Page 28 of Managing the Major

Smiling, the major pointed to the budding hawthorn trees. “Spring has finally arrived, I see. Miss Merrick, may I say how glad I am that you consented to come to Fairfax? And Lady Hope as well.”

“Genevieve is my dearest friend and excellent company. She has the best disposition, always cheerful and accommodating, and willing to laugh.”

“Those are excellent qualities in a friend. Are there others you deem necessary?”

“Loyalty above all things, I think. And a person who stays true to their word.”

“Both are important, and I would add something else.”

She looked up curiously. “And what might that be, Major Fairfax?”

“In my experience, integrity is the root of all good things to be found in men.”

“But not women?” she was quick to protest.

“Of course, integrity is important in a woman, but the demands it makes on each gender are very different.”

“Yet you consider the demands on men more important.”

He weighed her question. “Considering my history, I can’t help but think the battlefield holds the definition of integrity. A man faces death for values that are intangible at best. Why does he not run?”

“Our principles and our character can be—should be—just as strong. Why does a woman remain faithful in marriage, or sacrifice everything for her children? Virtue is often just doing what is right when one could as easily turn away. That opportunity visits men and women equally.”

He abruptly paused walking and turned to face her. Octavia, puzzled, pulled Lucifer to a stop, and the reins went slack as the stallion bent to nibble at a tuft of grass.

The major looked down at her, his gaze unreadable. A muscle ticked in his cheek, and for a moment, she thought her outspokenness had shocked him. From a tree behind them, the melodious notes of a warbler burst across the quiet morning, and his eyes dropped to her mouth.

He’s going to kiss me. Her heart thumped, and she leaned forward, slightly dizzy as a second warbler joined the first.

“Octavia—Miss Merrick—” he whispered.

A carriage came around the bend, and they broke apart, moving to the side. As it went by, they resumed walking and Octavia’s pulse gradually steadied. Ahead, the path ended, and Park Lane loomed beyond. She hated the thought of going home, though it would be awkward to keep walking past the turn home.

She pointed to the stone steps at Hyde Park Corner. “I can mount there if you will hold my horse.”

“We’ve agreed on the ideals we both prize, Miss Merrick. I wonder how long before we can agree that first names are permissible?” She looked over, startled, and his lips creased with amusement. “I’m but a rough soldier…tell me what is proper? A month? Six? Don’t say a year; that would be unbearable.”

She couldn’t help but smile. “You are teasing me, Major Fairfax.”

He took the reins from her and led Lucifer to the steps. “I find it extraordinary that we’ve just had a more honest and thought-provoking conversation than I have with most men, let alone a woman—yet we must still address each other so formally.”

A wave of heat rose in her cheeks. She had spoken her mind candidly, and he approved. There was far more to Major Fairfax than she imagined.

She put her boot in the stirrup and settled into the sidesaddle, arranging her skirts. “If we speak privately, or in Genevieve’s company, you may call me Octavia.”

“And you will call me Alastair?”

“If it’s that important, yes.”

“Yes, Alastair,” he prompted.

She stifled a smile, tapping Lucifer’s side with her boot heel, and resisted the impulse to look back.

*

Alastair sank against the cushions of his carriage, wondering if he was going insane. He had nearly kissed Octavia Merrick in the middle of Hyde Park. And now that the impulse had taken hold, he could think of nothing else. He wanted to kiss her senseless, and it had little to do with her face, her smile, or even her breasts. All those things were attractive, but something else nearly caused him to break all rules of propriety.

Her passionate words—their exchange of ideas. She challenged and stirred him all at once. Around Octavia, he felt alive…and very masculine. He woke aroused this morning, which hadn’t occurred since the accident.