“Am I enjoying the fact that the mighty Earl of Hawkridge is stuck in a pond with mud up to his waist and is now dependent on me to help him?” She tapped a finger against her chin. “Let me think…let me think…why, yes. Yes, I do believe I am. Immensely.”
“Just find a stick, or a length of rope. Anything that I can use to pull myself out of this Godforsaken quagmire.”
“I will,” she assured him. “But first, you and I are going to have a chat.”
Weston grimaced. “I’d rather not.”
“Given your current predicament, I don’t know if you have much of a choice. This may take a while. You don’t mind if I make myself comfortable, do you?” Splaying out her skirts, she sank to the ground in a graceful flutter of muslin. “There. Now where were we?”
“I was considering letting the mud take me,” he said darkly.
She clucked her tongue. “You needn’t act as if a having conversation is the equivalent of nursing a sore tooth.”
“Isn’t it?”
Obstinate rogue, she thought with far greater affection than the first time she’d referred to him as such. Having reached a better understanding of her own feelings, especially those directed at the swamp monster standing in front of her, Evie wanted to clear the air between them. She wasn’t nearly ready to confess her love for Weston. Not when there existed theverystrong possibility that he’d reject her outright.
Last year, while experimenting with adding turmeric to one of her many face creams in an attempt to calm a horribly embarrassing rash of pimples across her cheeks, Evie had slathered the concoction over her entire face. All had seemed well…until she woke up the next morning and her skin wasorange. That incident (which her sisters still teased her about) had taught her a valuable lesson.
When trying something new, it was best to test a small, inconspicuous spot first.
That’s what she was doing with the earl.
Testing.
And keeping her fingers crossed that she did not turn into a fruit.
“I shall make it short and to the point, then,” she said, bending her knees and looping her arms around them. “I did not care for the way you last spoke to me, Lord Hawkridge. Our so-calledencounters, the majority of whichyouinstigated, are not lapses in judgment.Iam not a lapse in judgment.”
“Miss Thorncroft–”
“I am not finished.” There was, she found, a certain power in knowing that the individual you were speaking tohadto listen. If this was how men felt when they addressed a room, it was no wonder they talked so much. “There is something between us, Lord Hawkridge. Something tangible. Like a…like a shock of electricity, or a bolt of lightning. And I know you feel it, too. Iknowyou do.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I won’t deny that there is a strong physical attraction between us, Miss Thorncroft. One that I did not anticipate or expect. I will also not deny that my prior use of words to describe our encounters was…poor. Be that as it may, continuing to act upon our baser instincts would be unwise.”
“Why?” she asked, canting her head.
“Because…because it just would,” he scowled.
“That isn’t a reason,” she pointed out.
“It’smyreason.”
“Do you want me to get a stick or not?”
“Fine.” He threw up his arms. “Our passion must be quelled because there is no future for us, and although I am hardly a paragon of virtue, I am not so evil that I would ruin an innocent.”
“Do you see no future between us because you love Lady Martha?”
“What?” His harsh laugh was loud enough to startle Posy, who came bounding over to Evie and hopped onto her lap, cloven hooves digging painlessly into her thighs. “No, I do not love Lady Martha. Why should I ever want to invite such chaos into my life?”
“But you intend to marry her.” It was not a question, but a statement. One that Weston did not bother to refute.
“I fail to see where this discussion is headed. There is an apple tree behind you. If you could find a branch–”
“Why her?” Evie persisted. “You could have any woman you wanted. Why Lady Martha? Is there something special aboutherin particular?”
“We’ve common interests and she will be a satisfactory countess. Miss Thorncroft, the water is not exactly warm. If you’d like to continue this–”
