Page 48 of A Stormy Season

“Forgive me. I wasn’t watching where I was going.” He looked quite distracted, but then his eyes roamed from her hair to her dress before snapping back to her face. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “You look very . . . pretty. That is, you look lovely.”

“I thank you.” She gazed into his eyes, marveling again at the depth of emotion she found in them—until she remembered that she was angry with him.

“You seem as if you are in a hurry,” she said, dropping her hands from his chest.

He suddenly let go of her arms, then cleared his throat. “Yes. The grooms saw a man lurking about. I was on my way to see if I could catch sight of him.”

“Don’t let me slow you down.” Jane stepped aside to let him pass.

“Thank you. Forgive me,” he said again, then hurried past her toward the back door.

Jane suddenly realized what he’d said. She should tell him that she’d also seen a strange man out by the garden.

She hurried after him.

~ ~ ~

Luke turned around and saw Jane. Surely she wasn’t following him.

He continued toward the trees next to the stable where the grooms had seen the strange man. The fact that Jane was just behind him made him wish he had retrieved a gun before going out. But he continued on, not wanting the man to get away. As long as he kept his body between her and the man, she should be all right, and the grooms were all standing outside the stable and would come to help if they needed them.

He went to the tree line as one of the grooms joined him. They saw nothing, and he didn’t want to go too far, as he was already risking his clothing and didn’t want to change again before the ball.

He blew out a breath. “I suppose he’s long gone.”

“Yes, sir. But we’ll keep an eye out for the blighter.”

“Good man. Keep me informed, and pin him down, if you can.”

“Yes, sir.”

When he came out of the woods he saw Jane. She’d stopped just short of going into the trees and was holding up her skirts an inch or two.

Luke had little experience of women, since his mother died when he was young and he had no sisters. And he almost felt he hadn’t had enough time with Anne to give him a healthy glimpse into the thoughts and needs of a woman, but it seemed wise not to mention that she was in danger of spoiling her dress.

“Did you find him?” she called.

“No.” It was tempting to tell her that there was no need for her to follow after him when he was searching for a possibly dangerous man.

“I saw a man in the garden yesterday.”

“What do you mean?”

“There was a man at the edge of the garden, near the tree line. But when he saw me, he moved into the trees.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She bristled at his question, folding her arms across her middle, her brows lowering. “I thought he might be the gardener.”

“Were you outside in the garden alone?” His tone was more accusatory than he’d meant for it to sound.

She glared back at him. “You may not order me about, as I am not your wife, nor am I ever likely to be.”

She mumbled the last several words, but he heard them.

So she was offended by his requesting her to not let Jeffrey become attached to her. It was obvious. And Jane’s defiance was quite familiar. Hadn’t Anne spoken to him in just such a way when he’d begged her not to go to London by herself? She’d let him know, in no uncertain terms, that she was not his servant nor his slave and she would do as she pleased.

“You are free to do as you like,” Luke said, steeling himself against whatever angry words she might unleash on him—something he was also quite familiar with.