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Surprised by the sudden change of mood, Lydia blushed, feeling the flush creep up her cheeks.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“That color is most becoming on you, brings out the rosiness of your cheeks. It makes you look vibrant, so full of life. Like a tulip in the spring.”
She turned her head away, still flushing from his attentions.
“If your uncle were not watching, I would kiss you right now,” he continued, amusement filling his voice, as though he delighted in teasing her. “Your mouth almost matches your dress, and it makes me want to kiss you.”
“That wasn’t my intention,” she said softly.
“No, I’m sure it wasn’t, but I cannot help myself. Do you think your uncle is very preoccupied with his book, or if I kissed you quickly, would he miss it all together?”
Looking over to her uncle where he sat by the lake, she watched him for a moment, trying to tell how much attention he was paying to them versus his book. He turned a page and seemed to be reading down from the top of the page.
“I think he is fairly absorbed,” Lydia guessed before turning back to Michael. She lifted her face, hopeful that he would be bold enough.
He lowered his mouth to hers and quickly pressed his lips to hers, a sensual moment, although brief. Without lingering, he pulled away, glancing back up to Francis to ensure that he had not seen.
“Your uncle seems to be a very poor chaperone indeed, missing a kiss right under his very nose.”
She giggled, feeling light from the danger of their shared kiss. “In his defense, he has lived most of his life without children. I suppose it has been many years since he had to worry about courting a woman or needing a chaperone.”
“Speaking of family, what is his story? A man of his age, unmarried?”
“I suppose he never saw the need, or had the desire,” she mused. They turned back to meandering the path. “The Rackliff estate is not affluent, since the need for me and my sisters to marry well. I suppose, until my father passed away, they both supposed that there was the chance mother would bear a son as heir. Or that she might pass, and my father could sire an heir with another woman. So, he had no pressure to marry to continue the family name.”
“Still, surely he was in want of company?”
Lydia raised an eyebrow to Michael. “You are one to speak, having sworn to never marry yourself.”
“I consider myself a rarity.”
She snorted. “Perhaps in more ways than one.”
He glared at her playfully. “But truly, did he never want to marry?”
“I do not think it was a lack of desire, but a lack of effort. He always preferred the country, and he is not the most charming person. However, I cannot say that it was always so. I do not know if he had his heart broken while he was young. But, since my father’s death, he has pursued my mother, saying it would be logical and convenient for the two of them to marry. And as she has denied him, he is now threatening to throw her out if she does not accept him.”
“He is the most curious of characters,” Michael admitted, glancing back at him. “And you suppose now he has written you a note, threatening you to return to London?”
“Yes, but he didn’t sign it,” she admitted. “I do not know his hand, but I assume it has to be him.”
“Why not take you directly back to London? Why threaten you at all? After all, he would be responsible for you.”
She shook her head. “I cannot say. I do not know him as well as I would like. We mostly saw him during the holidays, and he has never been particularly fond of children.”
They both watched him for a moment as they walked slowly through the paths. Michael stopped her again.
“Suppose it is someone else?”
“Who else could it be?” she asked. “Who else might know what I wrote in that letter? As far as I know, it never even made it to the butler’s hands.”
“You do not know that for sure.”
“I cannot exactly ask him, can I?”
“I could speak to my butler.”
