fully clothed.” Then he shrugged and added, “Or when he’s alone in a bedchamber with her.”
No, she didn’t. The topic was causing him a significant amount of embarrassment since his face was growing redder as he kept talking. She didn’t wish to make him more uncomfortable, so she decided to let the matter go. It was enough to know that, for whatever reason, he had finally come to the conclusion that she was a virgin and that he had no need to have her chaperoned. That, in itself, was a big accomplishment. And really, it was all she needed to feel better about everything.
They walked along in silence for a while, and she finally asked, “Does it bother you that we’re so quiet?”
He blinked in surprise. “No. I assumed we were taking time to enjoy the park.”
“Some people feel the need to talk all the time. They don’t like awkward moments of silence. They think the other person must be bored if no one is talking.”
“I wasn’t bored. To be honest, I wasn’t even thinking of anything in particular. I was just…” He shrugged. “Enjoying the walk. I don’t walk for pleasure often.”
“Is there too much going on?”
“No. I’m not as busy as some gentlemen, but my leisure time tends to be spent playing chess or reading a book.” He gave her a wry grin. “Maybe I don’t get bored with long periods of silence because I lead a boring life.”
She returned his smile. “There’s nothing wrong with playing games or reading. I love cards, but I love books even more. You have a lot of them. Miss Britcher and I took a few to read to her nephew. He loves it when people read to him. I thought it’d be nice to read new stories to him.”
“Which books did you pick?”
“Ones that contained short stories meant for a child.” Since she didn’t feel like explaining the situation with Teddy, she opted to continue with, “I was familiar with a couple of them, but there were some I had never read before.”
“My father collected books. He used to read one story to me every day.”
“Did you enjoy those stories?” she asked.
“I did, but the best part was that my father read them to me.”
“Do you ever read them now?”
“No. I was going to wait until I had a son and read them to him.”
“What if you had a daughter?”
He hesitated then said, “I never considered the possibility of having a daughter. As a titled gentleman, I need a son, so I always thought of having a male child. It wasn’t because I assumed if I had a daughter, she would turn out to be like my mother. The option just never came to mind.” He glanced her way. “Do you think I’m a bad person for that?”
“I never expected to have children, so I’m in no position to judge you.”
“It would be nice to have children,” Aaron said in a soft tone. “I like the idea of reading books to them. Few things in this world are better than sitting near a fire with a cup of hot cocoa and a blanket tucked around you on a cold winter evening while someone reads a story to you. At times like that, all is right with the world. It would be nice to pass on that experience to someone else.”
Kitty wouldn’t have thought him capable of such tenderness. Perhaps there was more to him than his hard exterior. She was beginning to understand why Roger was his friend. Up to now, it had confounded her how anyone could want to be around him. He’d seemed so grumpy and demanding all the time.
Even though he’d told her about his mother, it had been with some reluctance that she had decided to have anything to do with him. She hadn’t believed they could get along in any meaningful way. The most she thought they might manage was a casual acquaintance that would allow them to be polite if they happened to see each other in public. That was why she hadn’t returned to his townhouse right after the ball, though she hadn’t realized it until now.
It would do well to keep letting him visit her. Perhaps she might discover there were more pleasant things to learn about him. Feeling herself relax, she listened to him as he told her his favorite childhood stories.
Chapter Twenty-One
A couple of days passed, and Kitty decided to visit Gretchen and her family. She was anxious to see if