by all the frogs hopping around.”
“May I ask what you would think about?”
He let out a slight laugh. “About nonsensical stuff.”
“Such as?”
He grew solemn for a moment before saying, “The future, and the man that I hoped to become.”
Miss Blackmore watched him closely, her eyes searching his face. “And did you become that man?”
“I’m starting to,” he admitted.
Her expression softened. “I’m glad to hear that.”
With the way she was watching him, it took everything that he had to resist the urge to gather her into his arms, kissing her until she let go, until she realized that she needed him in her life as much as he needed her. Which he did, desperately. For along the way, he had done something intolerably stupid. He had gone and fallen in love with the matchmaker. Something that he would never have thought was possible just a few days ago, but he could deny his feelings no longer.
Somehow, he had to convince her to become his wife. But how was he going to accomplish that feat?
He dropped his gaze and asked, “Have you had enough to eat?”
“I have.”
Rising from his chair, he extended his hand to assist her. “Then we should be on our way.”
16
“Surely you jest?” Lord Berkshire asked.
Katherine shook her head. “I kid you not, my lord,” she replied. “Amelia enjoys riding bareback on her horse.”
“Why would she do such a thing?”
She smiled. “My sister can be quite the hellion when she wants to be.”
“Clearly, but how did she even learn how to ride bareback?”
“My father was rather indulgent when it came to Amelia,” she explained. “He allowed the grooms to teach her, assuming she rode only on our lands.”
Lord Berkshire eyed her curiously. “Can you ride bareback?”
She laughed. “Heavens, no. That is an easy way to break one’s neck.”
Lord Berkshire glanced over at the window as they continued down the dusty road. “What about Miss Hannah?”
“No, she cannot,” she replied. “Hannah had a riding accident when she was little, and she has been afraid of horses ever since.”
“What happened?”
“She fell off her horse when it jumped over a hedge, and she broke her arm,” she revealed. “She was laid up for weeks while her arm healed.”
“That was most unfortunate.”
“It was,” she said.
As a comfortable silence descended over them, Katherine found herself growing increasingly curious about Lord Berkshire, and she realized she had a growing list of questions that she wanted to ask him.
“Do you have any unusual traits or habits that I should be aware of?” she asked with a smile.
Lord Berkshire’s eyes twinkled with amusement. “I assure you that all of my traits and habits are considered perfectly acceptable by the ton.”
“Can you box?”
“I have done so on occasion.”
“Hunt?”
He nodded. “Every gentleman can hunt.”
“Good point,” she replied before moving on to her next question. “Have you ever gone fishing?”
A wistful expression came to Lord Berkshire’s face. “I haven’t fished in ages, but I used to fish with my father before I left for Eton.”
“But not after?”
“We still went, but not as frequently,” he explained. “My father preferred to fish during the warmer months.”
“Is that so?” she asked, hoping he would open up further to her about his father.
He wrinkled his brow thoughtfully. “My father was a kind man, but he was also a structured man. He liked to do things in certain ways and at certain times. We knew exactly what to expect of him, and what he expected of us.” He paused. “But when he was fishing… he was different.”
“In what way?”
Lord Berkshire smiled briefly. “He was relaxed, and he spoke more openly to me. He taught me many important lessons about life.”
“I am glad that you have those memories to hold on to.”
“On one occasion, my father told me that he wouldn’t always be around, and that it was my duty to take care of my mother and sister when that time came,” he began. “He said that how I cared for my family would define me as a man, and he made me promise that I would never turn my back on them, no matter what the circumstances were.”
“Your father sounds like an honorable man.”
“He was.” Lord Berkshire grew silent as he clasped his hands together. “I don’t speak of him very often, because it reminds me that he is no longer with us… with me.”
She could hear the pain in his voice, and she desperately wanted to help him, to make the suffering go away. But she knew that she couldn’t do that. Only time