Page 67 of A Torn Allegiance
“You say the most thoughtful things.” She looked away. “Can a person say so many important things and mean every one?” The hope in her eyes that she turned toward him was almost his undoing.
“My lady, I am most sincere in every word that leaves my lips. Of that you can be certain.”
They approached a small copse of trees with a bit of a creek running through, and he wished to be at her side, to walk with her. “Shall we water the horses?”
“Oh yes, good idea.”
He hopped off his horse and then returned to Lady Elsie’s side. He’d suspected she might dismount by herself, especially to the soft grasses at their feet, but she waited with such an expectant look on her face that he hurried to say, “May I?”
“Yes, please.”
When he lifted his hands and touched her waist, she sucked in a breath. Then she placed her hands over his forearms and allowed herself to be lowered to the ground. He stayed close, waiting for her to turn her gaze up to meet his. The rim of her bonnet hid her as yet from him.
He moved his hands slowly from her waist and ran them along her arms, rising up to her shoulders. “Elsie.”
She lifted her chin, her eyes full of hope and a touch of uncertainty.
“Might I call you Elsie?” he asked belatedly.
She nodded.
“Elsie, I’ve never felt this way about a woman. I—I don’t know what to say.” His tongue froze in his mouth, and his mind couldn’t form any of the thoughts that welled up inside.
“Then, say nothing, for I know already.” She lifted a hand to the side of his face. “I feel I know your heart, but there are so many other things I don’t know.” Her lower lip jutted out again, and were he not utterly fascinated by it, he would have laughed. He wondered if she was aware just how often she pouted. It was charming and completely distracting. But she spoke, pulling his attention back to what she was saying. “Things you never wish to discuss.”
He would take pity on her but not quite yet. “I’ve been meaning to ask if you were lucky enough to find your bracelet.”
She spun away from him and crossed her arms. “Oh, you. Do you have to be so difficult?”
“Difficult? Me? You’re crashing after me though bushes and have half thetonscouring the earth for an imaginary bracelet.”
She whirled back around, her arms still crossed. “How do you know it is imaginary?”
“Because you were not wearing it when we arrived.”
She looked as though she were thinking of all the many excuses she could use to explain why it had not been on her wrist, but as she looked into Hayes’s eyes, she seemed to sober. “Oh, stop, you know I was following you. And then you had to leave me with Lord Tenney and the others on that farce of a hunt.”
He laughed. “What did you expect me to do? Pretend to look for a pretend piece of jewelry with you all?”
“Of course not. But tell me, did you learn anything from Lord Everly?”
“Lord Everly?”
“Yes. I saw you make your way to him and the others. Have you learned anything about Scotland or the sheep?”
He considered her for a moment. “I have.”
She paused and stepped closer. “What was it?”
“Nothing you would be interested in.”
She frowned.
“I take that back. You seem to be interested in the most nonsensical subjects.”
“Subjects for men?” She crossed her arms tighter, her look of defiance warning him to choose his words carefully.
“Not at all.” He could assure her of that, at least. “I know perfectly well that you wish to speak of all manner of things, and I’ve had plenty of invigorating conversations with you before now.” He stepped closer. “But, Elsie, why on earth do you care so much about France or Napoleon or even Everly? What have they to do with us?” He tucked a stray hair behind her ear, and she relaxed a bit. “When I am with you, there is so much more I want to discover, like your favorite flower.” He waited.
