“Then I am glad to have brought her,” he said soberly.
“Did you have any trouble?” she asked, coming back to him. “What about Henry?”
“No difficulties. He works for me now.”
“I am so pleased for him. Shall we put Pearl in the stables? I can offer you tea and cake.” She grinned. “A decent cup this time. We have milk!”
Hart laughed. “Allow me.” He untied Pearl and led her across the drive. At the stable door, he turned to look back at Maddie. “Afterward, we can have that talk.”
Maddie nodded, her pulse racing. What could she say to him? She would follow her instincts and see where it led her. Without giving away too much of her feelings, which she feared he might not wish to hear.
Chapter Nine
Acool breezerose in the late afternoon. At the look of the heavy dark clouds gathered on the horizon, it might be best for Hart to stay at the inn tonight. Maddie went with him to the dilapidated stables to settle the horses. Pearl neighed a welcome as he gave them feed bags, hung up the traces, and filled the water troughs from the pump. When everything was done to his satisfaction, he approached Maddie. “Shall we go for a walk? I’ve yet to see the garden.”
Her eyebrows rose. “You’ve never seen the garden?”
He eyed her with amusement. “I was a young lad when I inherited this cottage. I guess I didn’t appreciate my good fortune.”
“And do you now?”
He laughed and held her arm to guide her over the pebbled ground. “I am warming to it,” he said, appreciative of their closeness and her familiar sweet scent.
She drew away to look at him. “I believe you turned up your nose at it earlier.”
The teasing smile in her brown eyes was altogether too attractive. Tempted to kiss her, he wondered what she would do. He didn’t expect this fiercely independent woman to fall into his arms. She might think he was trying to coerce her, to urge her to accept his proposal. And perhaps he was. He had chosen this path to matrimony with little thought and was now committed to it.
“You like to argue, Miss Burrell.” He used the name she’d given herself, her mother’s family surname. The desire to draw closer lingered. He turned to view the rundown state of the cottage with a critical eye. “I admit its sorry state is entirely because of my neglect, which I intend to rectify.” As soon as he had the money to do it, he’d engage carpenters, painters, and plasterers to bring the cottage up to standard. But he wouldn’t go into that now. He still hoped she’d take the second option and come to Scotland with him to marry. Get everything tidied away, and have her safe, he told himself, watching as she stooped to pick a flower.
They strolled through the overgrown gardens, a riot of spring color with floral smells sweetening the air, both avoiding what they said the last time they met.
“I’ll arrange for a gardener to tidy the garden beds.” Hart moved aside the branch of an azalea for Maddie to pass. A brief vision came to him; removing the pins and allowing her burnished gold locks to fall over her shoulders. Naked shoulders. With a quick indrawn breath, he took himself to task. To crowd his mind with thoughts of making love to Maddie affected his reasoning, and did not help his intention to convince her to marry him. It was merely because they were often alone, and she was undoubtedly alluring, and now that he’d decided they should marry, she became more so each time he saw her.
But now on this course and committed to it, he brought up the subject of his proposal. “Have you given any thought to what we discussed?”Damn. It sounded like he was referring to an invitation to ride in the park. He was seldom clumsy with women, and yet Maddie set him back on his heels, unsure how to proceed, like an inexperienced youth rather than the man he now was.
Maddie turned to face him. She twirled the stem of a daisy she’d plucked in her fingers. “Of course. I’ve thought of little else.”
His pulse quickened. “And…?”
“It seems too rushed…” she began.
“As English law prevents you from marrying until you’re twenty-one, you have a month to consider the merits,” he said hastily before she put an end to the scheme. “Unless we travel to the Scottish border to marry.”
Her tense shoulders relaxed. Obviously, a flight to Scotland was not something they would agree upon. “I’d like to stay here with Jane if I may. So much has happened recently that I need to catch my breath.”
“I understand.” He nodded, shelving his disappointment. “This is what we first decided. There’s no reason for haste unless something forces us to act.”His impatience, his uncle’s trustees, and Maddie’s criminal uncle, for instance.He had debated whether to tell her what he witnessed through her uncle’s window, but decided against it. Maddie had enough to worry her. He would deal with Wakeham later. When he’d first considered informing the local magistrate about his suspicions, he’d decided against it, because with no guarantee of success, it could draw everything into the open, including the question of where Maddie and her horse were. These things had a way of being reported in newspapers, and would end up involving Henry. In the meantime, Wakeham, whatever he was up to, might become careless and bring the law down on himself.
“You’ll come to see us now and then?” As if afraid she asked for too much, or gave something away, she rushed to add, “But I understand if you’ll be too busy.”
Would she miss him? “I’ll come whenever I can. I must go to London tomorrow.” To beg for more money from the bank, although he kept that to himself.
“Oh. I didn’t know.” Was she disappointed? “Will you be away long?”
“I’ll return in about a sennight. I have to go on to Pembury after I’ve completed my business in London.” Although he thought them safe here, he disliked leaving the two of them alone, and wished he could stay for a few days. He was even prepared to sleep on that sofa in the parlor. “You’ll be all right? Is there anything you need? I’ll give you some money before I go.”
“No, nothing, thank you. Jane and I will be snug here.”
He failed to see the cottage in that light. It would be drafty in windy weather. Fortunately, summer approached. “I’ll return as soon as I can,” he promised. “Would you both dine with me at the inn tonight?”
