“Twelve and...?” Bernadette asked. He’d said he had two sisters, after all. He grinned.
“Twelve. They are twins.” His eyes sparkled with amusement and Bernadette gasped in delight.
“No! Twins! How delightful! Do they look like you?” she asked with interest. He chuckled warmly.
“No, not really. They have my colouring—we all inherited my mother’s blonde hair and blue eyes. But they’re much more beautiful than I am.” He said it with a grin but the look in hiseyes was sad.
“I don’t believe they can be more beautiful.” she blurted. Then she stopped. She’d never admitted before that she thought he was beautiful—not even to herself.
His eyes widened in a shocked expression. She looked hastily away. He’d come to the house when her parents were away, and that was the time she chose to take liberties. He was almost certainly shocked. She swallowed hard; her stomach queasy with embarrassment.
“Thank you,” he breathed after a moment. He still looked stunned, as if he’d been winded by an unexpected punch to the stomach. But he didn’t seem to think she’d been improper or indecent.
She was amazed at the tenderness in his expression as he gazed into her eyes. He had often looked at her with a sort of intensity that she didn’t understand. She’d never seen him look so gentle before, and it tugged at her heart. She forgot about everything around her—she could have been anywhere, doing anything. The only thing she was aware of was the blue gaze across the table that drew her in like a lake she longed to dive into.
He coughed. She turned around, seeing his gaze move to the door. Mr. Hadley was there with the tea and Bernadette turned her glowing smile on him.
“Thank you, Mr. Hadley.”
The butler blushed and fussed with the tea-things, thenwithdrew, the room silent in his absence. Bernadette stared at Lord Blackburne, who smiled a little shyly.
“You know, it’s probably just as well I mentioned my sisters.” He reached for his teacup and added milk and sugar a little absently. Bernadette reached for the teapot to pour for him—as the hostess, it was her job. “Because Mama asked me to invite you to dinner with my family tomorrow.”
“Oh?” Bernadette felt her heart thud. She focused on pouring tea, her heart racing with delight. This was much nicer than the usual formal, public appearances they made. “That sounds pleasant.”
“Yes. She longs to meet you. She is Lady Aldford now. She remarried the Earl of Aldford a few years following my father’s passing.”
“Oh.” Bernadette smiled at him. “I look forward to meeting your family.” She meant it. She could not imagine anything nicer than meeting people related to Lord Blackburne. His grandparents, who she knew already, didn’t give the impression that his family comprised the most pleasant people. But oddly, she couldn’t imagine his mother was like them.
“I am glad to hear it.” He sounded a little shy, his gaze hesitant. She beamed.
“Of course, I am pleased to meet them,” she said gently. “After all, you’ve met mine.”
He chuckled. “You’re right...I have.”
They sat and talked for a little while longer, mostly of the theater and music and topics they had already discussed before.
“Of course, I already know your opinion on most ofHamlet,” he said with a teasing grin.
Bernadette nodded, amazed by how often she agreed with him on a subject. He was an interesting person to talk to and she wished he could stay for hours, but at the same time, she wasn’t entirely sorry when he pushed back his chair. Her mother would be returning at any moment, and she would rather not have anyone else watch them disapprovingly and disrupt their lovely conversation.
“I regret that I must return to my home.” Lord Blackburne smiled that lopsided grin that made her heart race. “I promised my grandfather I would look over the accounts with him. I’d much rather stay.” He raised a brow.
“Glad to hear it,” Bernadette answered teasingly, amazed at her own boldness. He laughed.
“Well, then,” he said, bowing low. “I regret to have to excuse myself. I will see you soon. I will come with the coach to fetch you tomorrow at six of the clock?” he offered.
“Please do,” Bernadette agreed, heart thumping.
“Well, until tomorrow.” He bowed and Bernadette curtseyed, and she stood in the doorway, uncertainly, as he walked down the steps to the front door. Her head was full of a hundred things at once, heart racing in her chest. She stood there unmoving until she heard Judy move a teacup and thenshe turned around.
“Whew,” she murmured. Judy giggled.
“He’s not ugly, eh, milady?” Judy asked. She was also giggling, her dark eyes bright, her cheeks flushed as if she was also too shy to say it.
Bernadette swallowed hard. “He’s very handsome,” she said firmly, meaning it absolutely. The scar was nothing. If anything, she liked it. It added to the mystery of his face, somehow emphasizing those sparkling blue eyes and fine bone structure. It felt good to admit that she found him handsome. It felt as good as it had to admit it to herself.
“Well, I’d best ring Mr. Hadley to tidy these things away,” Judy said, turning away and letting Bernadette lose herself in her own private musings. She stood where she was, staring out of the window, the conversation playing through her head. Her heart thudded whenever she thought of that warm, blue-eyed gaze, so full of tenderness.
