Holding her hand, he ran towards the woman. “Madam? A word?”
The woman held her basket filled with produce against her chest. “What do you want?”
“Where did you get that gown?” Esther asked.
“I didn’t steal it. It was a…” The woman studied Esther’s face. “It was you!”
She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Did I give you my gown and walk away naked?”
“Well, we played a quick cricket game in the yard behind that building. You against me. Because you bragged about being the greatest batswoman of all time.” She used a mocking, high-pitched voice.
Esther smiled. She might have exaggerated, but she wasn’t that terrible at cricket. “And I won.”
“No.” The woman jutted out her chin. “You missed the ball three times in a row and gave me your gown as payment. I won fair and square and gave you my old gown not to let you walk about in the buff.”
“Oh.” That was a blow. Served her right. At least she hadn’t walked the streets naked.
“Did the lady have a sword?” he asked.
“Indeed she had. I wanted that, but she refused to give it to me. She said it belonged to a wonderful man.”
“That’s true,” she said.
“So she agreed to give me the gown,” the woman continued. “Completely barmy.”
He smiled at her. “Yes, barmy.”
Twelve
The sun was setting behind distant hills when Alexander decided to stop the search. Anything could have happened to the foil between the yard where Esther had lost her game and his house. Someone must have stolen it.
He sat next to Esther on the sofa in his parlour overlooking the sea. The red clouds were reflected in the water, giving the illusion a large flock of red crossbill birds had landed on the sea.
She sat with her shoulders hunched, her hands folded in her lap.
He brushed a curl from her face. “You shouldn’t be sad.”
“You lost your precious foil because of me. I’ve always followed the rules and listened to Mother my whole life. The one single time I try to do something wild ends up in one disaster after the other. It would be bad enough if I were the only one involved, but to lose your foil is unforgivable.”
“It wasn’t a complete disaster.” He caressed the curve of her cheek. “I found you. That’s more precious than anything in the world.”
A side of her mouth curved up in a shy smile. “I’m happy to hear that.”
The dying sun hit her eyelashes and made them sparkle. He dipped his head and paused. She parted her lips and inched closer.
He kissed her slowly, teasing her lips with the tip of his tongue. She placed her soft hand on his cheek and drew him closer. The kiss felt both new and familiar at the same time, as if kissing her were the most natural thing he could do. But there was nothing familiar about the emotion fluttering in his chest.
She shivered at the touch of his tongue against hers as he deepened the kiss.
He broke the kiss and shared his breath with her. “That didn’t seem like a disaster.”
“No, but I don’t think I deserve it.”
He feigned agreement. “Then you should give it back to me.”
She pressed her mouth against his hard, and a groan rumbled in his chest. He held her face with both hands as she opened her mouth.
The silkiness of her skin was irresistible. He ran his hand down her neck, pausing on the swift pulse beating under her jaw, and caressed her breast before stopping on her waist.
