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The appearance of an outstretched arm made her shriek as if a wild animal with razor-sharp teeth and blood-stained claws had just hurled itself across her path.
‘Miss Gardiner?’ Mr Fortini looked justifiably confused.
‘Oh, excuse me. I thought I saw a...snake.’
‘A snake?’ A pair of black eyebrows disappeared beneath his top hat.
‘Yes.’ She came down off her tiptoes and cleared her throat awkwardly. It was the first wild animal that had come to mind, but still, a snake in Bath? Even a slow-worm was somewhat far-fetched.
‘I see...’ The eyebrows showed no sign of coming down again. ‘Well, stranger things have happened, I suppose. Fortunately it appears to have slithered away.’
‘Perhaps I imagined it.’
‘Or a trick of the light, maybe?’ He extended his arm a second time, bending his elbow with what appeared to be deliberate slowness.
‘Ye-es.’ She lifted her chin and curled her hand cautiously around his bicep, trying to ignore the flicker of heat that immediately sparked in her abdomen and darted outwards, along her arms to her fingers and down her legs all the way to her toes. If she wasn’t mistaken, even the top of her head was in danger of overheating. Her whole body felt strange, the way it had that morning when she’d caught a glimpse of his bare chest, a memory she’d intended to repress as quickly as possible, but which seemed determined to keep intruding upon her consciousness like one of those tunes that got stuck in your head. Or like a particularly quote-worthy line from a poem, not that his chest was inherently poetic, just unfortunately unforgettable... Oh, dear. Her thick woollen shawl was starting to feel somewhat redundant.
‘Shall we head towards Pulteney Bridge?’ He strode onwards, appearing not to notice any change in temperature, possibly because he hadn’t even bothered to fasten his jacket. ‘I want to see what’s changed over the past few years.’
‘Not too much, I think.’ She hurried to keep up, relieved to put the subject of snakes behind them. ‘But then I suppose you don’t always notice changes when you live in a place from day to day. I suppose even Belles must seem very different to you.’
‘Yes, although that doesn’t necessarily mean the changes are bad ones.’ He gave her a sideways smile. ‘Some of them are actually quite pleasant. Once the initial pain has worn off, obviously.’
‘Oh...yes. How is your nose?’
‘Not broken.’ His expression was faintly triumphant. ‘You’ll have to try harder next time.’
She blinked, uncertain about how to respond to the joke, especially when she was still trying to regain her equilibrium and accept his arm for what it was, just an arm, no matter how sturdy or sinewy or astonishingly muscular it felt beneath her fingertips. None the less, she had the alarming impression that he was trying to compliment her, which meant that she needed to change the subject and quickly.
‘Oh, look!’ She was seized with a sudden burst of inspiration, pointing across Great Pulteney Street to the shopfront opposite. ‘That’s Redbourne’s new general store. They moved premises last year. Now it’s one of the largest shops in the city.’
‘Is that so?’ Mr Fortini sounded interested. ‘Tell me, does old Mr Redbourne still manage the place?’
‘No, his son took over a while ago.’
‘Even better...’ He acknowledged the words with a wicked-looking grin. ‘Remember that story about me and a friend throwing biscuits across the street? Jem was my partner in crime.’
‘Mr James Redbourne? But he always seems so...’
‘Good and responsible? I know. His father always thought I was the bad influence, if you can believe that, but Jem was more than capable of getting into trouble on his own. He was just better at hiding it.’ His grin widened. ‘I’ll have to pay him a visit and see if I can lure him back into old ways.’
‘Maybe I ought to warn him.’ She couldn’t help but smile, unable to resist his good humour. ‘I could send a message, only not with Nancy. They don’t get along.’
‘Really? Has she been throwing books at his head, too?’
‘She probably would if she could, but I don’t know what she has against him. It’s a mystery.’
‘Now that sounds like a challenge...but enough about them. Tell me more about yourself, Miss Gardiner. I’m curious. Have you always lived in Bath?’
>
‘No-o.’ She stopped smiling and drew her brows together, wondering what to make of the question. She’d had similar enquiries from men before—not so much out of interest, she’d realised eventually, more to work out if she had some kind of protector—but Mr Fortini looked as if he were simply making conversation. And there was no harm in telling him a few details, surely? ‘I grew up six miles away in Ashley.’
‘I know the village. In fact, I believe I travelled through it yesterday, although it was hard to tell in the dark.’
‘It’s a pleasant place, but Bath is my home now.’
‘Mine, too.’ He looked around as if he were trying to take in every detail of the street. ‘You know, it’s funny. I spent most of my youth longing to escape and see the world, but I missed this place the moment I left. As much as I wanted to go, part of me has been homesick ever since.’
