“You and your daughter are courageous women.”
Fleur gave a slight shake of her head. “Thank you. That is generous of you to say. What Selena did was brave. But not me… I am not brave. Had I been brave, I would have slit thatcochon’sneck while he slept!”
Connery threw back his head and laughed. For a moment, they stared at each other.
Something shifted inside Fleur. “Would you…that is…would you like to walk with me for a while?” The fresh air and the lovely surroundings called to her.
“I would enjoy walking with you,” he said in that gruff-soft voice. “Allow me to show you this splendid estate,” he offered, holding out his arm.
He was looking at her with that gleam again. Fleur couldn’t help but be flattered and a little flustered by his attention.
She hadn’t found herself attracted to another man since before Phillip. Theirs had been an arranged marriage, but they grew to love each other. However, Phillip had been more than twenty years older, and not in the best of health. While she had grieved his passing deeply and missed his humor, wisdom, and loving heart, she had long since accepted that she would never grow old with him. Her recent horrid experience with that fiendish imposter was something she had never expected. And her own brush with death at the hand of that demon had left her shaken and vulnerable. She had thought herself a strong and capable woman, but she had not been able to cope and had almost lost her life in the process and the life of her beloved daughter as well. Thank God for Selena’s courage and her presence of mind to ride to Gerald’s estate. She prayed that their betrothal would flourish into a loving relationship. And from what she’d observed of the two of them together, their feelings were very strongly engaged.
As they took a shortcut through a field on the way to a road below them, she blew out a shallow breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. She had never taken too much notice of other men while Phillip lived, but this man beside her was undeniably attractive. With his thick silver hair mixed with dark, a strong dimpled chin, and dark blue eyes, she found it increasingly hard to school her attention away from him. A smallsmile formed on her lips as she recalled his deep, throaty laugh. His laugh had her toes curling and she hadn’t felt her toes curl in years. Briefly, she wondered what it might be like to kiss him.
They approached a small pond surrounded by apple trees and he led her to a small stone bench, where they sat.
“What a lovely spot. This property seems to have plenty of water,” Fleur commented, surveying the area around the pond. “Are there fish?”
“Aye. Occasionally, I take advantage of the stock and fish for our dinner. And you’re right. ‘Tis a lovely property. I enjoy living here.”
“Wh-what about your life?” Fleur asked. “Where did you live before you arrived here? Did you never marry?”
~*~
“Aye. She was a bonnie lass. She died giving birth to my son. My son died with her.” Connery realized he hadn’t spoken of Beatrice in a very long time.
“I’m so sorry.”
“Ach! It feels like a lifetime ago. Ten years. The pain isn’t as raw as it once was.” He had loved Beatrice with all his heart, and the grief he’d felt at losing her and the babe had been devastating, but he’d learned to live with that loss and over time life had become bearable. “I’m sure you ken my meaning. You lost your husband only a year ago. I am sorry for your loss.” He stole a glance at the beautiful woman beside him before continuing. Her soft brown curls framed her face and with her deep, blue eyes, he found her very pleasing. Aye time had healed his soul, but he did miss the love of a good woman. He wasn’t the type to keep a mistress or indulge in fleeting liaisons. He wanted a woman who shared his interests.
“I have. And I confess this last year has been a hard year of adjustments not to mention a murdering imposter claiming Rose Point as his,” she said, shaking.
“Knowing Gerald and Wright and Banbury, that willna be for much longer,” he said, trying to reassure her.
“Lord Lawrence has certainly impressed me. He is much changed from the brash and bold rapscallion he once was.”
“Aye, well, young men need to sow a few wild oats before they become who they are truly meant to be.”
“When Lord Lawrence’s mother wrote to me five years ago after that unfortunate incident at the Adamson’s ball telling me that her son had been sent to this estate without a farthing, I had not fully believed my friend at the time. It seemed inconceivable that an earl would do that to his heir.”
Connery chuckled. “He did indeed do that. And I fully supported it. But it did not take Gerald long to take the reins of his life and his future. My admiration for the lad took root. He was a determined young man and he accomplished every goal he set out to achieve, including developing an interest in thoroughbreds.”
“I agree, he has changed,” she said. “He has carried his responsibilities well. I can see he has taken care of my daughter as though they were already married.”
“Lord Lawrence is a good man and most determined,” Connery chuckled. “It was a good thing because he did not have the luxuries he was used to back London or at the family estate—no valet, and a very small household staff.”
“Something tells me there is a story there,” Fleur said with a smile.
“When we got here, the stable didn’t exist because it had burned down shortly after the previous owner abandoned the property. As a result, there were stray animals everywhere—those that hadn’t already been claimed or taken by local villagersor tenant farmers. Gerald rounded up a pig and asked me what to do with it. Earlier in the week, I had identified an old pig pen and had repaired it—and I watered it. When he finally wrestled the pig into the pen, I happened by. The poor man was covered to his ears with mud. I tell you, the lad kept slipping and sliding. He finally used the pig to help himself up. When he saw me watching, I thought he was going to lose his temper, but he didn’t. He burst into laughter and told me he couldn’t wait to have roast pig.”
“Perhaps the pig was integral to helping him become the good man he is today,” Fleur laughed.
At her tinkling laugh, he turned and gazed at her, warmly. “Your laugh is so sweet…it reminds me of a beautiful brook we called Crystal Brook back home. It was named for its tinkling sound. So lovely.”
Fleur blushed at the compliment. And he couldn’t help but think how youthful and pretty she was.
“Goodness! They say that French men have silver tongues, but I think it is the Scottish, no?”
