Sweet Rogue of Mine (The Survivors #9) - Shana Galen Page 0,108

air also hinted at the coming winter. Pru did not relish the thought of long weeks and months inside the vicarage with nothing but sermons to read. Wentmore was too far of a walk to attempt in inclement weather. Mrs. Northgate was close enough, but if she went there, she risked seeing Mrs. Northgate’s grandson.

Pru sighed as she began shaking out tablecloths and laying them over tables. She still didn’t know what to do about George Northgate. Certainly, he wouldn’t accost her at the festival. There would be too many other people around. But he would look for an opportunity soon afterward. Who could she speak to about him? Mrs. Northgate was the first person that came to mind, but George was her own grandson. Of course, she would take his side. Perhaps if Pru phrased it as a hypothetical...

The hair on the back of her neck tingled, and she looked about, knowing Nash must be near. She spotted him, having just emerged from the house. He was a vision, and she had to take a bracing breath at the sight of him. Clopdon had outdone himself. Nash was dressed in dark breeches and coat with a waistcoat the color of...Pru looked down at her new dress. It was almost the same russet color as her dress. She’d never seen the waistcoat before, which meant it might be new. She suddenly felt a rush of affection for Clopdon. The dear man.

Nash was standing outside the house, like a feudal baron surveying his domain. She realized it wasn’t the waistcoat that took her breath away as much as the way the sun streamed over him, making his dark hair look almost fiery and highlighting the curves and planes of his face. She wanted to go to him and kiss him, but she controlled her impulse and shook out another tablecloth. Good thing as the earl emerged from the house to stand next to his son a moment later. The two spoke briefly, and Pru’s quick glances at them were enough to have her worried.

The earl still seemed stern and, when he looked at Nash, his gaze was assessing. He was still deciding whether or not to send Nash away. He was still waiting for Nash to do something that would seal his fate. Pru snapped a tablecloth so hard that the sound echoed. She didn’t care. The earl obviously hadn’t listened to a word she said yesterday, and she had to take out her anger somehow.

Pru had hoped to have a moment alone with Nash—he might tell her he loved her back. She almost laughed at the thought. More likely, so he might tell her she was an idiot and why couldn’t they just have a bit of fun and not be so serious? That’s what Abubakar had said when she’d asked how he felt about her. She hadn’t loved him, but she’d desperately wanted to be in love. With Abubakar, she’d known there was nothing but lust between them. She’d felt more for Nash from the beginning, though.

But there was no opportunity to speak to Nash alone before the first guests for the festival—the vicar and Mrs. Northgate—arrived. They arrived together, which puzzled Pru as she hadn’t thought the two had much affinity for each other. Pru went to greet her guardian and her friend then took Mrs. Northgate aside on the pretext of showing her the table where she could put the apple tart she had brought.

“I thought you did not care for the vicar,” Pru said.

Mrs. Northgate gave her a sharp look. “Well, good day to you too.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Good day. How are you? The weather looks like rain, does it not? I thought you did not care for the vicar.”

Mrs. Northgate laughed. “I don’t care for religion, and I don’t care to be chided for not attending church. The other day when Mr. Higginbotham drove me home, I told him we would be good friends if only he never mentioned the subject again. He declined, of course. He has a moral duty or some such rot. Oh, my! Yes, this looks very well, Miss Howard.”

Pru smiled at the way Mrs. Northgate nodded in approval at the tables draped in white and festooned with ribbons and colorful bunches of leaves. The tent for the baked goods being entered in the contest was decorated in a manner similar to the tables. It was located south of the tables and the stage where announcements could be made and where