lowered his arm. “There is someone.”
“Oh, why didn’t you say so! Who is she?”
Tugging at his necktie, he said, “I do have a strong liking for this young lady, but I am not entirely certain what to do with these feelings. I am not even certain I wish to pursue her.”
“We are at feelings?” She demanded with a wide smile. “Let me invite—”
“Mother,” he said gently. “Leave it alone. This is my matter, and if something should ever come out of our friendship, you will be the first to know.”
She beamed at him.
A glance through the windows showed the very woman he spoke about, dressed as his manservant trudging out of the woodlands bordering the estate. She had been gone now for half of the day. Upon waking this morning, his morning toiletries had been neatly laid out, and he’d dressed alone. She had been there behind his chair in the dining room for breakfast, waiting to serve his every need. He’d spent the morning in his study, going over the books from his steward and the reports on a few investments that had been highly profitable this year.
He hadn’t rung for her, suspecting she needed the space to think…to breathe, and he also felt a measure of unease commanding an obvious young lady of quality to serve him. Wentworth dipped and pressed a kiss to the countess’s cheek. “If you will excuse me, mother, I will see you at dinner.”
He made his way toward the door, intending to stroll outside and meet Juliana.
“Wentworth?”
He stopped and turned to his mother.
She wore an expression of deep curiosity. “Are you still lost in your mind…I mean…your books.” His mother huffed gently. “What I mean to ask is, this young lady who has caught your interest, is she or thoughts of her able to pull you away from your books?”
He knew why his mother asked. Wentworth had skillfully avoided the entanglement of eligible young ladies these past few years because he was more interested in his books. Always. “What books?” he asked.
Her eyes widened, and a delighted laugh slipped from her. He bowed and exited the room smiling.
Chapter 10
It didn’t take long for Wentworth to cut across the rolling lawns of his estate to where he’d seen Juliana through the windows. There was a nip in the air, and in the distance, the dogs raced across the grounds, playing. Wentworth veered onto a beaten track, which led to the lake on the property's eastern side. He spied her lying on the grassy banking, elbows draped across her forehead and her eyes closed. Now he saw her as a woman, even dressed in male clothes, he realized what an attractive picture she made in repose. His breath hitched slightly, and he felt a strange sense of possession and longing that she would come to feel something deeper than attraction and gratitude to him.
The backdrop of the wintry lake with swans gliding on the slightly rippling water presented a pleasing vista. The stark skeletons of the now naked trees reflected in the water, and the blue sky decorated by a few small fluffy clouds only added to the scene's tranquility, and he felt happy. He briefly examined the emotion but accepted that Juliana being there was the main reason for that sensation.
Careful not to jolt her, he made his way over and lowered himself to the grass. He, too, watched the sky, waiting for her to stir. She was aware of his presence, for he could see the wild fluttering of her pulse at the base of her throat where she’d untied her neckcloth.
He sprawled on the grass beside her, staring up at the sky.
“I went for a jaunt in the village,” she offered. “I cut across the woods of your estate.”
“I noticed. Was it pleasant?”
The grass crinkled as she rustled. “At first. Then I realized just how far I had to walk.”
He chuckled at the wry humor in her tone. “You may take the carriage even to do personal errands.”
“Thank you.”
They fell into a comfortable silence, and he was contented with watching the puffy clouds gently sweep across the sky while he mentally calculated the probability of rain. In the distance, the bright colors of a rainbow painted the sky with its beautiful color. “Julianna, do you know how rainbows are formed?”
“Yes.”
He turned his head on the grass and stared at her.
Humor danced in her beautiful eyes. “After Our Lord washed away the evil in Noah’s time, he promised never to destroy immorality with