Page 59 of Return to Satterthwaite Court

The two of them weren’t alone. Hannah trotted ahead with Kate’s brothers Ivo and Jack, both of whom were talking and laughing with her as though she were their newly adopted little sister.

Only Kate’s brother James had refrained from joining them, choosing instead to ride out on his own into the village on some errand or other. He seemed a solitary sort of man, one with little patience for the high spirits of his siblings.

Charles wasn’t sorry to be absent his company. The viscount’s cool gaze had settled on Hannah once too often during dinner last night. Though he’d shown no marked preference for her, never talking to her or teasing her like his younger brothers, it was plain that she’d caught his attention. And it was equally plain that the viscount had made an impression on Hannah. Since their arrival, she hadn’t once met the man’s eyes, not that Charles had seen.

It wouldn’t do.

When Hannah wed, it must be to someone as warm and compassionate as she was. A man who would nurture her gentle nature, not snuff it out with his coldness and distance.

“They grew up here together at Beasley,” Kate said. “They were practically inseparable. It’s why they prefer their own company to anyone else’s.”

“Not to yours and your brothers, surely,” Charles said.

Kate smiled. “Oh yes, even to us. Mama and Papa would never admit to it, but it’s true.” She brought her mare alongside his gelding. “They’d have joined us on our ride, but they rarely leave their room before midmorning. Not if they can help it.”

It was an indecorous admission. Charles wondered it didn’t put Kate to the blush. But she seemed to have no compunction about referencing her parents’ unfashionable affection for each other.

“They’re soul mates,” she said. “Destined to be together.”

He looked across at her. “A romantic notion.”

“It’s the truth.” Kate squinted against the glare on the snow. She hadn’t worn her hat or her riding veil this morning. Without them, the sun shone over her face unfiltered. She appeared both very beautiful and very young. Far younger than her bold ways would attest. “Don’t you believe in soul mates?”

“No,” he said frankly.

“Not even a little?”

Charles didn’t like to disabuse her of her fancies. But there was no point in pretending. “I believe that two people of a similar mind and temperament can be happy together if they’re lucky. That’s all.”

“Similar temperament, bah,” she scoffed. “Naturally a couple must be aligned on the fundamentals—just as we are—but—”

He couldn’t contain a smile. “Are we, indeed?”

“It’s obvious enough if you look at our characters objectively. We both prefer the country to town. We both love animals and the out of doors. And we neither of us are content to sit back when a situation calls for action.”

“All of which you’ve deduced from our limited acquaintance.”

“And from talking to your sister. Hannah tells me you’re resolved to live a quiet life in the country, despite the fact that, in the past, you were always seduced by adventure.”

Seduced.

It was as good a way of putting it as any. Even now, back in the familiar tranquility of the West Country, the thrill of discovering the origins of the mysterious letter beckoned.

As did Kate.

To be sure, Charles was as drawn to the adventure of her as he’d ever been to anything.

But it was a weak man who couldn’t control his passions.

“I am,” he said.

“As am I,” she replied promptly.

His lips twitched. “I suspect our ideas of what constitutes a quiet life might differ in the extreme.”

Kate dismissed his doubts with a wave of her gloved hand. Her mare pranced beneath her. “We needn’t be identical in every regard. Imagine how dull that would be. Only look at my parents—or at your own. Are they so much the same?”

“They are actually,” he said. “They began as friends. Marriage came later.”