Page 60 of His Spirited Lady
“Apples, of course, since she pressed me to buy a cartload. And sharon fruit. Florence, our newest clerk, brought a few to work for sharing and, before I knew it, I was negotiating for bushels of them.”
Amelia took great pride in knowing the source of each ingredient, of supporting her father’s tenants, of having her product strongly identified with her home. She’d gone to great lengths to ensure it.
“She says you threatened to take an axe to her barrels.” Richard looked Fletcher square in the eyes. “That best never happen again.”
The other man’s mouth flattened to a straight line. “If she bargains her virtue as part of her scheme for freedom, barrels won’t be the only thing I take an axe to.”
The heat in his words gave Richard pause. He’d had a similar conversation with Oliver years ago, warning him not to break his sister’s heart. But it was different. Julia had loved Oliver long before either man had realized it. Amelia had made her intentions and plans clear. “I would not take advantage of this situation.”
Fletcher nodded once, short and sharp. “That young lady put her future in my care. Keeping her from making it harder than necessary is a task I take seriously.”
Because you are not in her future.Drake didn’t have to say the words for Richard to hear them.
“You two are far too serious,” Amelia said as she joined them.
The moment she threaded her hand through his elbow and onto his arm, Richard relaxed. The room wasn’t so close, and his cravat wasn’t so tight. He glanced over his shoulder to where Oliver stood with Thea, recalling him in rooms with Julia in a similar posture.
Damn.
“We were just discussing the finer points of axes,” Drake said. His smile widened. Richard imagined it was how he’d looked at Julia. At least he hoped it was, because Fletcher’s pride and affection were evident, but it wasn’t the same way Oliver had looked at Julia, or the way he looked at Thea, which was different still.
“No talk of axes at a party,” Amelia scolded gently.
“Certainly,” Drake replied before lowering his head and his voice. “Something has arisen, and I have to return to London.”
She nodded. “I’ll see you there then.”
Richard looked between them. “You’re going to London?”
“My investors have a quarterly meeting in a few weeks.” Amelia squeezed his arm. “Our guests are leaving. Please come help me say goodbye.”
Not for the first time this evening, Richard was grateful that the Chitesters had kept the celebration small. Though his face ached from smiling and his mind spun with names, the hall contained only family in short order.
“Shall we do another toast?” Augustus asked. “We seem to have wine remaining.”
“Could Amelia and I have a few minutes alone first?” Richard’s face heated, and he blamed it on not spending enough time in polite society. It never bothered him to enter a brothel and ask for his favorite hostess, but to stand here surrounded by family was something altogether different.
“How silly of us not to consider that,” Marian Chitester said. “The library should be fine.”
Avoiding Oliver’s and Drake’s stares, Richard led Amelia to the library and closed the door.
“Thank goodness that’s over,” Amelia sighed. “It was good of everyone to come, but this has been a long day.”
She twisted her head and neck in a move Richard had done often himself to relieve overtaxed muscles. It wouldn’t work unless she’d been hunched over ledgers, which Fletcher had said she wasn’t.
“Sit,” he said as he urged her toward the chaise lounge. He waited as she did so, admiring how the light gilded her hair. “Which hurts worse, your feet or your back?” As he sat behind her, straddling the lounge, he knew he should pray for feet, but he didn’t.
“Back.”
Richard chafed his hands together to warm them before lightly touching her shoulders. “Stop me if you get uncomfortable.”
She nodded but didn’t speak. Her muscles shuddered under his hands.
“Relax,chéri.” He laid his fingers along the warm, smooth pearls circling her neck before pressing his thumbs against her spine.
The knobby bones were delicate under her soft skin, but the muscles around them were knotted.
“You should have told me you needed help today.” He worked his thumbs out and then down, splaying his fingers wider across her collarbones while trying not to think about how much of her skin was bare.
