“Miss Price disagreed with my song choice and challenged me to fisticuffs.”
Bess’s cousin doubled over with laughter. He didn’t think his comment deserved such a robust response, but Miss Price likely needed the release.
Bess’s jade green eyes emitted a soft warmth that penetrated his chest and infused his heart. Her gratitude was tangible, her pleasure a hard-won prize.
I could fall in love with this woman.
The thought stunned him. He needed to sit. He staggered to the settee and plopped on the cushion.
What madness is this? We are strangers.
Yet, when he looked at her, he couldn’t stop his subconscious from making another declaration. She could be the one.
“Faith,” he muttered and drove his fingers through his hair. Exhaustion was playing tricks with his mind. “Ladies, if you will excuse me, I am ready to retire for the evening.”
Miss Price squinted at the pendulum clock on the side table beside him. Lamplight reflected off the glass dome designed to protect the gears and inner workings of the clock. Four brass orbs twirled back and forth with mesmerizing grace.
“It is barely nine o’clock.”
“How odd.” Julius blinked, breaking the clock’s spell over him. “It feels later. I hope you can forgive me for being a dull guest.”
Bess adjusted her position in the chair so she was no longer slumping. “No one would ever accuse you of being dull.”
“I should say not.” Miss Price was beaming. “Rather the opposite, I think. I’m loath to see the evening end.”
“Lord Julius deserves a good night’s rest,” Bess said. “Sleep well, my lord.”
Since she appeared more alert and less in need of his assistance finding her way to bed, he sketched a bow. “Sleep well, ladies.”
Miss Price was talking about the invitation to Everly Manor as he exited. He didn’t linger outside the door to hear what Bess thought of the change in plans. Part of him hoped she would kick up a fuss and refuse; the other half would be terribly disappointed if she did.
Chapter Eight
Julius slowed the four person sleigh at the crest of a hill. His cheeks were pink from the thrilling ride, and his eyes held a feverish gleam. He was in his element. “Have you ever driven one of these?” he asked.
Bess shook her head.
His younger sister Octavia groaned in the back seat. “Here we go, another lesson.”
Calliope, who was two years younger, shushed her.
“No heckling from the back”—Julius tossed a wry smile over his shoulder—“or you will receive a lesson in mucking stalls when we reach Ammie’s house.”
Octavia scoffed. “You are full of empty threats, as usual.”
Bess chuckled. She admired the girl’s gall and hoped it served her well once she was unleashed on Society in a few years.
Bess hadn’t expected to see much of Julius once they arrived at Everly Manor. The morning after their kiss and her embarrassing fall, he was in a somber mood when he announced the roads were safe for travel. He certainly hadn’t been the same jovial man who worked without complaint alongside her at Davensworth Cottage or chased away her cousin’s blues with his antics.
Any hope of furthering their association were quashed when he chose to ride on the box with the driver.
He is angry with me, she’d confided to Gemma on the journey to Everly Manor. Perhaps I should return once you are settled at the party.
Lord Julius is not one to harbor a grudge, Bess. You will see once you know him better.
Bess had thought her cousin’s view of men was naive, a consequence of unique upbringing. In her own experience, men were fragile creatures who sulked when their pride was bruised or blustered when outright insulted. Even her husband, who’d been good and decent, stopped talking to her for days whenever he’d felt slighted.
Julius shattered all of her preconceptions. Whatever was bothering him vanished after his audience with his parents soon after his return home yesterday. This morning, with his good humor restored, Julius and Bess had resumed their friendly banter.
“Tell me you’ve at least driven a buggy,” he said.
Bess shook her head again. She’d never had cause to learn. If she’d needed transportation, she always had a coach at her disposal, or one of her brothers claimed the reins.
Julius’s sigh was dramatic and noisy. “What are young ladies being taught these days?”
“How would I know? I’ve been out of the school room for years.”
“It couldn’t have been a very long time.”
“Oh, but it has. I’m twenty-six.”
“Egads, twenty-six?” He clucked his tongue. “Before you know it, you’ll have a head of grey hair and need an ear trumpet. We best get on with it before it is too late.”
“Get on with what?”
“Your first lesson.” He draped his arm on the back of the seat they shared. “Every lady should know how to drive a sleigh.”
“Are you serious?”
He extended the reins.
A giddy laugh bubbled at the back of her throat; she accepted the sturdy leather straps.
“Hold the ribbons firmly,” he said. “Don’t allow any slack.”
“Throwing a punch. Driving a sleigh. You have unusual thoughts on what skills a lady should acquire.”
“He just wants someone who can bring him home whenever he’s foxed,” Octavia piped up.
“What did I say about cheeky comments from the back?” Julius playfully lunged at his sisters. Octavia and Calliope squealed, bumping against the sides of the sleigh and laughing as they evaded his wiggling fingers.
Julius and his siblings teased one another relentlessly, but there was no malice between them. Bess envied their easy camaraderie. Her brothers had always gawked at her if she were an oddity, and they still addressed her like a child, even though she was their elder.
The mare moved forward. Bess startled. “Whoa!”
With a grin, Julius dropped back on the seat and rested his arm behind Bess again. “I thought this was new to you.”
“This might come as a surprise, my lord, but I have ears. I heard you giving commands.”
“Is that true?” He slid his hand beneath her quilted bonnet and cradled her earlobe, gently rolling it between his gloved fingers. A thrilling shiver raced through her. His eyes darkened and a lazy smile lifted one side of his mouth higher than the other. “Indeed, Lady Hadley. You do have ears.”
“At least one,” Octavia said. “Can we go now? It’s cold."
Calliope snickered.
“Remind me why we invited them along.” Julius winked at Bess and dropped his hand to his lap. “It is a straight path from here, but if you want Daisy to go right say gee. Left is hey. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” she said on a wisp of breath. She couldn’t stop smiling. “Daisy, walk.”
The leather creaked and vibrated as if it were alive. All that power at her fingertips sent a rush of exhilaration through her veins. She urged the mare into a trot.
On the horizon, a quaint Tudor-style house came into view. It was nestled between a grove of evergreen trees and a frozen lake. Smoke rose from two of the three chimney stacks, and a ringed fire blazed on the bank. Several of the Seabrook’s offspring had made their way onto the ice. Off to the side, two women were conversing with a peddler hawking his wares.