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“Ruddy says?” John asked.
“Yes,” Charlotte said, emphatically. “Randolph. My brother. The Earl of Keegain,” Charlotte added for emphasis. She attempted to use the clarification to get them back to a subject of proper discourse. Mother would be scandalized if she knew Charlotte had nearly indulged in a conversation about the accuracy of firearms with a gentleman caller. Perhaps she should mention the weather. Oh, how droll that would be! She nearly giggled at the notion.
The silence stretched with only the clip clop of hooves on the sedate path. The pair of riders greeted several other individuals, but both seemed content to walk together and did not extend themselves to talk to the others of theTonwho were also enjoying an afternoon in the park. Charlotte stole a glance at her companion. He was very pensive. She wondered if he was still thinking of his father.
“I don’t have as much chance to shoot as I would like,” Sir John said.
“Do you miss your father greatly,” Charlotte asked, awkwardly at the same time.
They both laughed.
“I do,” Ashbrooke answered. “Although it has been over ten years now since his death.”
“I don’t think there is a time limit on such things,” Charlotte added.
Sir John nodded. “I often wonder if I really fulfilled his last wishes.”
“Randolph has felt the same,” Charlotte said.
John shrugged. “I suppose nothing seems to be quite right without him. It is as if a part of me is still waiting for him to come back and set things to rights.” Where had that admission come from, John wondered? He cast a sidelong, suspicious glance at Lady Charlotte.Was she some sort of enchantress, to have him spouting such private thoughts that he himself had not yet realized them?Fortunately, Charlotte was looking off into the distance, caught up in her own thoughts, and did not notice his scrutiny.
“Sometimes I feel just the same way about my own father. Of course, Ruddy has done a perfectly wonderful job of leading our family in his absence. It cannot have been easy for him though, especially with all of us girls. Perhaps hehasindulged us a bit as well, but I do not see how it has done us any harm.”
“How has he indulged you?” Sir John asked, glad to turn the conversation once again to Lady Charlotte and away from himself.
“Oh, well, I suppose I would not be able to spend so much time riding if he did not allow and even encourage my interest.”
“And shooting?” Sir John asked and she blushed. So, he had guessed. He was very observant, Charlotte thought.
“I know. It isn’texactlya ladylike pastime, but it is awfully good fun, isn’t it?” She tossed her head and some of her shining golden curls escaped from her bonnet. “I cannot hide the fact any longer. I enjoy shooting, and I am fairly skilled at the sport as well,” she admitted. “Although it sounds boastful to say so. I enjoy most pursuits that allow me to be outdoors as much as possible, with the exception of dancing.”
Sir John was quiet for a moment, reflecting on this new revelation. He had gathered bits of information from mutual acquaintances that Lady Charlotte enjoyed riding and being outdoors. She herself had admitted a love for the hunt upon their first meeting, but he had assumed that it was meant in a more conventional, surface sort of way. Although, she seemed quite sincere and he found that he could easily picture spending a day in the countryside, companionably shooting and laughing. Even easier, he could picture himself at her side, perfectly content in such a scenario.Perhaps they might pack a picnic and make a day of it.It was a most pleasant musing.
Lady Charlotte seemed to misinterpret his silence for censure. “I have shocked you. I would apologize, but I suppose, it is just as my mother said at the opera. It is better to be candid up front than to deceive a new associate and take them by surprise later in the acquaintance. I could not abide the falsehood.” Charlotte touched her horse with the crop taking the longer path around the park and pulling ahead of Sir John. If he was displeased with her omission, she wanted the longest way home to convince him otherwise. She hoped she had not bungled the outing entirely. She glanced back at the following groom to be sure he saw their detour.
“No. No, indeed, I am not shocked,” John protested, as he caught up with Lady Charlotte. He could not bear the thought of her cross with him. He fervently wished that he could also confess everything that he had hidden, but he reminded himself of the necessity of prevarication. His heart twisted at his own deception. “I am surprised, but not shocked. Not in the way you mean. I was only thinking how refreshing it was to hear such a thing. So many young ladies seem to have few interests outside of fashion, gossip and needlework.” He noticed that she had chosen the less traveled fork in the path.
“Oh, I am passionately fond of fashion and gossip as well, I should warn you.” Lady Charlotte smiled, her mood instantly improving upon his reassurance.
She was so beautiful when she smiled, John thought. The curls of her hair had worked their way free in the breeze and teasingly clung around her graceful neck. He wanted very much to remove her riding hat, catch those soft curls in his hands, and perhaps run his fingers down her slender neck. He could imagine the warmth of her skin, beneath his hands. He forcibly stopped this line of thinking. He attended her words.
“I have never been able to see that certain pastimes must be mutually exclusive.” Charlotte concluded.
“And needlework?” he asked with a smile.
“Passable,” she said, “Although I can darn a sock with the best of them.”
“I should think with your brother being an earl, you need never darn socks,” he teased.
“True,” she agreed. “But I am much better at sock darning than fancy needlepoint, so says my sister Helen.”
“Even more fascinating,” murmured Sir John. “Can you tell me, then, what sort of thing you donotenjoy? I am beginning to suspect that it would be a far shorter list.”
“I believe you are right,” Lady Charlotte laughed. “I never thought of it like that before. Let me see, I do not enjoy rising early.”
“What sensible person does?” Sir John laughed, giving a mock shudder.
“My sister Jane. And I am forced to admit that she is eminently sensible aside from that one flaw in her character.”
