Page 31 (1/2)

Perhaps it was foolish to hope that she would never see hiiven how closely their lives were entwined If so, she was a fool There was not an hour of the day that passed without her thinking of hi as he stayed away from her She saw no reason for thee one another She only traveled by carriage whento a new home, and even then, she could associate exclusively with Pietro, the coach, Amelia hopped deftly over the fence and ran to the strealess with his shirtsleeves pushed up The young earl had caught so aside his life of bookwork in favor of hard outdoor play With his dark brown locks tied in a queue and his cornflower-colored eyes s centuries of pure blue blood

He did not set her heart to racing or make her ache in unfa and polite and attractive She supposed that was a sufficient combination of qualities to make him the recipient of her first kiss Miss Pool told her to wait until the right young , but Colin already had, and had turned to another instead

"Good afternoon, Miss Benbridge," the earl greeted with a perfect bow

"My lord," she replied, lifting the sides of her rose-hued gown before curtsying

"I have a treat for you today"

"Oh?" Her eyes widened in anticipation She loved gifts and surprises because she rarely received them Her father sis as birthdays or other gift-giving occasions

Ware’s sent "Yes, princess" He offered his arhtly atop his forearraces with so out any errors and correcting her It gave her a higher polish and a deeper confidence She no longer felt like a girl pretending to be a lady

Instead she felt like a lady who chose to enjoy her youth

Together they left theirthe shore until they reached a larger clearing There Around, the corner of which was held down by a basket fil ed with delicious-s tarts and various cuts of e this?" she breathed, fil ed with pleasure by his thoughtfulness

"Dear A "You knoho I a"

She knew the rudie and saw the poielded by her father, a viscount How nitude was the poielded by Ware, whose future held a ht

"Coed, "have a seat, enjoy a peach tart, and tel ," she said, dropping to the ground with a sigh

"Then tel "

She dreaiven passionately by a dark-eyed Gypsy lover, but she would never say such a thing aloud She rose to her knees and dug into the basket to hide her blush "I lack iination," she muttered

"Very Well, then" Ware situated himself on his back with his hands clasped at his neck and stared up at the sky He looked as at ease as she had ever seen hi pristine white stockings and polished heels--he was stil a far o Amelia found that she rather liked the new earl and felt a touch of pleasure that she had wrought what she considered to be a positive change in hiale you with a story," he said

"Lovely" She settled back to a seated position and took a bite of her treat

"Once upon a tiined kissing theh her, an effect of leaving her beloved ro unfaht of Colin and what he had done He certainly did not feel any sadness about leaving her behind

"Would you kisstart crumbs from the corners of her lips

The earl paused midsentence and turned his head to look at her His eyes ith surprise, but he appearedyour pardon Did I hear you correctly?"

"Have you kissed a girl before?" she asked, curious He o years older than she was, only one year younger than Colin It was quite possible that he had experience

Colin had an edgy, dark restlessness about him that was seductive even to her naïve senses Ware, on the other hand, was farfro the world was his for the taking Stil , despite her high regard for Colin, she could see how Ware’s lazy charentles"

"Hoonderful! Somehow, I knew you would be discreet" She s her careful y

"Would you kiss me?"

"Is this a hypothetical question, or a call to action?"

Suddenly shy and unsure, Aaze back to his There was deep kindness there on his handsorateful for it He rolled to his side and then pushed up to a seated position

"Not hypothetical," she whispered

"Why do you wish to be kissed?"