Page 62

They walked in silence along the path that bordered the estate’s pond. It was true what the rumors said. He really was a man of few words. But Theo found she liked his silence…it was comfortable. Easy.

“It seems promising.” His deep voice skittered over her skin.

“The surveyors will spend the next week determining what’s viable, and once we have that information, we can have lease agreements drawn up and start searching for interested buyers.”

He nodded. After they’d finished visiting the potential quarry sites, they’d returned their mounts to her barn and wordlessly decided to walk the grounds.

“Timber is being felled as we speak; that will be ready for sale shortly as well.”

They approached the gazebo, and she shivered. A wind had picked up, and the sun had disappeared.

“Well on our way of digging ourselves out of this mess,” he murmured.

“Did you doubt me?”

He caught her eye. “Never.”

Her lips curled, and she leaned against one of the support posts of the structure. “I’m very good at what I do.”

He studied her, face impassive, but something in his eyes had gooseflesh rising over her skin. His gaze was so intense, almost too much so.

“I am beginning to wonder,” he said quietly, “if there’s anything you’re not accomplished at.”

“Singing.”

He blinked at her pronouncement, and she grinned.

“I am atrocious. Your ears would bleed.”

Light danced in his eyes, and his lips almost tugged up. “Now I’m curious, Miss Dawson.”

She shook her head. “I’ll take my singing voice to my grave. Unless you do something that vexes me. Then I’ll gladly serenade you. You’ll rue the day I turned you deaf.”

His Grace shook his head as he walked up to her side. His shoulder bumped into hers as he rested his elbows on the rail, and he looked out across the water. She turned around to face out and mirrored his position.

Something had changed. It wasn’t easy to distinguish; the changes were so subtle, but she was getting better at picking up on it. The air around him vibrated with apprehension. The clouds above were darker now, almost like he’d cast his mood upon them.

“Last night…”

But that was all he said. The words were tight. Uncomfortable.

“Ah, so we’re no longer pretending like last night never happened.”

A mite of tension melted from his posture. She waited, but he remained stoically staring out at the water.

“Are you embarrassed?” She studied his clenched jaw. A muscle in his cheek ticked softly. “Afraid I’ll tell others?”

He frowned. “No.” He glanced at her, so much turmoil turning over in his steely irises. “It’d be…foolish of you to tell others. You’d implicate yourself.”

“Mmm. True.” Her fingers curled around the rail, and she leaned back, rocking slightly. “But I wouldn’t say anything otherwise. I think you know that.”

She’d never betray his confidence like that. He came to her in a time of extreme vulnerability. Only the cruelest of people would take advantage of that. She had the most horrible feeling that there were many people in his past who would have done so.

“I know. I trust you.” His nose turned up, and there was so much disgust in the words, Theo couldn’t prevent the laugh that bubbled out of her.

“Apologies for such an offense.”

His expression softened the smallest amount. “I don’t trust easily. I don’t like trusting others.”