Page 41 of Wild Lily
“Interesting?”
She tipped her head to and fro. “If you like discussing ships in dock and the art of raising thoroughbreds.”
That surprised and pleased him. She was no faint miss without a thought in her head save ribbons and silks. “I wager you do?”
“I do.”
He was surprisingly gratified by that. Could he predict that dinner conversation with her would never consist of a litany of the latest gossip about society’s scoundrels and ne’er-do-wells? “And what of your days in Texas?”
“I didn’t ever do needlepoint.”
“Terrible at it?” he asked with delight tickling him.
“Hideous.”
“Instead, you did what?”
She pursed her lips as she considered the trail ahead.
He wished he could commission a portrait of her in silhouette as she pondered a problem. In this, as in much else, she was exquisite. A beauty whose hair might gray, and whose eyes might dim, but whose dynamism would sparkle through. “Tell me. I don’t bite.”
“Hmm. You’re sure?”
“I might have been too forward at the opera, but I have learned my lesson.”
She turned the most distressing face to him. All large sad eyes, lax mouth, and miserable longing.
Dear God.Had she valued his advance? Even though she warned him away?Why?
What to do now?
He had no idea what to say.Apologize? Repeat himself?
The woman confounded him.
“Lily—” He watched her swallow hard on embarrassment and turn forward. “Lily.”Dear woman.“Tell me, what you did at home.”
Her mouth worked at words. “I—I herded cattle. Trained the sheep dogs, too. And when I got cleaned up and shed my trousers, I’d ride into town with Marianne to help nurse the sick who live along the docks.”
He was aghast.
She waved a hand, gleeful, chuckling. “I know. You’re astonished. No lady does that. No lady needs to do that.”
“Dear me,” he said, considering the sterling luster of her character. “We pale beside you.”
“Don’t make fun of me.”
“I’m not. I’m stunned. You and Marianne nurse the poor?”
“She more than I. And she’s much more knowledgeable than I. During our war between the States, she nursed Confederate wounded. What she knows about gun shots and diseases, no woman or man should ever have to learn.”
“This must seem so mundane to both of you. The teas. The balls. This house party. Do you like any of it?”
She bit her lip and considered him beneath her lashes.
He chuckled. “All right. Just tell me.”
“I appreciate good conversation. I enjoy tea and I love to dance.”
