Tess tried to concentrate on the truffle, and not on Thornton’s hands. Memories of them on her skin produced a fluttery sensation in her stomach.
“These are ‘summer truffles,’” she said, flustered. “They’re very similar to the black truffles that can be found in France, and there are only a few places in England they can be found.”
Thornton raised it to his nose and took a sniff. “How much would this sell for?”
“We get half a sovereign per pound, down in Covent Garden,” Mr. Collins explained. “On a good day we can find upward of ten pounds of truffles. Then some days we don’t find any. That’s the luck of the draw.”
“The largest one he ever found weighed almost a full pound,” Tess added with a proud smile. “It was the size of my fist.”
Collins took the truffle, wrapped it in a red handkerchief, and put it in the pocket of his coat that didn’t contain the dogs’ cheese. “I’ll send Harry down to London in the morning.”
Tess nodded. “Excellent.” She glanced at Thornton. “Shall we return to the house? I know Mrs. Ward is planning something nice for dinner.”
“Of course.” He held out his hand to Collins and the other man shook it with a smile. “Thank you, Mr. Collins. This has been most instructive.”
The gamekeeper and his dogs ambled out of sight, and Tess gave a happy sigh. “That was an incredible find, on your very first ever hunt. You must be one of the luckiest men in England.”
“You’re not the first person to have made that particular observation,” he said. “But this is the first time I’ve actually believed it might be true.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Surprised by his admission, Tess glanced over at him, and her heart missed a beat at the heated intensity in his face. It was the way he looked when he was about to kiss her.
She backed up as he stalked her slowly, like a hunter after game, but when she bumped against the trunk of a large beech tree, she made no attempt to escape. She wanted to kiss him, too.
“Your cheeks are pink,” he teased, closing the distance. “Are you too warm?”
“I must have caught the sun.”
“We’ve been in the shade all afternoon.”
“Wind-chapped, then.”
His brows quirked upward in mockery as he cocked his head, listening for the breeze. Damningly, not a single leaf fluttered around them; even the forest seemed to be holding its breath.
“I want to thank you,” he murmured.
“For what?” Tess was sure she could hear her heart beating against her ribs.
“For taking care of Wansford so well.”
She sent him a dry, cynical look. “For making it more profitable for you, you mean.”
“No, for improving the lives of the people who live here. You are an extraordinary woman.”
Tess’s cheeks flushed even more at the compliment. “There’s still so much more to do. Mr. Collins wants you to petition parliament to get the dog tax repealed, and—”
“Tess.”
His calm, amused tone stopped her babbling.
“Yes?”
He’d never said her name before. Did he even know he’d done it?
“You can tell me all about the dog tax another time. Right now, I’m going to kiss you.”
Tess tried to keep the excitement out of her tone. “Oh. Well. All right, then. Do your worst.”
