"There's a painting of her in her old bedroom," Jenny added, "right above the bed where she and Papa used to sleep. She had beautiful blue eyes just like us, and bright blonde hair that she always wore in two long braids. At least, that's what Papa used to tell me. I don't really remember."
"She had this blue dress she always wore, with gold trim around the sleeves and neckline. It cost an absolute fortune, so Papa made her promise to use it. She wore it for a month, only changing it to wash, just to prove a point." Samuel beamed, his eyes sparkling. "There are lots of stories about her, and Edwin used to tell us all the time before he went traveling."
Alicia smiled softly, removing her hand from James' just long enough to ruffle Samuel's hair. "She sounds like she was a lovely woman. I think she and my mother would have liked each other."
"If she were anything like you, they'd have got on splendidly," James said softly, "Mother would have loved you, too."
Alicia's heart thumped against her chest and nervous laughter threatened the back of her throat. She swallowed it down and said, "Really? Thank you; that's quite the honor."
James grinned and squeezed her hand once more before his grip slackened as he rested back on his knees.
Alicia couldn't help but feel a loss at the absence of his warmth, but what did she expect? The fact that he had touched her hands at all was reason enough to be happy. There was no point in hoping for more. He was only trying to make her feel better; and it hadworked.Smiling brightly, Alicia plucked a sandwich from her plate and took a bite. "Regardless of why I came here, I'm glad I did," she said softly, "I'm sure our parents are looking at us right now, and I'm sure they're happy for us."
"I'm sure they are, too."
Alicia took another bite of sandwich, enjoying the savory taste of egg and cheese. Elizabeth had clearly taken a lot of care into making this picnic, because even something as simple as the sandwiches tastedfantastic.She polished off the whole thing before adding, "It's a shame I never got to meet your parents. They sound like lovely people."
James smiled and nodded; and when he did smile, his eyes brightened. Alicia noticed that he hadn't mentioned his father, although Samuel and Jenny had, and she couldn't help but wonder if there was a reason for that. Hadn't she already told him that she believed he was innocent?
Don't pry,she chided herself quietly,he's already told you about his mother. Don't be greedy.With that in mind, Alicia reached for her tea and took a careful sip; it was less scalding than before, now pleasantly warm. When she set the cup down, James met her eyes from across the picnic blanket. Clear blue met bright green, and they shared a smile.
He was a strange man, one that Alicia couldn't quite figure out. Yet... well, she wasn't entirely sure that was a bad thing. She felt her chest swell with delight when they locked eyes, and he waslovely.Quickly dropping her gaze, Alicia tried to ignore the heavy flush that threatened her fair skin but allowed herself a small smile.
Perhaps, if she allowed herself to believe it, James would continue to open up to her. Maybe they could even call themselvesfriends.
Chapter Eighteen
No matter how hard he tried, James simply couldn't get the thought of Alicia out of his mind. He sat at his desk now, mind wandering as he stared out of the window and into the courtyard outside. No matter which way he put it, there was no denying that Alicia meant more to him now than any other employee.
Just thinking the words made his stomach twist, his cheeks burn. He had managed to go his entire life without having feelings for any woman. Why now?
There was a hesitant knock at the door; just a little tap that could have been missed, had James actually been engrossed in work like he was supposed to be. "Come in," he requested, gaze flickering to the door.
It was Samuel, dark hair a mess about his face and cheeks dirty. He was grinning though, lips parted to reveal a blank space where one of his front teeth should have been.
James paled. "What did you do?"
Samuel only grinned wider as he held out his hand. In his palm lay a little white tooth, speckled with a tiny dot of blood.
He wasn't in the mood for this today. He wasn't in the mood for thisany day,but now least of all. Running a hand across his face, James sighed. "How did you even manage this, Samuel? I thought Alicia would have been with you to avoid things like this."
Samuel bounded over, flopped onto the nearest armchair, andlaughed."It was already loose," he said between giggles, "and I had this idea that Jenny could help me pull it out, but it sort of went wrong and I fell - but look, the tooth came out!"
James had to resist the urge to smack his head against the desk. What on earth possessed his siblings to do something so absurd, he had no idea. "Samuel," he said with forced patience, "Miss Sempill and I are going for a walk soon, and I have something important I would like to say to her. Can youpleaserefrain from anything silly for the rest of the day?"
He only shrugged as if to sayno promises."It doesn't even hurt," he insisted, "It did at first, but now it's just kind of numb where the tooth used to be."
It was a good thing that the maids were equipped with medical training, because Jamesreallydidn't want to call a doctor for this. Rolling his eyes good naturedly, he ushered Samuel out of the room. "Go and clean up, please. And for goodness sake, don't hurt yourself further. Nora or one of the other maids can help."
"But I wantyouto help," Samuel insisted with a scowl. With one tooth missing, it looked even more ridiculous than usual. "Please?"
"How about you find Edwin? I think he's in the library."
"Who's in the library?" a familiar voice called from behind. When James turned, Edwin was hovering by the bottom of the stairs. "I was just a minute ago, but not anymore. What did poor Samuel do now?"
Samuel held out the tooth proudly. "Look! Now my big teeth will come in."
Big teeth.He meant adult teeth of course, but James still had to hold in a laugh at how Samuel phrased it. "As long as you don't go trying to pull out any other teeth, all right?"
