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Chapter Two
“You have alovely carriage.” Hyacinth knew she had overstepped by appointing herself Innes Buchan’s protector, but the stories her parents had told her of him over the years simply tore at her heart. The accounts grew worse and worse with each passing year. Lonely. Verbally abused. Possibly physically abused. Sent off to boarding school. Ignored. Forgotten.
The only bright spot in his youth had been the years he had served as cabin boy to her father when he had been captain of thePlover, one of the sleek frigates in the Royal Navy. Since his own family hadn’t wanted him, her parents had brought him into their home as a sort of adoptive son.
He grunted. “I know it’s a lovely carriage. I only buy the best.”
“And I suppose you paid bundles for it. What a pity. I love to hunt for bargains.” She shook her head and laughed softly. “Where’s the fun in shopping if you are not going to turn it into an adventure?”
He merely grunted again.
Why was he no longer smiling?
She thought back to the young Innes Buchan she remembered. She loved having him around because he was always patient with her, always treated her with remarkable kindness and indulgence. He was the closest thing she had to an older brother.
Hah! Brother?The butterflies now fluttering in her stomach were an indication of quite a different sort of feeling for the grown-up Innes Buchan.
Drat.
She hardly knew him.
She could not possibly be falling in love with him already.
No, she was merely responding to the excitement of seeing him again. He was exceptionally nice looking.
But it came as no surprise since he’d been a remarkably handsome boy.
His hair was now a darker blond and fell in smooth waves instead of the mass of unruly flaxen curls she remembered very well because she did often tug on them, just as he’d said earlier. His eyes were still an incredible green, the irises rimmed in gold and giving him the appearance of a lion on the hunt.
Not cruel or predatory, just powerful and fascinating.
He was a big man with a muscular build that once again reminded her of a lion. But she rather liked the scrawny boy with big eyes and curly hair he had once been. There was a little of that lad still inside of him, only buried very deep.
“I am officially out in society now,” she remarked, wondering why he’d suddenly turned sullen.
He was peering out the window, completely ignoring her while pretending to watch the snow fall along the park as they rode.
His expression remained sullen as he reluctantly turned to her. “I’m sure you’ll do quite well for yourself, Hyacinth.”
It was an innocent enough statement, but there was something quite sardonic in the way he’d spoken. She was surprised and not at all amused when he immediately turned away after hurling the subtle insult.
No, she did not like his condescension at all.
She decided not to fall in love with him.
Well, not yet anyway.
“I already have an array of eligible young men lining up outside my house. And what about you? Will you be seeking a wife?”
Now he turned to face her, his eyebrow arched and lips pinched. “Are you offering yourself to me?”
“Offeringmyself?” He was behaving like a boor. She kicked him in the shin. “Was that supposed to be funny? Well, it wasn’t. I’m not for sale. Goodness, your family truly did damage you.”
She attempted to kick him again, but he put a hand on her leg and held it firmly. “Stop kicking me.”
“Stop insulting me. Why are you suddenly being so rude?”
“Stop pouting. Why are you suddenly being so mercenary?”
