Silently swearing to himself, Seth shook his head in exasperated disbelief. “You didn’t,” he said again.
“Oh, of course I did,” she exclaimed at once. “How could I not? It was the next logical thing to say, to assume.”
Seth felt his top lip twitch. Making no effort to hide his growing annoyance, he blurted, “It’s maddening to think you could bring the deaths of their parents up twice.”
“I agree with you completely,” she admitted without offering an excuse. “Believe me, I was horrified by it too. Surely I meant no harm. How could anyone suspect that two such sweet-looking, well-behaved boys had lost their mother and their father?”
“After your first blunder, you didn’t think to simply excuse yourself and try to find out something about the lads before you continued?”
“No, I didn’t. I wish I had.”
He appreciated that her tone and expression were heartfelt, but he was upset Fallon and Heron had to go through the memory of that sorrow again—twice.
“I felt absolutely dreadful,” she continued. “So now you can understand why, after I had made such an appalling misstep, the only thing I could possibly do to make it up to them was insist they come outside with me to play in the snow. I wanted—I had to get their minds off the sad subject I’d brought up. I felt confident a snowball fight would do it. And we were having fun until—”
Until?
Uncertainty clouded her eyes. She hesitated to finish her sentence, but there was no doubt Seth knew exactly what she was going to say. What he wanted to know was whether she had the mettle to finish her thought. He’d bet a prized stallion she didn’t. And, even though he was finding her more and more appealing, at the same time it felt good to see her with a small amount of discomfiture.
Moving closer to her, inappropriately close to her, and looking directly into her eyes, he slowly bent his head and said, “Until what?”
He waited as she wisely took her time and thought about whether she should answer and what she wanted to say if she did. Finally, squaring her shoulders, but not backing away from his nearness, she said, “Until you came out and stopped us.”
Seth grunted. So she had the nerve to say it after all. That impressed the hell out of him. He was certain most, if not all the young ladies he’d ever known, only said what they thought would please him.
“But that’s no matter now,” she persisted. “We can finish our battle later. It’s quite understandable you were expecting they do their reading first.”
“Later?” He took issue with her. “The last thing I want is for them to be outside in this unpleasant weather getting cold and getting sick.”
She lifted her chin a notch, clearly taking umbrage at his firm statement. There was something challenging and seductive about her expression as she said, “It’s not so terribly cold out right now.”
Maybe that was because she had on a couple of layers of velvet and a fetching fur collar fastened tightly around her neck. To him it was downright glacial.
“It’s quite refreshing really. Especially in comparison to that stuffy old house with its scents of smoke, burned wood, and tallow.”
“That’s odd,” he said. “I’m sure I smelled the aroma of bread and plum pudding when I came below stairs.”
“Perhaps you came down much later than I.”
“Apparently.”
“All the draperies were closed. It was dark and they could hardly see to read, anyway. Besides, Master Heron and Master Fallon seem perfectly healthy to me.”
“They are, and I intend to keep them that way.”
“Then perhaps I should take it upon myself to point out that you should take care of yourself as well. You are the one outside without benefit of cloak, gloves, or hat.”
Unable to stop, Seth chuckled. No matter how toasty he tried to appear, he should have known she’d get around to saying something about his lack of proper outer wear. She had the pluck of a jug-bitten Irishman. Whomever she belonged to, be he husband, father, or brother, he had his hands full with this one.
If she minded his laugh, she didn’t show it, but said, “And in my opinion, I think you are being overly cautious for no good reason. There’s no need to assume they will get lung sickness or anything else just because they are outside for a few minutes while it’s cold.”
“It’s not a chance I want to take.”
“Oh, good heavens!” she exclaimed in vexation. “There won’t be much enjoyment for them at Hurst this Christmastide Season if you make them stay inside and read all the time.”
There was no denying the attraction Seth felt for her. The long dark brown lashes on her light blue eyes fluttered in a most becoming way, and he momentarily forgot his purpose again. The flush from her exertion with the boys had faded, yet her cheeks still looked as if they’d been delicately brushed with the stain of crushed cranberries. Her face was delectable and sweetened all the more when she was frustrated with him.
Seth found himself wondering about the color of her hair. Blonde? Brown? Darker? Not a strand of it showed from beneath her hat, yet she didn’t need for it to. Her beauty was undeniable, and his attraction to her went far deeper than her face. She was daring, honest, and didn’t try to hide her true feelings. That was refreshing.
