He glowered back. “I haven’t seen you for two days.”
She arched her brows. “You don’t think a male companion might be a bit superfluous in a husband-hunt?”
“I can’t let you go alone. There are smugglers in those caves.”
“I won’t be alone. I’ve got…” She scanned the corridor for the nearest maid. “Mary! Put on a cloak. We’re taking a walk to the village.”
“Yes’m.” Mary grabbed a parasol and hurried to join her.
“Fine.” Daniel also accepted an umbrella from the butler. “I’m still coming with you.”
“Fine.” Rebecca strode out into the brisk autumn air without waiting for him to escort her. “Make yourself scarce if we come across eligible gentlemen.” She glanced over her shoulder at the maid. “Not you, Mary. You’re my duenna. Stay close, so the natives know what a proper, respectable lady I am.”
Mary nodded.
Daniel lowered his mouth to Rebecca’s ear. “That mouse couldn’t save you from the hiccoughs.”
“Fortunately, I do not suffer from hiccoughs.” She strode through the front garden toward the castle drawbridge. “I suffer from an arrogant viscount inexplicably determined to play savior. Or tourist. You’ve never cared about Delmouth before. Why go with me now?”
“I should have gone before. I want to go now. With you. I want to see what I’ve been missing.” He met her eyes, his gaze unreadable. “I have a feeling I’ve lost out on more than I realized.”
She didn’t dignify that with a response. She couldn’t. It hurt too much.
He was right, of course. He’d missed everything. She’d missedhim. But it still didn’t matter. He had his world and she had hers. Wishing things were different had never worked for anyone.
“Take my arm,” he commanded.
She slanted him ayou-must-be-jestinglook.
He opened the umbrella to block a fine mist of ocean-scented raindrops. “Please take my arm. We are just two old friends out on a leisurely promenade along pirate-infested waters, protected by a wisp of a maid who spends most of her life caged inside a haunted castle.”
Rebecca grudgingly curled her fingers about the crook of his arm. “Have you considered writing travel pamphlets?”
He nodded. “Next on the list, if the viscountcy bit doesn’t work out.”
They settled into a companionable silence, with miles of rolling grass on one side and golden cliffs leading to endless turquoise-blue sea on the other.
Halfway between the castle and the village, they passed an abandoned cottage atop a humble knoll.
Rebecca smiled wistfully. She rather loved that tiny cottage. Close enough to town to be convenient, far enough away to be private. An unparalleled view of the caves and the sea. Peace filled her. Marriage to one of the local gentlemen wouldn’t be half bad if it came with sunshine and a beautiful view.
She gestured toward the hillock. “If I could have had my dowry money outright, I would have let a small room in a house like that one. From here, you can smell the ocean and hear the waves on the beach.”
He turned to her in surprise. “Old Banfield gave you a dowry?”
She shook her head. “The new earl did. He has daughters of his own, so he needs to be rid of me. Five hundred pounds is quite generous. He is letting me decide whether I wish to spend it on a Season, or use it as a dowry.”
Daniel cocked his head. “And you decided dowry.”
“My first choice was independence, but since that wasn’t an option…” She lifted a shoulder. “A Season would be illogical. I cannot compete with younger, wealthier debutantes. I didn’t manage to bring anyone up to scratch when Iwastheir age. Here in Cornwall, a five hundred pound dowry makes me at least somewhat attractive.”
Daniel stopped walking.
“Everything about you is attractive,” he said fiercely. “Your quick mind, your sharp tongue, your soft hair, your perfect lips. There isn’t a man alive who could spend an hour in your company without falling half in—”
He spun forward without another word and all but marched toward the village in stone-faced silence.
Rebecca’s heart was beating too rapidly to do more than cling to his strong arm and keep her trembling legs moving forward.
