Chapter 6
Adam Whitaker wasn’t a man to often find himself puzzled about a situation, but he was this afternoon. And it didn’t have anything to do with the recalcitrant Mrs. Polkinghorne.
He glanced from the carriage window to where the lovely Miss Linette Easton, seated opposite him, stared determinedly out her own window, not having uttered a word since they left her home. Meanwhile,the young red-haired maidservant, Prudie, maybe a year older than Estelle, looked from one to the other and then down at her hands.
He wasn’t sure if Linette was angry with him, or simply uncomfortable in his presence, or overly shy. All he knew was that her continued silence, no matter he’d tried unsuccessfully to draw her into light conversation, did not bode well for easing matters with Mrs.Polkinghorne.
Already they had reached the main road to Porthleven, which was lined with quaint whitewashed cottages, so their destination wasn’t too far away. He had to do something to draw her out, either that or simply stare at her in hopes of eliciting some response.
He smiled to himself. No unpleasant task there. He’d found himself staring at Linette whenever he was around her, from themoment he’d first seen her in church on Christmas Day to this awkward carriage ride. In truth, all of the Easton women had been blessed with uncommon beauty, attested to by the portrait of the four sisters that he’d glimpsed in the drawing room…but to him, Linette was the loveliest of all.
He couldn’t forget how his breath had stilled when he’d seen her twisting around in the pew to look forher sister Estelle, though he hadn’t known it at the time. Their eyes had met, and he’d seen her blush prettily, only to quickly turn around when Corisande, the Duchess of Arundale, whispered something in her ear.
Linette Easton seemed to blush quite a lot, he’d noticed, the deepest hue right before he’d kissed her beneath the mistletoe.
A sweet, innocent kiss that had captured his thoughtssince Christmas Day, as well as the softness of her scent—tea rose—when he’d stood so close to her, and how she’d looked.
Her dark lashes spiked with moisture from happy tears at her sister and Luther’s reunion, her beautiful brown eyes wide and lustrous, her skin so fair against her ripe red lips, parted in surprise as he drew even closer to kiss her.
The sensation of his coat buttons grazingthe bodice of her lavender silk dress, her loose auburn tendrils framing her creamy neck and tumbling down her back in a cascade of glossy waves that he’d found himself aching to touch—
“Must you stare so, sir? It’s very rude.”
Amazing! His strategy had worked. Adam bowed his head slightly and smiled at her.
“Forgive me, Miss Easton…but in truth, how can I not? You’re looking quite lovely todayin that matching blue coat and bonnet. Ravishing, actually.”
The bold compliment had spilled forth without him even thinking, astonishing Adam though not half as much as Linette. Yet how could he not praise her when her tailored pelisse fit her feminine curves so closely? She gaped at him, her mouth fallen open, then she snapped it shut and averted her gaze to the window, only to look back athim again, her cheeks bright pink with color.
“Indeed, Dr. Whitaker, it’s highly inappropriate that you would say such things to me.”
“Yes, perhaps so, but I have the pleasure of you speaking with me now, don’t I? I must apologize if I offended you in some way to make you desire to keep silent for much of the journey—”
“Your offense, sir, was suggesting to my brother-in-law that I accompanyyou when I’d have much preferred to stay at home!”
“Ah, you’re a homebody. No liking for outings on such a splendid afternoon. We’ll turn right around then, and I’ll trouble you no further—”
“Of course, we can’t turn around. My brother-in-law asked for my help. And I’m not a homebody!”
Indignant now, her eyes flashing, Adam found that he couldn’t have looked away from her if he’d tried. Thedelicate scent of tea rose drifting to him was intoxicating. He smiled again, which seemed to make her bristle all the more, and cross her arms tightly over her chest. Strangely, it looked from her posture as if she was protecting herself somehow, which made him soften his teasing.
“If it’s any consolation for my disrupting your day, I’m very glad you’re here, Miss Easton. I didn’t know whatelse to do. I’ve heard Mrs. Polkinghorne’s opinion matters a great deal in this parish…and it appears I’ve lost her good graces before I’ve had a chance to foster them. It’s clear she was very partial to Dr. Philcup.”
“Yes, because he took great interest in her gossip…and kept up with his patients that way. Mrs. Polkinghorne seems to know everything about everybody, at least in the village, fromthe moment a new baby is on the way to a sore throat or lingering headache. I don’t know how she manages to get any sewing done for all her running about gathering the latest news.”
Adam sat back against the seat, startled at the priceless information that had poured from his beauteous companion.
“I believe, Miss Easton, you have just saved my budding practice here, and I’m most grateful. Thankyou.”
At once her cheeks tinged with pink, but what stirred a rush of feeling in Adam was the tremulous smile she gave him, as if his thanks had touched her. Then she seemed to suddenly shake off the feeling, straightening her shoulders as she gestured outside.
“We’re here, Dr. Whitaker.”
How Adam wished at that moment to hear his given name upon her lips, just as he’d wished countless timessince Christmas Day. Yet how to effect it? He’d driven himself so relentlessly with his medical studies, as much because he required an occupation to support himself as to prove to his accursed father that he didn’t need a title or his damned money, that he’d kept the company of women hardly at all.
Certainly none like Miss Linette Easton. Forcing away all thoughts of the man he despised, Adamopened the door as soon as the carriage rolled to a stop and jumped to the ground so he might offer her his hand before the liveried footman.
He knew now as surely as she placed her gloved hand in his that he wanted any opportunity to touch her, however briefly, and as many occasions to spend time in her company as he could devise. She met his eyes, murmuring her thanks, and Adam swore he couldfeel her fingers trembling in his, until both her feet touched the ground and she let him go.
