Lucyburst out laughing. “Truly?Sheis a rather awful woman.IsupposeLordLathamwarned you about her.”
“No, but word is out.”
“Hmm…Atthe time,Ididn’t realize how horrid she had been toFrankieandThomas.Katietold me about it afterward.”
“Well, luckily,FrankieandThomasare happily married now.”
“Yes, they are,” she said softly.
“Ihope you enjoy eggs.Ipicked up several.Howmany do you want?
“Twoshould be sufficient.”
Thegroundskeeper—Ireally should learn his name—had a bowl of them in his larder.Ifelt likeIhad found a hidden treasure whenIdiscovered them,” he said, cracking four eggs in a bowl and whisking them.
Lucykept opening the oven and checking the toast.
“Giveit another couple of minutes, then it should be done,” he said.
“Thisis amazing.Allwe’d need is some honey or jam for the toast,” she murmured.
“Doyou have a favorite?” he asked, opening the pantry. “Therewere a few jars in the larder,” he called out. “Ihave no reason to believe they would have spoiled.”
“Isthere strawberry?”
“Indeed, there is.”Hegrinned a few moments later, waving a small jar.
Overbreakfast, she shared her plans to purchase a small property outside ofLondonto live with her menagerie of injured animals.Heasked her what kinds of animals she had cared for and was astounded to learn she had rescued a monkey.Rowanadmired her passion, especially how her eyes glowed when she spoke about the various creatures she’d helped.
Inturn,Rowanshared a few stories from his travels over the years.Ifhe didn’t touch on the specifics of his assignments, he felt it was all right to share that much.Shelistened raptly, and her laughter at his more humorous experiences filled him with a warmth he’d never experienced before.Infact, short of his mother and sisters, he’d never just simply enjoyed the company of a woman.Hisvarious liaisons never left much in the way of conversation.Oh, there was the flirtation leading up to the seduction.Butconversation just for the sake of it?Hadnever interested him beforeLucy.
“Whatan excellent breakfast,”Lucycommented, wiping her lips with her napkin.
“Thankyou.Ihad a very good assistant cook,” he said, smiling at her and admiring the loose brunette curls that framed her face and cascaded to her shoulders. “Wouldyou like to see the rest of the house?” he suddenly asked. “PerhapsIshould first ask how your ankle is feeling.”
“Iwould, but my ankle still hurts.”Shegenuinely looked upset about the missed opportunity. “IfIhad something to lean on, it would make walking easier,”Lucysaid, setting down her teacup.
Hewent to the corner of the kitchen and retrieved a crutch made from the broom handle. “Ithought about that last night, soIfashioned a crutch for you.Unlessyou prefer my carrying you as your knight in shining armor,Iwould be happy to oblige.”Hegrinned.
“Thatis most gallant of you, my lord, butIthink the crutch you fashioned will do very well.Shebeamed, turning it around and inspecting every inch of it. “Thankyou so much.Icannot believe you did this for me.”Standing, she tried it out, walking toward him. “It’sperfect.Youeven wrapped some of the sheet around it to make it soft for my underarm.Thankyou,” she said again, leaning up to look at him with those brandy-colored eyes.
Hethought for a moment she would kiss him.Whenshe didn’t, he thought he had missed out on something he would have enjoyed.Notbecause it was a kiss.Butbecause it was a kiss from her.
“I’vegone through the manor house once—quickly—whenIfirst arrived.So, it might be time to go through it again.It’llgive me a better idea of whatIneed to do to repair and refurbish.”
“CanAshehave our scraps?” she asked. “Ithink he may have found his breakfast lacking.There’sno telling how much he was being fed in that cage.However,Idon’t think it was enough.”
Heagreed and helped her scrape the scraps into a small bowl for the fox.Next, they set up some water in a big kettle over the fire.
“Whenthat heats, we can wash the dishes,” he suggested. “Let’stake a look around.”Heturned and snapped his fingers, andAshefollowed them.
“YouandAsheare becoming friends,” she observed.
“Heseems friendly enough.Although, this is closer thanI’veever been to a wild fox,” he said, giving her a wink.Andit was true.Thefox behaved much like a puppy, following them and waiting to be remembered with food scraps.
“Wouldyou like to start with the library?” he asked.
“Thatsounds like a good idea.Ihope there are lots of books,” she said with a wry smile.
