David opened the door of the cottage and motioned for Mama and his sister to take the lead. After they passed through the door, he held an arm out toward me. “Shall we?” I took it. His warmth immediately permeated the sleeve of my coat, even with the chilling breeze cooling my face. If all he did was compliment me and walk arm in arm with me, he would be fulfilling the promise from his note.
“Where will we be walking?” Mama asked. “It has been too long since I have explored this area. I hardly know what is nearby.”
“I was thinking of showing Julia in what manner I found Anna a few days ago,” David said, his mischievous smile lines showing how pleased he was to be torturing me at my expense.
I stopped walking, which brought everyone else to a standstill. “We won’t be doing that.”
“We won’t?” He was all innocence and boyish charm. “I hate to disappoint Julia.”
“I don’t mind,” came Miss Tate’s firm yet quiet reply. “We should do what Miss Anna prefers.”
All three of them looked expectantly at me. The oak tree was my most typical walk, other than making the trek to the Mortensens’ small home, but I didn’t think we would make it all the way to the Tates’ lands with Mama in tow.
I let out a large breath. “All right, we may go to the tree. There is a nice hill nearby as well, with a lookout. You can see for miles.”
“Can you see Tate Hall from there?” Mama asked.
“I don’t believe so,” David replied. He sounded uncertain, but we both knew we couldn’t. I loved that vista, and if I had been able to see Lord Murphy’s estate, it would have tainted it. “Anna and I will lead, seeing as we know the way.” We walked around the pair of them and strode down the path leading to the oak tree.
I tipped my head toward David once I was fairly certain we were far enough ahead that we wouldn’t be heard. “Surely you won’t tell them in what condition you found me.”
He pulled his head back in mock incredulity. “I won’t?”
“No,” I hissed. “It wouldn’t be gentlemanly of you.”
“And you think I’m a gentleman?”
“I truly hope you are since you hold my reputation in your hands.”
His hold tightened on my arm, and from the corner of my eye, I caught his smile fading into a line. He swallowed and turned to me. “I do. And I’ve tossed and turned, wondering if I made the right decision. That I overstepped my place is certain, and I can live with that if it helps you, but if this agreement causes you any harm, I would not forgive myself.”
“I didn’t know Lord Murphy was your father when I agreed to it. I don’t know how you expect to keep this quiet. As soon as one person knows of your engagement, everyone will know of it.”
“You overestimate my position. My father has never included me in his social circle, and I haven’t seen him in years. My older brother, Garrett, is the only one he spends time with anymore. True, people here in Breckenridge will hear of it, but I hope to contain the information to this little corner of the world. Almost no one travels outside of it, and no one keeps correspondence with my father.”
“Except your family, I presume. Won’t Miss Tate write of it?”
“My sister writes to Garrett but never to Father. And Garrett will not tell him. The three of us are the least likely to send information to our father. If news reaches him, it won’t be from his family.”
“And if it reaches him in some other way?”
David’s lips pressed together in thought, but he didn’t answer.
“You must not feel obligated to me. I will not force you into ...” What was I trying to say? Or rather, I knew what I wastryingto say. I simply couldn’t say it. This conversation was more uncomfortable than having tea with Mr. Green. I gritted my teeth and sighed. “In your position, your family must hope for a much better match for you.”
His smile came back, but it was a grim sort of thing, barely comparable to his earlier smile. “I wouldn’t feel obligated—quite the opposite. If he ever found out, we would end the engagement immediately.” He kept his eyes forward. “I saw your reaction when you heard who my father is. And even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t allow him anywhere near you.”
“Was he very terrible to you when you were a child?” I asked, knowing that at a minimum, Lord Murphy hadn’t bothered to clothe David properly.
The cords in David’s neck tightened. “He was.”
Chasms of unspoken words filled that short sentence. How much prying would a temporary fiancée be allowed?
“Was he the same with your sister?”
He shook his head. “Not the same. But—” He paused. “He wasn’t kind to any of us.”
“From what little I know of him, it sounds as though he’s never been kind to anyone.”
