Her eyes widened. “You do? Oh, Connor, please tell me. What is your plan?”
Chapter Ten
Eden was inbetter spirits by the time she and Connor returned to Lynton Grange. She was eager to learn of his ideas on improving her life and had pressed him about it, but he was being quite mysterious.
She shrugged off his reticence because they were almost upon Lynton Grange, and he must not have wanted to start a conversation that would be interrupted. He was surprisingly sweet to her when helping her down, and remained by her side as they searched in the garden for his children. They would be pleased to know their plans for bird watching and then the afternoon fair would proceed according to schedule. Brewster had been told to advise Lord Aubrey, as well.
Priscilla ran over as soon as she heard Eden calling for her. “Did your papa like my card?” she asked.
Connor arched an eyebrow and grinned at Eden. “Amazing. How did you know?”
“Women just know these things.” She turned to his daughter. “Everyone thought it was beautiful, and I have it placed on the mantel in my parlor to show it off to one and all whenever I entertain.”
It was true, because she had made a point of showing it to her staff and they all had admired Priscilla’s handiwork.
The girl beamed with pride. “Can we go find more birds now?”
“Yes, let’s gather your pouches and hats. I see you have your binoculars already strapped around your neck.”
“And food,” young Connor said as he and Alex joined them. “Don’t forget we need to pack more food.”
Eden tweaked his chin. “Dear me, how could I possibly ever forget that?”
The children ran in ahead of them, leaving Eden once again alone with their father. “Connor, will you be joining us?”
“I’ll meet you at the fair. Is that all right?”
She hid her disappointment as she nodded and smiled. “Yes, of course. It’s just that you seemed so distrustful of Lord Aubrey accompanying me and the children.”
“I may have been a little apish about it,” he admitted.
“A little?” she teased.
“All right, I behaved like a big ape. But you ought to know me by now, Eden.”
“Yes, I do.” She gave her head a light shake. “In truth, it is odd how well I feel I know you.”
“Same here when it comes to you. But it could be said we’ve had a connection to each other almost since the day you were born. Certainly ever since your tumble into the fishpond. Gad, you were such a determined little thing with a mop of fiery red curls.”
The memory had her grinning.
Of course, being only two years old at the time should not have left her with a vivid memory. But she did have a vague sense of it, more the remembrance of strong hands fishing her out and then making her feel safer than she ever had felt before or since.
“You spent so much time here when your grandmother owned Chestnut Hill. Then your nitwit parents chose to send you off to one of those fancy boarding schools.”
She pursed her lips. “You had gone off to fight Napoleon by the time I inherited the property and moved back here permanently. But I suppose our lives intertwined enough that we got to be friends.”
“Dearest friends,” he said quietly, and then said no more as Lord Aubrey joined them. A moment later, the children returned with their pouches slung over their shoulders and hats in hand. It was not long before the five of them were on their way.
Eden walked alongside Priscilla while Lord Aubrey walked a little ahead with Connor’s boys. They seemed to like the viscount. For his part, he showed remarkable patience as the boys chatted excitedly about all manner of things. They only paused from chatting when they passed the pond and the boys scampered off the lane to chase the geese for no purpose other than to disrupt those poor birds.
Well, at least they were no longer throwing rocks at them. “Boys! Stop it or I’ll send you straight back home!” Eden called.
They ran back to her side, laughing as the geese chased them.
Priscilla hugged Eden’s skirt and began to cry. “They’re going to bite me!”
Eden placed her body between the little girl and the birds. “It’s all right, sweetheart. I won’t let them hurt you.”
