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“Truly?” She feigned shock.
He chuckled. “We had one more brother, Benedict. He died at war… or so the note said. We never saw the body. But I suppose many English families never said a proper goodbye to their sons, brothers… husbands.”
“I’m sorry,” she said softly.
He shook his head. “But before that, we were one big and boisterous family. We still are, I suppose. But my parents passed from grief after the news of Ben came…” He cleared his throat. “Isabel was always the calm one, the rational one. Sam was a troublemaker. She always climbed trees and raced horses with Adam and Ben. Alan was more interested in his studies. He was always reading books, even on hunting trips.” He laughed and shook his head from the memories.
She eyed him curiously. “And you?”
He raised his brows. “And I was just there.”
Her face softened, and a small smile appeared on her lips. “Doing what?”
He cleared his throat and turned his eyes to the sky again. “Preparing to inherit the estates. Learning about my duties as a viscount.”
She frowned and inched closer to him. “You didn’t play with the others?”
He shrugged. “I was the oldest. Their activities didn’t interest me as much… Besides, I was already attending school when they reached the appropriate age for us to engage in the same activities. Ben was the closest to my age, but he was always running with the babes, looking out for the little ones.” He chuckled. “I went hunting with my father, fishing, spent mornings sorting through accounting ledgers, and learning about different farming techniques and technologies… I had a lot to do.”
“Hm…” She licked her lips, then looked at him slyly. “No time to look up at the clouds?”
He chuckled. “That I always found time to do. The roof used to be my favorite place growing up. Sure, sometimes I looked down at my playing siblings or the working servants, but most of the time I would lie just like this, looking up at the sky. The roof was the only place that allowed me to just be. I wasn’t required to do anything or think about anything.”
“You didn’t think about anything at all?” Mischief ignited in her eyes.
“Nothing at all.”
“How about the shapes in the clouds?”
He grimaced. “What shapes in the clouds?”
“Well, see?” She pointed her delicate finger at a puffy, white cloud. “That one looks like Button. Not the button on your coat, but Millie’s dog.”
Richard barked a laugh. “That cloud is far too small and graceful to resemble Button.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “Buttonisgraceful!”
“He has tackled Isabel at least three times since they met. A graceful dog would never do that to a refined young lady like Isabel!”
She chuckled. “I love how protective you are of your siblings.”
Richard grunted, finding nothing to say to that remark.
“Very well. It’s your turn. Can’t you see a shape in the clouds?”
Richard frowned, searching the clouds and trying to find anything familiar in them. “The one to the far left. That one looks as if it’s a dancer. Nowthatcloud is graceful. It reminds me of you.”
She raised her brows. “You think I am graceful?”
He laughed. “You know you are. You are the most beautiful actress in London.”
She smiled, her gaze oddly intent. “You think I am beautiful, my lord?”
He turned toward her, his eyes hooded. “I think you are the most graceful, talented, beautiful, and desirable woman I’ve ever met.”
They lay like that, just staring into each other’s eyes and not speaking. Until he couldn’t take it anymore.
He kissed her.
