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Anne was glad she had corrected herself so quickly, for she did not want Freddie to think she was enthusiastic about him attending the classes for anything other than educational purposes. Anne would have been incredibly embarrassed if she thought that he was catching on to how she was feeling about him.
Freddie looked quite elated, which made Anne’s stomach feel as though it had been taken over by butterflies. He had such a delightful smile.
“I am very relieved to hear that, for I was actually quite anxious about asking you that,” Freddie admitted. “I have already run this by Lord George, and he thought it was a marvellous idea.”
Anne cocked her head to the side. “Well, that is wonderful, but why were you anxious to ask me?”
Upon being asked this, Freddie began looking somewhat uncomfortable.
“Forgive me, that was an impertinent question, and you do not have to answer it if you do not wish to,” Anne said quickly.
But Freddie looked up at her and shook his head emphatically. “Oh no, I am happy to tell you, it is just that I feel foolish for thinking it about you. You see I ... I was afraid that you might take such a request as my attempt at taking over your teaching. You are such a gifted, patient teacher, and so I did not want to make you feel inferior in any way. That is why I was hesitant about suggesting it.”
Anne felt the butterflies in her stomach begin to flutter once more and try to escape from her through her mouth, but she did not let them. As she gazed into Freddie’s handsome brown eyes, she felt so lucky that he had taken such a liking to her when he came into the house. She felt even happier that he had been recommended to become her superior regarding the children’s education, for that meant they could have conversations such as this one without anything seeming suspicious.
“T ... Thank you, Freddie,” Anne said softly, picking an invisible fluff from the skirt of her dress. “I don’t believe I’ve ever had anyone be so considerate of my feelings before.”
Freddie met her eye and looked at her earnestly. “I find that heartbreaking to believe, Anne.”
They continued staring into each other’s eyes, and then an overwhelming urge to kiss him came over her. She glanced briefly down at his lips, which were full and inviting, and then returned her gaze to his eyes. Freddie was now looking at her as though he knew what she wanted ... and he wanted it, too.
“Anne,” he said softly, leaning in towards her.
His eyes were focused on something just to the right of her eye line, and a moment later, he reached out his hand, and Anne thought he was going to cup her chin with his hand. Her heart began pounding with anticipation, but when his hand came within inches of her cheek, he continued moving it past until she felt it gently grasping a strand of hair that had come loose. A small smile began forming in the right corner of his mouth as he pushed the strand back behind her ear. When she felt his fingertips gently graze her, it sent an involuntary chill down her spine.
“I didn’t want that to continue to pester you,” Freddie whispered softly. His face was now so close to hers that all she had to do was lean forward slightly and press her lips against his. She knew exactly how they would feel: warm, soft, and inviting. She also knew that the moment she began kissing him, she wouldn’t be able to stop.
Freddie hovered in front of her face like that for another second and then drew himself away. When he did, Anne both breathed a sigh of relief and felt disappointed. She had desperately wanted to kiss him, of course, but even more than that, she had wanted him to initiate the kiss. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to make any romantic advancement unless he did something first, as she almost needed to be convinced to break the rules and be with him.
When Freddie had got comfortable in his chair once again, he said softly, “I hope that was not improper. It just seemed to keep getting in your face, and I did not want it to continue to bother you.”
“Oh no, not at all!” Anne said, a little too enthusiastically. “To tell you the truth, I hadn’t really noticed it, but I am glad that you took care of it. It needed to be done.”
It needed to be done? Why am I blabbering like this? I could have just said it was fine!
But Freddie did not seem to notice, thankfully. He was just smiling happily at her, and then he launched into his ideas for all of the things that he wanted to teach the children about arithmetic. He seemed so happy talking about it that all Anne had to do was keep smiling and nodding, but inside her head, a million questions were flying about.
When he leaned in, it seemed as though he wanted to kiss me, too. Was I imagining that? Did I impose my own wishes onto him? Because when he fixed my hair and then gave his explanation, it seemed very much as though that had been his intention from the beginning. I believe that I must have been imagining that he wanted to kiss me. I have to stop thinking about him like this; otherwise, I have a feeling it will get me into trouble.
