Ignoring her teasing, he grasped her hand. “Remember, don’t look down.”
Charlaine nodded…and promptly looked down.
“I told you not to,” Nathanial reminded her with a bit of an annoyed huff.
Charlaine wanted to hug him, but forced herself to retort with equal measure. “Well, perhaps you shouldn’t have. Instead of telling me what not to do, how about you simply tell me what it is you want me to do.”
Nathanial sighed. “Very well. Look up.”
“Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Charlaine teased and delighted in the way he tried not to roll his eyes at her. “If you’re annoyed with me, then say so.”
His gaze refused to meet hers.
“I dare you.”
The muscle in his jaw twitched.
“It’ll make you feel better.”
He ignored her.
Out of options, Charlaine decided to push the envelope. Her foot came down on his hard.
Nathanial gritted his teeth, his gaze still fixed on something above her head.
“Oops,” was all Charlaine said.
He drew in a slow breath, no doubt in order to calm himself.
Charlaine sighed. “I commend you on your discipline. However, I must say your lack of anger worries me.”
Finally, his eyes met hers. “Pardon me?”
“If you’re upset with me, then tell me,” she urged him. “After all, it’s not a secret. I can see that you’re upset with me.”
He swallowed hard. “A gentleman—”
“You’re not a gentleman,” Charlaine objected, “and I’m not a lady.”
His jaw dropped and he stared at her.
“You’re my friend, and I’m yours,” she clarified. “Brutal honesty, remember? Why are you so afraid to upset me?” His gaze moved from hers. “You weren’t when we first met. You told me without hesitation that you didn’t care for my company.”
His feet stilled, and the muscle in his jaw twitched yet again as he inhaled a deep breath, his gaze unsteady. “I care for your company now,” he finally mumbled, his voice barely audible as though he was not certain if he wanted her to hear him.
Charlaine smiled, touched by his words. Indeed, this soft, honest admission warmed her heart and made her realize how deeply she had come to care for him. “Look at me,” she whispered, smiling up at him. “I am your friend, and nothing you do will change that. I promise.”
His chest rose and fell with a deep breath.
“Despite everything I’ve done to you,” Charlaine said with a chuckle, “to your toes in particular, you’re still here.”
The ghost of a smile danced across his face.
“You haven’t run. You haven’t turned from me.” She squeezed his hand. “You’re still here. Why would you think I’m less steadfast in my affections?”
For a long time, he simply looked at her. She could see that he wanted to believe her, but his natural distrust stood in the way. Then, however, he nodded and his hand on hers tightened. “Look at me.”
Charlaine nodded, and they began to move again to the music.
“You can be quite tiresome,” Nathanial remarked after a while.
“I know.”
“And I don’t like it when you tease me.”
Charlaine grinned. “Are you certain? For whenever I do, your pulse beats faster.” His gaze stilled, and she could see that he was contemplating her words. “Would you mind if I took off my shoes?”
“Yes,” came his reply, quick and clear.
Charlaine laughed. “Why?”
“What would…?” His voice trailed off as he looked around the terrace…only to find it empty. “Where are Lord Markham and Miss Hawkins?”
Charlaine chuckled. “Perhaps they thought of something more tempting to do.”
The muscle in Nathanial’s jaw twitched. “You’re teasing me again.”
“I know.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Your pulse suggests otherwise.” As did her own. Indeed, it had been a long time since Charlaine had felt as much at peace as she did around Nathanial. She had been right to make him her friend, and it seemed he was beginning to see things her way.
Chapter Twenty-One
A Wedding at Long Last
The sun shone brightly as Lord and Lady Markham climbed into their carriage. Their wedding had been a small affair as neither one of them put much stock in societal expectations. Most who had been invited were family and friends, and true to their word, Zach and Becca had arrived back in London only the day before.
Seated across from them in the carriage on their way to the happy couple’s wedding breakfast, Nathanial wondered at the odd looks his brother and sister-in-law were casting in his direction. “Is something wrong?”
Zach chuckled, but shook his head, then exchanged a meaningful look with his wife. “Not at all.”
“Then why are you looking at me like that?” Nathanial demanded with a huff. Oddly enough, the irritated tone in his voice made him think of Charlaine.
Zach sighed, a strange grin coming to his face. “You seem different, dear Brother.”
“Different?” Nathanial frowned. “What do you mean?”
If anyone appeared different, it was Zach. The man could not stop smiling at his wife, his hands constantly seeking hers as though he were drowning and needed a lifeline.
And she was no better.
Zach shrugged. Still, the disconcerting grin remained. “You seemed quite well acquainted with Markham’s guest.”
Nathanial didn’t know why, but he couldn’t help tensing at his brother’s observation. “Well, if you must know—”
“I must,” Zach confirmed with a chuckle.
“She and I are…friends.” The statement still felt strange.
Quite obviously, it sounded strange as well for a deep frown drew down his brother’s brows. “Friends?” Zach glanced at his wife, who looked equally confused.
“You’re friends?” Becca asked, a mix of doubt and suspicion swirling in her green eyes.
Again, Nathanial huffed out an annoyed breath, and again, it made him think of Charlaine, which was a bit unsettling at the moment. “Since I do not assume that the concept of friendship is foreign to you, I cannot understand what it is you fail to understand.”
“Are you courting her?” Zach asked without preamble, straightforward as always.
Becca smiled. “She appears to be a very cheerful, young woman.” If Nathanial was not at all mistaken, a certain implication hung on her words, notably that he, Nathanial, was not cheerful at all, but ought to be—as far as his dear sister-in-law was concerned.
Meeting their gazes with an unfailing one of his own, Nathanial said, “No, I’m not courting her nor do I have the intention to. We are friends, nothing more and nothing less. There, satisfied?”
Zach chuckled. “How on earth did you become friends? I must say I find this very unusual.”
“Do you disapprove?” Nathanial demanded in a clipped tone.
It did not escape his brother’s attention. “What if I did?” he asked, a daring glow coming to his eyes. “What would you do?”