Page 48 of Fair Weather Enemies
“Miss?”
“Have you considered the riddle further? A rise, a circumference, an army of stone?”
Mrs. Morgan returned her attention to the road. “I have. Been woolgathering for nigh on three hours, now. And I’ve drawn a conclusion.”
Excitement mounted within Jane. “Is that so? What is your conclusion?”
“That I have no idea about a rise, a cir…circum…”
“Circumference.”
“Yes. That. Or an army of stone. I still believe an army of stone seems ineffectual. Why would one require stone soldiers? Or a circumference?”
“I wish I knew.”
Jane became abruptly aware of Adam’s presence. She peeked back to find him nearer, apparently having taken interest in her questioning of Mrs. Morgan. He leaned closer still until contact seemed inevitable, but he stopped short. His mouth spread into a mischievous grin.
“There you have it, Jane. A circumference. Perhaps this is a geometry problem after all.”
She faded away from him slightly…but only so…and frowned. “A geometry problem? Are you mathematically inclined, then?”
He chuckled. “Inclined. As in, say, an inclined plane. Very amusing.”
“Thank you.”
“You are welcome. Although, your humor seems a bit obtuse.”
“You make a good point, sir, but I am acutely aware of that.”
He laughed louder. “I am not sure I like the arc of this conversation. I fear we might cross a line.”
Her frown faded as she swallowed a laugh. “Have no fear. We are safe as long as we limit our conversation to tangential matters.”
“An angle I had not considered. Very good.”
She permitted a subdued giggle for that pun. “Enough. We should stop before we exhaust our geometry terms and proceed to calculus.”
“You know calculus?”
She considered the level of his surprise but decided not to take offense. Not too much, anyway. “Some. But it was not an integral part of my education.”
He rolled his eyes. “You are correct. We should cease with the mathematical puns. Particularly as I fear my terminology will exhaust long before yours does. I doubt my pride could survive such a blow.”
“Such a blow? By that, do you mean being bested by a woman?”
He shook his head. “No. You have been besting me for most of the past ten years, so I am quite accustomed to that.”
“Then what did you mean by ‘such a blow’?”
He looked away to gaze at a large, craggy hill, a hint of flush in his cheeks. He did not speak for a time. Then he faced her.
“I doubt my pride could survive your disregard.”
His reasoning briefly took her aback. She recovered just in time to raise her defensive walls. “But I have disregarded you for a decade, sir.”
“I know. However, I never much cared before.”
Heat climbed her cheeks. Caught in the intensity of his gaze, her first instinct was to laugh away the moment, or to change the subject, or to leap from the wagon and run far without stopping. However, the import of the moment settled upon her. He seemed to offer…what? Further admiration? A truce? Perhaps even an end to the war between their families? She could not be certain which. However, she knew that if the moment passed unaddressed, she would likely regret it for all time. She dipped her chin in acknowledgment of his unspoken olive branch.
