowed as they noticed her. They’d whispered to themselves.
She’d yanked the hood of her cloak over her head and stood, moving closer to the tree line. She pretended to be occupied studying the grass around her. She could not hear their words, but she did catch the tenor of their conversation. She told herself not to worry. If she didn’t pay attention to them, they would let her be.
