Page 107 of Duke of Bronze
"What a lovely surprise," she declared, her eyes alight.
"I simply thought to see how you fared after the journey back to Town," Colin replied, managing a smile. "I trust all is well?"
"Well enough that I could pack up again and return to the country this instant," she said with a laugh.
He chuckled politely. "You sound like you miss it."
"How could I not? Doyounot miss the peace and simplicity?" she asked as the tea was brought in. She began preparing it with a graceful ease, the silver tongs and delicate china moving under her fingers like instruments in a practiced sonata.
"I daresay I miss it most of all," he replied, a sheepish grin tugging at his lips.
Fiona's hands paused, just briefly. She glanced up, her gaze studying him with a keenness that unsettled him.
"You look like you're longing," she said, softly, almost speculatively.
Colin laughed, though it came out slightly forced. "Now, I do not know whether to take that as a compliment or a slight."
"Oh, only a compliment," she assured him with a light laugh of her own. "An encouragement, too, perhaps. Maybe you ought not have returned to Town so soon. A bit more country air might have done you good."
"I shall keep it in mind," he said, accepting the cup she handed him.
The tea had a rich, fragrant complexity that surprised him.
"This is excellent," he remarked. "What is it?"
"Oh! It's an Oolong from China," she said with evident delight. "I enjoy experimenting with blends. This one is steeped with chrysanthemum. I do adore chrysanthemum," she added, her cheeks flushing with enthusiasm.
Her passion was endearing, and he offered her another compliment, which seemed to ignite a fire in her. She launched into a lively explanation of steeping techniques, brewing temperatures, the virtues of floral undertones in black teas—her words tumbling with excitement.
But even as he nodded and smiled, Colin found his thoughts drifting.
To Anna.
To what kind of tea she might prefer. Something delicate and floral, perhaps? Or bold, like her spirit?
Blast it all.
He could not keep his mind on the conversation. Could not keep his heart from wandering where it ought not go.
He was sitting in a well-appointed drawing room, sipping fine tea, listening to a lovely woman speak passionately about her interests—and all he wanted was the one woman who had made it clear she would never be his.
And so he sat, the picture of polite attentiveness, while his thoughts remained wholly elsewhere.
A light chuckle broke through Colin's wandering thoughts.
He blinked, dragging his gaze back from the windows, only to find Fiona watching him with barely concealed amusement.
"For a moment," she said, the corners of her mouth twitching, "I thought you had quite literally drifted back to the countryside."
He gave her a polite smile, masking the irritation that flickered in his chest.
"You were far away, you see," she added with a second, lilting laugh.
Colin resisted the urge to shift in his seat. He did not like being caught adrift in thought—especially when those thoughts were so embarrassingly obvious. He liked even less that she had pointed it out, and twice no less. But his features remained placid, composed, the perfect façade of gentlemanly interest.
"I assure you, I am entirely present," he replied mildly.
"You needn't do this," Fiona said suddenly.
