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Lark was sorely tempted not to go to dinner that evening after the dull conversations that had occurred the previous night. However, with Aunt Harriet feeling better and promising to attend, Lark finally relented and joined the others for the meal.

Due to the relaxed atmosphere of the excursion—and the unequal ratio of males to females—Lark trailed alone behind Aunt Harriet and Uncle Francis, choosing a humble side seat toward the end of the unassigned table.

As the others took their seats, Aunt with her husband to her left and Lark to her right, Lark cast her eyes to the head of the table to where she assumed Mr. Branok would sit near the Chumleys again.

However, when the empty chair to her left scraped against the wooden floor, she was stunned to discover Mr. Branok at her side, instead.

“Mr. Branok, do join us up here,” Mr. Chumley said, only just above the chatter around the table.

But Mr. Branok, whether he’d heard the man or not, took his seat beside Lark with a happy smile.

Lark hesitated to return it. While she obviously would not mind conversing with Mr. Branok throughout the meal, Mr. Chumley would not take kindly to her disruption of his plans. Especially not after she’d already upset Mr. Dunn with her accuracy about the kingfisher.

She stifled a sigh. Stubborn gentlemen and their compulsive need to always be correct in everything. They were exhausting.

Still, she couldn’t risk being expelled from the excursion.

“Mr. Chumley has summoned you, sir,” Lark spoke softly, subtly motioning to the head of the table.

Mr. Branok didn’t look up from his place setting. “Did he? I wasn’t aware.”

He made no motion to move, nor showed any desire to do so. Lark bit her lower lip to prevent a triumphant grin from splattering across her face.

“Are you joining us at this end of the table, Mr. Branok?” Aunt Harriet asked, peering around Lark with a friendly smile of her own.

“If I may, yes,” he responded. Then he lowered his voice. “I must admit, I have been missing my carriage companions greatly.”

His eyes lingered on Lark for a moment, but Lark didn’t meet his gaze, glancing at Aunt instead, but she appeared none the wiser to his little knowing looks.

That was fine by Lark. The last thing she wanted to do was settle any suspicions from her family members that there might be something going on between her and Mr. Branok, when all that was between them was a rocky rivalry, at best.

The conversations were small and short around the table, transitioning to longer and more inclusive as the meal progressed, but Mr. Branok was central to them all, preventing Lark from speaking with him until the third course was served.

As Mr. Dunn spoke loudly at the opposite end of the table about a bird sighting he’d had at his precious lake on his estate, Mr. Branok finally addressed her.

“How did your list fare today?” he asked in a lowered tone.

She glanced around, ensuring no one else had heard him. “We mustn’t speak of such things.”

“Of course. The rules.” He took a bite of his boiled potato. His jaw worked slowly as he chewed, the small muscle in his temple pulsing. “I am willing to bend them, should you like to ask after my list.”

She had to admit she had been curious about how many he’d accumulated thus far. She was now at thirty-four, which she thought was respectable enough after only a single full day in Yorkshire. But Mr. Branok was a professional. How many would he have?

Then again, rules were rules.

“No, thank you,” she finally stated.

He responded with a smile. “That’s fine, then. I will say, however, I found more than I was expecting to this morning.”

“Indeed?” she asked, feigning disinterest. “Even with the Shepherds speaking with you?”

He shrugged. “I suppose I’m simply talented. Oh, no. I forgot. I am not a serious bird observer.”

She shook her head. “You will never let me forget that, will you?”

“Not if I can help it, no.”

They shared a look as he popped another piece of his potato in his mouth, chewing with deliberate confidence. The wrinkles at the edges of his eyes gave away his teasing, but she looked away before she stared too deeply into those blue depths. She could easily drown in such alluring seas.