Chapter Twelve
“Ihope you can returnto England,” Katrina told him. “I’m sure your family misses you greatly.”
“Perhaps.” He muttered.
“You know, I’m a little envious of you having brothers and sisters. While growing up, I had prayed for a brother and a sister, but all I had to confide in was my mother.”
“You two are very close.” He smiled tenderly. “I could see that when I first met you.”
“Yes, we are, but growing up... well, she was just a mother. It’s only been these last few years that I have thought of her as a friend.”
He chuckled. “If you must know, I wasn’t really friends with my older brother. He was four years my senior, and we were never close. My sisters are much younger than me—Ellie is six years younger, and Laura is seven. Naturally, I never really grew close to them because of the age difference.”
“Perhaps you and I are more alike than you first thought.”
“Could be.” He nodded.
She tilted her head. “Does knowing this make you think of me differently?”
“How so?”
“Well, it was quite obvious that you didn’t like me when we first met. I hope that in these past few days, I have changed your opinion of me, if even just a little.”
His chest shook with silent laughter. “I’ll admit, I am thinking of you differently.” He winked. “Just a little, of course.”
“Oh!” She reached out and playfully slapped his shoulder, which knocked him on his back.
He laughed out loud as he rolled toward her. “My, you are quite a feisty woman. Your strength surprises me. It has since the first day, in fact.”
“Why do you say that?” She scooted an inch closer. “Are you not used to women who have strength?”
“I’m not. Most women of your station that I know are frail and expect the man or servants to do everything for them. Most women I have met are the kind who bat their eyelashes and pout their lips, beckoning men to sample their kisses only to shove them away and crush their hearts.”
It wasn’t only his words that made her pause, but the look on his face after he said them. He clamped his mouth shut as his eyes widened. She now wondered if he had told her that by mistake. Perhaps he didn’t want her to know that a woman in his past had hurt him badly.
“Then you have not met women like me.” Gently, she laid her hand on his arm.
