“What do we have left to talk about?” he asked with a smile after Mrs. Reeves had left the room. “Have we exhausted every possible topic?”
They had sat in silence for a couple of minutes. But unlike the day before, it had not been an uncomfortable silence.
“Leonard took me to Scotland for a month four years ago,” she said. “Did I tell you that?”
“No,” he said. “You have been keeping secrets from me, Rosamund. Tell all.”
He laughed through much of her lengthy account of her travels. Leonard had always laughed at her too when she had launched into speech. And he had always hugged her hard and called her the delight of his life.
“Rosamund,” the earl said, “I wonder if the people who meet you realize how closely you are observing all their little foibles. It makes me shudder to think of how you will describe me later. Though your observations are never malicious, I must confess.”
“I will never talk about you,” she said.
His expression sobered and he reached out a hand for one of hers and squeezed it before releasing it again.
“I went to Europe last year,” he said. “A sort of belated Grand Tour once the Continent was safe again.”
“Italy?” she asked eagerly. “Did you go to Rome?”
“How could I go to Europe and not go to Rome?” he said.
“Tell me all about it,” she said. “Oh, I do envy you. Leonard was going to take me traveling, but he was already failing in health when the Battle of Waterloo was fought.”
He told her about Paris and Vienna and Florence and Venice and Rome while she sat gazing at him, her chin in her hand, her second cup of coffee growing cold.
“How I envy you,” she said again when he had finished.
“Perhaps the Reverend So-and-so will take you abroad on your wedding trip,” he said, grinning at her.
But she looked down at the tablecloth and reached for her cup. She put it down again when she found that the coffee was cold.
“How are we going to spend the day?” he asked briskly, getting to his feet and reaching out a hand for hers.
She flushed for no reason that she could fathom.
He laughed. “We can’t do that all day as well as all last night and all tonight,” he said. “We would suffer total exhaustion, Rosamund.”
“Oh,” she said, feeling herself blush more hotly. “How horrid you are. I was not thinking of that at all.”
“Liar,” he said.
“You are no gentleman, sir,” she said, on her dignity.
He laughed again and drew her across the room to the window. “Ah,” he said, “drips from the eaves. There should be enough melting today to allow travel tomorrow.”
“Yes,” she said.
He set an arm about her shoulders and drew her to his side. His free hand reached across to lift her chin so that he could kiss her mouth. “We will have to make the most of today, then, won’t we?” he said.
“Yes,” she said.
“Any regrets, Rosamund?” he asked.
She shook her head and rested it on his shoulder.
“Shall we go outside?” he asked. “Shall we see if I can beat you again at snowballs?”
“Yes, let’s go out,” she said. “But no snowballs, please. I have always had lamentably poor aim, whereas you are despicably accurate.”
