“Her?”
“Of course. All ships are classed asfemale.”
“Is there a reason for that?” Iris knew that it was utterly bizarre to have such a normal conversation while their skin connected in such a life-changing way, but for her and Ewan in that moment it feltright.
“A ship is a ‘she’ because she takes a lot of paint forupkeep.”
Iris was so stunned for a moment that it took her longer than it should have done to realise that he was joking. Ewan was teasing her, which made her blush and grin in equalmeasures.
“Oh that is a terrible remark to make,” she replied smilingly. “I cannot believe that you would say such a horriblething.”
Ewan chuckled lightly, enjoying the mirth in Daisy’s tone. He wanted to make her laugh forever more, the musical sound was so wonderful to listento.
“I do not know the reason, but boats are always referred to as female. It is just the way that things are, so she will have to have a female name before she sets sail on hervoyage.”
A pregnant pause filled the air, but neither of them wanted to do anything that would break the moment. Iris and Ewan both knew that the minute this magic shattered, everything would be different, and while they both had such important things to tell one another, they did not want to lose what they currentlyhad.
Irisneededto tell Ewan who she really was, and Ewan had to tell this beautiful woman that he wanted her to be his wife. They both knew exactly what had to be said, but neither of them could find thewords.
Ewan’s body pressed closely up to Iris’s without him even thinking about it, it was almost as if there was a powerful magnetic force between them, drawing them together. He loved the warmth of her svelte figure, it gave him the urge to wrap his arms around her. It was almost out of his control; Ewan could practically feel his body taking all control ofhim.
Iris had to do something to regain control of this situation. Things were spiralling madly, and instead of pulling back like she knew she should, she found her body leaning in and her head angling up towardshim.
This was just like one of Iris’s endless fantasies, and she always ended up getting a kiss. She had a feeling that things were headed in that direction again, and it was very challenging for her to remember that everything happening right now wasreal...
“I am sorry that I tried to forget our dance,” Ewan muttered so quietly that it was almost a mere breath. “That was the best moment of my entirelife.”
“Aside from this one,” Iris commented without really thinking about it. “This one is just aswonderful.”
And then it happened, without either of them really thinking about it. Ewan’s lips crashed into Iris’s and the entire world stopped around them. It only lasted a second or so, but that time seemed to last forever. Iris’s heart stopped, her head spun, she felt like her feet had been lifted from theground.
It was all the proof that she could ever need to show her that she was in love. The feeling of being kissed by this wonderful man was the most wondrous sensationpossible.
“Yes, I agree,” Ewan whispered as they finally pulled apart. “Thisis the best momentever.”
Iris slipped backwards automatically, she needed to escape. Kissing a man that one was not married to, simply wasn’t done, particularly when you were being untruthful about who youwere.
Ewan was surprised to have the woman he loved moving away from him, but he did not blame Daisy. He should have controlled himself better, it was not right for him to kiss her before their wedding day. That was the sort of thing that could damage a woman forever. It no longer mattered that Daisy was lowborn, he still wanted to think of her as a lady. He needed to treat her in the way that she so desperatelydeserved.
“I suppose I should probably get some sleep,” he told her quietly, giving her the opportunity to escape. “And I am sure that you have things to doyourself.”
“Oh... yes,” Iris stammered. “Do you know what, I think I am tired myself. I think I will head back to bed before I see Amy tomorrow.” She practically fell as she staggered backwards. “Maybe I shall see you in the morningtoo.”
“Yes,goodnight.”
With that, she gave Ewan one last lingering look, drinking in his beautiful silhouette in the shadows before she spun on her heels and she ran. She did not want to leave, she would have loved to remain with him to see what could happen next, but it was notpossible.
What would Amy think?She panicked.What would Elizabeth say? I cannot kiss a man who I am not married to, nor can I kiss a man who does not know me. It is not right, it is not done.Even if Iris had not acted exactly as she was supposed to, acting inappropriately with a man felt like too much forIris.
Iris did not even consider how much noise she was making as she thundered back down the stairs, she was not concerned about waking anyone else up, she simply needed to be locked away by herself so she could work out what her next move was. Kissing Ewan was not a part of her plan. She did not mean for it tohappen.
Luckily, Iris didn’t disturb anyone else as she crashed back into her room. The late hour, plus the hard work that they’d done throughout the day left all of them too exhausted to be concerned about one slightly crazed young maid. That left her as alone as she needed to be while she thought all of thisthrough.
It was not until Iris had fallen onto her bed sheet that a delighted smile burst across her face. Yes, she had done something terribly wrong, but it felt so wonderful it was challenging to keep up the guilty feeling. The kiss felt incredible, aside from society’s expectations, what else could be wrong about that? Who could deny anyone this lovelyfeeling?
Ewan Oakley had proven his love by kissing her. He truly did love her, just as she did him. And it had felt wonderful to have his lips against hers. She did not know that it was possible to feel so good. Iris had not wanted the moment to end. In fact, now that she was lying in her bed, she wished that she had not run away. She knew that she had to, but it would have been much morefun.
In her head, Iris composed a letter to her sister because her need to share this news was just too compelling, even if it wasn’t something that she could ever share forreal:
