CHAPTER18
All Owen needed was to find a journal he had purchased on his last trip to Jamaica, from a farmer who had written greatly about the different textures of soil.
It was a fascinating read that he had enjoyed thrice over by this point. There was always something new to learn from it. Dirt was considered so simple, and yet he knew there was more to it. If the world was made of dirt, after all, it had to be important.
Especially for plants. And I need to see if I’m overwatering or underwatering plot C5 right now. I could have sworn that it only needs…
Whatever Owen had been thinking about a moment ago evaporated when he stepped into the library. He still wore his boots but had since lost the coat, cravat, and vest, as he often did while working in the greenhouse. The space warranted warmth, and those clothes could be much too stifling.
Upon stepping into the library, he’d grown a little chilly. If he stepped off the rugs in the halls, he would have noted the ground felt somewhat cooler. There were surely a few windows open as well, though he had been too lost in thought to notice them at the time.
But how could he be distracted when his wife was in the library?
Owen froze in the open doorway, only shifting upon noticing that Georgiana had not noticed him. This surely meant he could make his escape without her ever knowing he had been there. Quite possibly, he could grab his book as well without her turning around to see him.
And yet, as those thoughts roiled in his head, Owen found himself drawing closer to his wife. She was muttering under her breath.
“Silly books,” he heard her say.
He found himself torn between feeling amused and feeling annoyed. It was as though she always knew where to be right before he arrived. Surely, she could not read his mind. So what was it that was pulling them together like this?
Though he meant to turn in the other direction, Owen found his feet guiding him toward his wife.
He moved a little faster as Georgiana reached far off from her ladder. The sight made his stomach clench. Stretching like that was going to throw her off balance. She could fall, and she wasn’t close enough to the ground. In fact, she could very well––
“No!” Owen lunged forward when she slipped from the ladder just as he had feared.
It was his only focus. Three steps separated them. He sprang over to close the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her as they fell hard to the ground. The air was knocked out of his lungs. He stared up at the ceiling, holding back the urge to panic.
“Owen?” He tightened his grip on her when he felt her shift. “Good Lord.”
He grunted, sharply inhaling. “Don’t move.”
All he needed was a moment. There was a thudding in his skull, and he felt as if he had broken every bone in his back. Bones, muscles—everything. He drew in another breath and then sighed in relief.
Georgiana’s face came into view. She was lying on top of him, her elbow by his shoulder as she looked down at him. A long strand of hair had fallen across her cheek to settle on his chest.
“Are you all right?” she whispered.
“I think so. I’m not dead,” he added when she bit her lip.
The view suddenly made him wish he was, when he found himself craving the chance to touch her there. Or kiss her. They hadn’t really kissed yet, had they? What a shame. They were married, after all. They deserved a kiss. His heart rate quickened.
“You saved me.” She smiled and tilted her head. Her hair brushed against his cheek some more. Upon smelling gardenias, his breath caught in his chest. “That was very kind of you.”
I forgot how pretty those dark green eyes are.
He slowly shook his head. “Anyone would have done the same were they in my position.”
“But no one was in your position,” she pointed out. “Only you. You did it.”
As she spoke, Owen became more aware of the rest of his body and how she was lying half on top of him. This was the closest he had been to his wife, so far. Though he meant to let go, his grip around her waist tightened. And she made no move to get away from him. He searched her face carefully, unable to look away.
It was only a moment, but it felt as though they were the only people in the entire world.
“Perhaps,” he murmured.
His gaze landed again on her lips, and he shifted slightly. Then she did the same and began to lean down. It felt as though he had been buried in a field of flowers.
