Page 6 of Their Brazen Countess
“Hello there! I wasn’t sure you two would come.”
Linc let one eyebrow lift. “If you weren’t sure who was at the door, why would you have called for them to enter?”
Jo chuckled. “I was certain it was you once you knocked. Who else would knock on that door in the middle of the forest? I just wasn’t certain you two would come at all, after the way we met yesterday.”
“Of course we were going to come. How often does one get an invitation to be friends with a Wood Sprite?” Linc smiled and winked at her.
“Oh, hush. You know very well I am just a woman and nothing more. Now come in and take your coats off, I’ve got a pleasant fire going to keep us warm.”
“Excellent!” Arthur took off his coat, hung it on a peg by the door, and moved by the fire. “We brought luncheon.” He set the basket down by his feet.
“How kind of you.” Jo appeared pleased, but then looked around with a frown. “I’m afraid it will have to be something of a picnic. I had not realized there wasn’t a stick of proper furniture left in this hut.”
Linc walked over to the one trunk tucked into a corner of the hut and opened it. “Ah ha! I have found some old blankets in here. All is not lost.”
“Well, at least we won’t have to sit on your very fine coats,” Jo quipped as she bustled over and reached into the trunk.
The first blanket she pulled out was so moth-eaten it barely qualified as a blanket, even in a bachelor’s estimation. The next one was in a little better condition. By the fourth blanket, she’d found something they could spread out on the floor and sit on. Linc had taken the decent blanket and was spreading it on the floor before the fire.
Only then did Jo gasp.
“What is it?” Arthur asked, stepping swiftly to her side.
Though he was curious at her exclamation, he found himself distracted by the way her breasts moved under her bodice. Was she not wearing a corset as well as crinoline? The lack of crinoline had been hard to miss when they’d entered, but the missing corset only now caught his attention. Their little Wood Sprite was truly a free spirit.
“Look at this lovely quilt.” Jo lifted the folded fabric from the trunk and smoothed a hand over the worn pieces. Something about it appeared to tug at Jo’s heartstrings. She looked almost sad for a moment. “Someone must be heartbroken over having lost this. It looks to be a family heirloom. Perhaps it was their wedding quilt?”
“It does seem to be well taken care of, if well used.” Arthur felt the softness of the cotton and the thickness of the filling. He looked at her, curious about the way she was reacting to the quilt. “It would add a bit of cushioning to the thin blanket we found—unless you would prefer to return it to the chest?”
“I suppose it’s been left behind. We might as well put it to good use.” Jo shrugged and carried it over to where Linc had spread out the blanket and followed suit with the quilt.
they settled down and began laying out their lunch, sitting in a little triangle so they could all see each other. As they nibbled on the cold meats, cheese, and bread, while sipping wine, they shared more stories of their lives. Conversation flowed so freely, so easily, Arthur wondered how he could feel so intimate with a woman he had not known four and twenty hours prior.
“I’ve always been something of a bookworm. My mother despaired of me until my father arranged a marriage for me. I was forever reading books on history, and of course I love the gothic novels.” Jo shivered. “They always have a darkness to them that is exciting. If I was a heroine in a gothic novel I would be the most intrepid heroine, plunging into the darkness, candle raised high as I discovered what lurked.” She grinned.
Arthur cocked his head. “Did you not play with other children? I wonder now why we never saw much of each other.”
She smiled softly. “I played with my sister Becca when we were younger. But as we both grew up, our interests diverged. She began spending more time with mother learning about running a household, beauty regimens, that sort of thing. I have always been more the type to wander in the woods and explore once my chores were done. What were you two like as children?”
Arthur noted her deflection, but easily went along with the shift in focus. “I was a typical rascal—always in trouble, always picking on my younger sister Emily, and then I was sent off to school. That’s where I fell in with a raucous crowd and developed…let us say, some bad habits. Gambling, drinking to excess.” His cheeks heated as he brought up his past.
“But all of that is behind him now. He’s keeping much better company these days.” Linc cut in and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Indeed. Thanks to my sister falling in love with one of your lot.” He grinned at Linc. “Linc and his friends took me in and helped me break from the bad influences in my life. They’ve been instrumental in helping me turn the tides of my life.” He looked down at his hands, unable to look at either Linc or Jo. “I’ll forever be grateful for them all.”
“It’s what we do for each other. You became one of us the moment Cooper set his sights on Emily.” Linc laughed. “As for me, I was a quiet lad.”
Arthur snorted. “That must be a bald-faced lie.”
Linc feigned affront. “You wound me sir!”
Jo and Arthur laughed, their chuckles mingling in the increasingly warm air.
“Very well. I was a happy child. I laughed and I played outside a great deal of the time.” A sadness passed over Linc so quickly Arthur wasn’t sure he actually saw it. Was there more to his story than he revealed? But Linc pressed on. “When I was cooped up in the house, I got lost in history books. I’ve always been fascinated by the Greeks and Romans.”
Arthur couldn’t help but wonder if that was when Linc began to consider his interest in men, in addition to being attracted to women. Perhaps not a question he could ask…
“Not unlike your book about Polly, Jo, I discovered treaties that opened my eyes to all of the erotic possibilities in the world.” He shrugged one shoulder as if perhaps a bit uncomfortable with his own path to self-discovery.
