An earthy scent filled his nostrils. It wasn’t unpleasant but oddly clean and invigorating. He frowned. How on earth was that possible? Puzzled, he glanced at Mrs. Lamont. She chuckled with unabashed delight. “Odd, isn’t it,” she mused, “how even a soil-covered mushroom can be inviting? I believe these were picked last night.”
“Indeed they were,” the vendor informed her.
She smiled, showering the mushroom with the sort of adoration William wished she’d direct at him.
Wait.
What?
He was just accompanying her here because he was bored. That was all this was. Nothing more. And yet he knew he was enjoying himself far too much for it to be quite so simple. The joy she took from something as ordinary as vegetable shopping was remarkable. More so the fact that she’d managed to make him find pleasure in it as well. Her enthusiasm was infectious, and it occurred to William that he’d not enjoyed himself this much in years. If ever.
“This was an excellent outing,” Mrs. Lamont declared once they were walking back to Townsbridge House. She’d purchased some onions as well, along with some plump tomatoes, lettuce, and strawberries. “I feel quite inspired.”
“And you haven’t yelled at me once.”
There was a pause. “It must have something to do with the weather.”
“It’s starting to rain,” William pointed out.
“So it is,” she said. Glancing up, she caught his eye. Her lips curved slightly upward until a dimple formed at the corner. “In that case, I suppose I must be starting to like you, Mr. Townsbridge. Who would have thought?”
William’s chest tightened in response to her words. For as long as he could remember, the only women who’d shown an ounce of interest in him had been dazzled by the idea of attaching themselves to the son of a viscount. Not one had made him laugh or told him he was likeable. Mrs. Lamont was different – down to earth and genuine in a way that was hard to find amid the aristocracy. And by God, he liked her as well. More than he probably ought.
Chapter Two
There was no doubtin Eloise’s mind that she had abandoned all good sense and stepped into dangerous territory. Her flip-flopping belly proved it. As did her fluttering pulse. Most especially because both were linked to thoughts of Mr. Townsbridge. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t seem to stop thinking about him. Not even after they had returned home and parted ways. Every corner of the kitchen and every vegetable she used reminded her of how they’d met and how charming he’d been this morning at market.
Shaking her head, she forced herself to concentrate on the eggs and bacon she was preparing for breakfast. Her place was in the kitchen. His was above stairs in a world so apart from her own he might as well be living inside a fortified castle without any doors or windows. And why on earth was she even thinking in those terms when she barely knew him?
It was ridiculous.
“Smells like heaven,” said Matt Cleaver, one of the three footmen in the Townsbridge employ.
His smooth voice startled Eloise out of her pointless daydream about an unattainable suitor.
“I’ve made a little extra so you and the rest of the staff can have some too,” Eloise said.
