“It looks as though you are grimacing.”
“That is just ridiculous,” he replied. “There is nothing wrong with my smile.”
Arabella shrugged one shoulder. “It was merely a suggestion,” she said. “There is no reason to take offense.”
“I can assure you that I was not offended. Just curious.”
“I am glad, because none was intended.”
Colin was enjoying being so near to Arabella, and he was pleased that she had not moved to create more distance between them. He just needed something clever to say to keep her engaged.
While he was thinking of something to say, Arabella asked, “What is the punishment for poachers?”
“Pardon?” He had not been expecting that question.
“What happens when a poacher is caught?”
“He is arrested and carted off to jail.”
Arabella pressed her lips together, clearly displeased by his response. “What if the poacher is just trying to feed his family?”
“Regardless, it is a crime to hunt on someone else’s land, and it has to be dealt with via swift retribution.”
“Why is that?”
“If word ever got out that I was lenient about hunting on my lands, then poachers would arrive in hordes and kill off all the wildlife,” Colin said. “I would be left with nothing.”
“I understand,” she said softly.
“Arresting poachers brings me no pleasure,” he assured her, “but they are stealing from me.”
“Forget I said anything.”
He cocked his head. “Why did you say something?”
“I suppose I feel some sympathy for the villagers who go hungry, leaving them little choice but to poach.”
“How do you know it is someone from the village?”
“Who else could it be?”
“It is not uncommon for gangs of men to descend on an estate and kill a large amount of game,” he said.
“That is awful.”
“They raid an area, stripping it bare of all the game,” Colin continued. “Then they cart it off to London where it would fetch a hefty price.”
“Do you believe a gang of men are poaching from you?”
“I do not,” Colin said with a shake of his head. “The evidence does not support that conclusion.”
With a pointed look, Arabella remarked, “Perhaps we should discuss this later. We are being rude to our guests.”
His gaze left hers and he saw that the girls were already starting to decorate his tree, hushed excitement in their voices.
Arabella glanced back at her tree and sighed. “It would appear that the girls are not interested in decorating this tree.”
“You don’t know that.”
