“Why did you want to lose him?”
“The man didn’t stop talking about which plant was what, spouting Latin names without breathing. I mean, I don’t look like an ancient Roman, do I? I had no idea what the hell he was talking about, so I got rid of him.”
She let out a small gasp. “I’m not sure I approve.”
“I’m not sure I care.” He gazed around. “Which way?”
Shocked by the young man’s behaviour, she took a moment to answer. The right path showed a green gallery of tall trees; the left one seemed to lead to an orangery, and the straight one bent to the left and vanished from view. None of them were familiar.
“I don’t know.”
“We should go to the main entrance. Your mother and sister might be there, waiting for you.”
“Which path then? This one?” She pointed to the right.
He shook his head. “Left.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. I come here often with my tutor. Hence my eagerness to get rid of him,” he said as if being rude to his own tutor were perfectly normal. “Anyway, enough about me. I want to know more about you. You want to become a surgeon. That’s admirable.”
“I find the human body fascinating.”
“What a coincidence. So do I.” Again his cheeky smile. He even winked.
“Goodness.” She rubbed her forehead. Better to change the subject. “What do you want to do?”
He shrugged. “My brother is an earl. I won’t need to work. I don’t need to learn a trade. That’s it. The end.”
She opened her mouth in a stunned, silent shock. “You should cultivate an interest. Keeping the brain active and engaged is the key to a happy, healthy life.”
“Maybe when I’m older. I don’t want to spend my best years bent over books, obeying my tutor, or restricted by rules I don’t approve of. You should try, letting yourself go, I mean.”
“You’re a hedonist.”
“A fancy way to say a rake. But you must admit, I do have charm.” He puffed out his chest and gave her a mischievous smile.
With his midnight hair, fine features, and sapphire eyes, no one could deny he was good-looking, and his smile was charming. But a man without a purpose, who chased nothing but pleasure, didn’t hold her interest for long.
He clicked his tongue. “Your silence speaks louder than your words. You don’t find me charming. I’ll show you.” He came to astop and turned his head around. “See that lady over there, the one in the white dress?”
She brought a hand up to her brow to shield her eyes from the sunlight. “Yes.”
He released her arm. “I’m so fantastically charming that people do whatever I ask.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
He leant closer, scandalously so. He was so close she smelled his fresh cologne and the soap on his skin. For a crazy, wild moment, she thought he was going to kiss her. How absurd. She wasn’t sure why the thought sent her heart into a frenzy. Maybe it was dread.
To her disappointment… no, no, she meant to her relief, he stopped his lips an inch from her ear to whisper, “That woman is going to dance for me, lift her skirts, and show me her petticoats and bloomers.”
She clamped a hand over her mouth, utterly stunned. A gentleman should never, ever mention feminine undergarments in front of a lady.
“I don’t believe you,” she said through her fingers.
“Challenge accepted. Watch me.” He grimaced when he opened his injured hand, but aside from that, he seemed rather confident.
She watched him stride across the grass to the lady, half-fascinated, half-horrified. In fact, she felt sorry for him because surely the lady was going to slap him for his impudence, hit him with her parasol, or even cry out for help. Poor Peregrine. He was about to face the biggest embarrassment of his life.
