Page 50 of A Match Made On Duchess Square

Gwendolyn realized their father must have warned them not to swim naked. They were both skinny boys, all lanky arms and legs, and their shoulders merely held the promise of muscles to come, but they had to maintain some covering while she was with them.

Since they resembled their father, she expected they would develop manly bodies in the coming years and be just as handsome.

She inhaled sharply.

Did Milbury make it a habit to swim naked, too?

Of course he did. This was their private cove, and they could swim as they wished.

The butterflies in her stomach began to flutter wildly.

Oh dear.

She was losing all sensibility. Why else would her heart be in palpitations over the possibility of seeing his unclad body?

Perhaps it had been a mistake to come to Milbury Hill with him, because this beautiful estate and surrounding seacoast countryside was his territory as much as Duchess Square was hers.

He ruled here. There was no mistaking he was in command.

And she felt drawn to him in a shockingly powerful way.

A large blanket had been set upon the sand and a canopy of gossamer linen provided shade above it. “Here come my little heathens,” he said with a merry chuckle as his sons stomped up the stairs to assist him. “I warned you this would be casual, Gwen.”

“I don’t mind.”

She grinned as the boys ran to them wearing only their wet trousers. They spared her barely a greeting before grabbing the basket from their father and tearing back down to the beach. Neither lad was in the least bit bashful about remaining shirtless. In fact, their shirts were blowing along the sand and threatening to fly into the water.

“I’ll retrieve those,” Gwendolyn said, wanting to be helpful when they reached the bottom of the stairs. But she had never walked in soft sand before, so it took her a few steps before she learned how to maintain her balance because her feet kept sinking into the shifting sand. Walking on a beach was far different from walking on firm ground.

“You cannot fight nature, Gwen,” James said, taking her hand to guide her through those first few steps. “You ought to remove your walking boots and let your toes curl in the warm sand.”

“Then you’ll see my feet.”

He shrugged. “Do you have six toes?”

“No,” she replied with a light laugh.

“Then no one will care or find it shocking. We are not in London and do not need to abide by their foolish rules.”

Once she had retrieved the shirts, all four of them settled on the large blanket. The boys wasted no time digging into the basket with both fists.

“Mind your manners,” Milbury intoned. “There’s a lady present.”

Both of his sons cast her adoring smiles before ignoring their father and continuing to forage in the basket.

He sighed in exasperation. “I’ve raised wild monkeys.”

His footman, Alfred, approached. Milbury dismissed him so that he could return to the house for the staff’s midday meal. “Shall I come back here afterward, my lord?”

“No, Lady Gwendolyn and I will stay with the boys. Thank you for watching over them.”

“My pleasure, m’lord.”

That it was to be only the four of them pleased his sons to no end.

It pleased Gwendolyn, too. Warmth flooded through her to be so accepted by these Milbury men, although it did give her a moment’s concern that they were too eager to include her as part of their family, and this might cause future problems.

For now, it was delightful.