“I grew up in London. I don’t know if you have been there before, but there is a saying we have that goes,when it rains it pours.” She shrugged. “We don’t just get a little rain, we get buckets full. There have been some winters in which the rain froze the ground solid, making it difficult even for horses to pull the carriages. Sometimes it’s almost impossible for me to walk from one part of town to the other without slipping and falling at least a dozen times.”
Carlos scratched his ear. “That is good. Now when it rains here, you will feel like you are home again.”
“I imagine I will,” she ended with a chuckle.
Once again, confusion filled Felix. Things just didn’t add up when it came to Katrina. “Tell me, Miss Landon, why would a woman as well-bred as yourself walk from one part of town to the other in the rain at all, especially when there is a freezing rain?”
She slowed her step as panic paled her face. At first, he worried she might have spotted another creature, but then he realized it was the topic of conversation she hesitated to answer. Now he couldn’t wait to hear what she had to say, yet for a few long moments, she said nothing. For the first time since he’d met her, she actually looked like she didn’t know what to say.
How very interesting.
* * * *
KATRINA’S MIND SCRAMBLED, searching for some kind of intelligent response. She couldn’t possibly tell him she had to walk to the market to get their food once a week because they were too poor to own a carriage—or even a horse. She must continue to make him think she had been wealthy all her life.
She licked her parched lips and swallowed hard. After a few awkward seconds, she gave a light laugh. “Why, Mr. Knightly, you cannot think I was a perfect, obedient daughter all my life, can you?” She brushed her hand through the air and continued walking. “Before I blossomed into a woman, I was assuredly one who enjoyed wearing breeches and running in the fields with the boys my age. There were many times my friends convinced me to go to the market with them, against my mother’s wishes, I might add.”
The corner of his lip cocked. “You don’t say.”
“Indeed, I do say. I was a rotten child, I can assure you.”
He chuckled. “When did your mother finally put a stop to your wayward path?”
“When I reached maturity, of course. My mother insisted I start wearing dresses all the time, and she wouldn’t allow me to be with the boys in our village unless she was present.”
“I’m sure it was very hard for you,” he said with a snicker.
“Extremely.” She kept her back straight and held her chin high as she followed him. “The girls who were my playmates were not as adventurous.”
“Indeed? You enjoy adventure, Miss Landon?”
“I thrive on it.” She smiled brightly.
“That is very good to know.” He nodded. “I understand more clearly why you’ve been thoroughly enjoying yourself in the jungle.”
The first few drops of rain hit her face, and she tilted back her head, closing her eyes, welcoming the refreshing water. However, she wanted the rain to be a little cooler. So far, it wasn’t.
Within five minutes, it was as if the skies had opened and dropped not only buckets, butbarrelsof water on them. Her hair and clothes were drenched completely, and the ground beneath her feet was nothing but sticky mud.
She took a quick glance around at the others. They didn’t seem bothered. How could they walk in this muck when each step felt as if the ground was sucking her boots nearly off her feet? Then again, they were used to wearing men’s boots. She wasn’t. They were also used to traipsing through this jungle as if they were walking in their own backyard.
Scowling, she took another awkward step and almost came right out of her boot. How could anyone walk in these circumstances? Yet, she dared not voice her thoughts out loud. Not when only five minutes ago, she’d told them she could handle rain.
But this wasn’t rain. This was a flood!
She must admit, though, she didn’t feel quite as hot as she had earlier. Still, she wished the temperature would have somehow made the humidity drop lower. But no. The air temperature was still hotter than Hades!
The heavy rains had come so fast and hard that it was difficult to keep her eyes open. Sounds from the rainfall grew louder as if drums were beating out an Indian warrior’s dance. If the rain didn’t drown her, the loud sounds would deafen her, she was sure.
“Miss Landon?” Felix nearly shouted above the noise. “How are you faring?”
“I—I—I would be much better if the noise wasn’t so blasted loud!”
She didn’t hear the others laugh, but she could see their chests shaking as smiles stretched across their faces. They probably knew she would say something like that, obviously.
Felix turned to her, pointing upward. “The noise comes from the heavy rains hitting the leaves and trees so hard.”
More precipitation splashed her face. Cringing, she wiped away the moisture. “It feels like I’m being slapped in the face with a pail of water.”
