swooped and soared above the beach, raucous in the wind.
When he joined her, she said, “What a lovely place! What did you call it? High Point?”
“The farmers call it that. They use this road for their wagons.” He followed her gaze down to the beach. “I often ride this way, just for the view.” He pointed to the west. “If you follow this road far enough, you reach Seabeck Village. In the other direction, you can reach Golden Cap, the highest cliff on the southern coast. It’s worth a visit, but too far for a day’s ride.”
“I see you’ve brought a picnic,” she said. “Do you often do that?”
“Sometimes. I thought you would enjoy it.”
“I would,” she said with a smile. “This is so much nicer than being indoors.” She took off her hat, and her hair tumbled out of its pins, falling to her shoulders, shining in the sun.
James took a deep breath and looked away from her, out to the glistening sea. He must keep his head about him and not be led astray by these untoward feelings.
He had never joined his university classmates on their outings to the city brothels. If he had, perhaps he would be more worldly, have more understanding of this newly awakened passion, but he had never been tempted. The lads always came back laughing, bragging, much the worse for drink, and also—none of them ever admitted it, but he could see it—more than a little sick at what they had done. Few of them ever wanted to repeat the experience.
He was, he feared, the most naive of men. He knew how the whole thing was supposed to work. He just had no experience of it, nor had he cared about that until now. It had always seemed to be something he could think about later, when the right time came. He had always believed his fastidiousness proved his good breeding. The idea of a brothel, of lying in a bed where so many had…
The very thought made him shudder.
“Are you all right, my lord?”
He cleared his throat to compose himself and made himself turn his blandest expression toward her. “Perfectly, Miss Allington. Shall we see what temptations Cook has packed for us?”
The boulder they sat on was warm from the sun, and the breeze was barely strong enough to ruffle the manes of the horses. The lunch basket held three kinds of sandwiches and a packet of almond cakes, one of James’s favorites, as well as a jar of cider. The two of them devoured everything, appetites sharpened by fresh air and exercise. When there wasn’t a crumb left, they folded their napkins and the tea towel that had protected the cider and repacked the basket.
As James thought of how to phrase his proposal, he glanced around at his beloved Seabeck to build up his courage. The gentle hills rose like folds in a quilt, green and yellow and brown, dotted with wildflowers in a riot of colors. The sea below shimmered in the sun. The herring gulls chuckled overhead, and below the cliff, sandpipers darted across the wet sand. It was, he thought, the best possible setting to appeal to a sporting girl like Annis Allington.
He hoped it was, in any case. With all his being, at this moment, he hoped so.
Annis had shaken the crumbs from her riding habit and moved to the edge of the cliff. She stood shading her eyes with her hand, peering out over the water. She made a lovely picture, with her mass of dark hair lifting in the sea breeze. His heart leaped at the sight of her, and his belly contracted with the desire—no, the need—to possess this quicksilver creature.
It wasn’t just that he wanted to possess her physically, although he had been unable to quench that feeling. He felt more than that. He wanted her company. He wanted her on his arm when he went out in public, and he wanted her in his parlor in the evenings, reading by the fire. He wanted to see her giving orders to the housekeeper, visiting the tenant farmers, walking the streets of the village.
He cleared his throat. “Miss Allington? I have something to ask you.”
She turned slowly to face him, and he saw with a quailing heart that she knew what he was going to say.
And that she was going to refuse.
He asked her anyway. There was nothing else he could do, though his spirit faltered at the prospect of her answer. He took