Page 37 of A Well-Trained Lady

The amusement on Augustus’s face was too much to tolerate, and I looked away, finally taking notice of the view. “It is lovely up here. Though the landscape is not so very different from Bath, is it?” I glanced around at the lush foliage that occasionally hid the stream from view. “Fewer hills, perhaps, but the same vibrant colors.”

I watched him as he surveyed the landscape, a satisfied look on his face. “Perhaps that is why I was always so fond of Bath.” He sent me a wink.

“Yet you prefer it here?” The question escaped me before I had a moment to think better of it.

His expression was soft, but his answer was evident.

I stared at the horizon in an attempt to conceal my irrational hurt. “It is your home.”

Augustus stepped closer, and the sleeve of his coat brushed against my arm. “Do you know what aspect of Bath I have missed most?” His honey-brown eyes radiated the warmth of the sunlight so forcefully, I felt a need to look away, but I could not. “You, Bella. I missed you.”

My whole body was abuzz at hearing the thing I’d longed to hear for so long, but I could not allow him to see the truth. It would do neither of us any good in the end. “I thought you intended to say it was taking the waters.”

One side of his mouth lifted in a partial smile. “That was a close second.”

The sounds of distant voices drifted on the breeze, filling the silence between us.

Augustus flicked his chin. “It looks as though Sarah and Ruth have caught sight of us.”

I followed his line of sight to find Ruth waving and calling to us, though she was still too far for us to make out her words.

My gaze shot back to Augustus. How had I let the opportunity to speak with him pass? I was still desperate to know who had prevented him from contacting me or, more likely, confirm my suspicions. “Mr. Brundage,” I said, in an attempt to gather my courage.

“Yes?” He closed the space between us and my legs nearly faltered beneath me.

“I was hoping …” It was difficult to find the words with him standing so near, let alone the courage to speak them.

“What is it?”

I hesitated. The ladies were still some way off with a hill yet to climb. But even if I could find the resolve to ask my question, Ruth and Sarah would arrive before he could provide an adequate answer. “Mr. Brundage, do you recall the time Ruth was ill and we spent every free moment together, just the two of us, hidden away in the woods?”

His mouth pulled into a slow smile. “Of course I do.”

The warm air surrounding us suddenly felt thick as I attempted to draw in a breath. “I only mention it because I feel as though I have hardly had a moment to speak with you—alone.”

Now it was his gaze that flicked back toward Ruth and Sarah. “We are alone now.”

“For a moment. But it is never long enough.”

He said nothing, but his brow pulled low, shading his eyes and making them appear colder.

Instantly I was overcome by my own indignity. I took a step back. “Forgive me. I should not have suggested such a thing.” How foolish I was. We were no longer children. What must he think of me? Perhaps that I was exactly the type of lady he believed me to be—one who skittered about with gentlemen so I could have suitors lining up at my door. The thought nearly undid me, and I knew I could not allow him to entertain such a notion.

I could not meet his gaze. “Mr. Brundage, let me assure you, my suggestion just now was rooted in a nonsensical moment of nostalgia, nothing more.” I paused, inhaling a shaky breath. “I am not the type of lady that—”

A soft chuckle caused me to glance at him. “Let me assure you, that thought did not enter my mind.”

Relief flooded over me. “It is a shame Ruth and Sarah were not near enough to have heard my unseemly suggestion, or they rightly would have called me on it.” I clasped my hands behind me. “Shall we start down and meet them?”

His gaze was thoughtful, when it came to rest upon me. “I shall make a deal with you. If you will stop the unnecessary and agitating formality of calling me Mr. Brundage, I shall agree to meet you wherever you deem fit.”

I couldn’t repress my smile, and his expression soon mirrored mine.

“Agreed?”

I gave an eager nod. “Tomorrow then. Two o’clock in the rose garden.”

He drew in a slow breath, but nodded. “Two o’clock, then.”