Page 35 of Fair Weather Enemies
“What is it, sir?”
“It seems you have negotiated free boarding for the evening. As such, we may dine more elegantly than expected. I believe I smell the aroma of roast lamb drifting from the kitchen.” He lifted his chin to the proprietor. “Is that not right, good sir?”
The man mumbled again and nodded.
“Excellent. After supper, the men and women will retire to our respective corners. In the meantime, I suggest a few hands of whist. Who’s game?”
Jane clapped her hands together. “I am. I prefer nothing more than humbling my archest enemy at cards. Mr. Ashford, prepare to be savaged.”
He laughed softly. “I look forward to it, Miss Hancock.”
Chapter Fourteen
Hailing from a landed family had provided Adam many benefits unavailable to most Britons. A large house. Excellent fare. Fine clothing. A quality education. However, chief among those benefits was a plush bed for sleeping. Similar beds appeared wherever he traveled, lovingly cradling his slumbering form. As a result, he found himself surprisingly unable to move after waking from a night on an unyielding pinewood floor. A groan escaped him as he stretched his spine and rolled to hands and knees.
“Do you require assistance, Mr. Ashford?”
He lifted his eyes to find Jane smiling down at him, displaying no ill effects from her stay on the floor. Pride drove him quickly to his feet, despite his suspicion that several of his vertebrae shattered in the process.
“I am perfectly fine. Although I thank you for your concern over my health.”
“I was not concerned for your health, sir. However, if you expire, I may be forced to drag Beelzebub all the way to Penrith. I prefer that you handle the job, as your brute shoulders seem more suited to the task than do mine.”
He lifted one eyebrow. “Brute shoulders, you say?”
“Like those of a field hand. Not slender like those of a proper gentleman. Do you, in fact, work the fields, Adam?”
Her smirk indicated the improbability of such a thing. He smiled as he considered her coming surprise.
“Every harvest since I was twelve.”
As he had anticipated, her superiority slowly faded when she realized he wasn’t joking. The puzzlement that seized her features left an enticing crease above the bridge of her nose.
“You work the fields?”
“Of course.”
She paused before expelling a pent-up question. “Why? You are a gentleman. Gentleman do not perform physical labor.”
He nodded to validate her question, but his jaw squared as pride bubbled up within. “Because, Miss Hancock, those fields have belonged to my family for generations. My father insisted I work the harvests to earn the right to care for those fields. After his passing, responsibility for the land fell to me. Because of his wisdom, I know and cherish every inch of those fields and would do anything to protect them. Anything.”
His unforced confession surprised him. Why had he bothered to share with his chief adversary what he had not told even his closest friends? Something about Jane invited his confidence, a fact he found astonishing. His surprise, however, seemed nothing compared to the haunt that grew in Jane’s eyes. The promise of tears made them shine like wounded beacons. After a moment, she tucked her chin.
“I did not understand.”
“Did not understand what?”
She lifted her chin to gaze at him again. “I did not understand the extent of what you stand to lose.”
He should have reveled in her hurt, should have exalted in her shame. Instead, a desire to lift her spirits overcame him. He forced a smile and flexed his shoulders one at a time.
“Regardless, now you know the truth. Now you know why I possess such a repulsive physique.”
A budding smile seized her mouth, lifting the ends of her lips. “I never used the word repulsive.”
“Abhorrent, then?”
“No.”
