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“I bet the maids loved that.”
“This isn’t amusing, Cohen.”
“It wasn’t meant to be.” Cohen laced his fingers over his belly. “What’s wrong with you, Richard? You’ve been acting strangely all day, and it’s beginning to worry me. I’ve not seen you this out of sorts for a long time.”
Should he tell Cohen about his reaction to Isabel? Richard wavered. He normally talked about how he felt about women with his mentor. The older man had a bit more experience in that part of life, and he gave Richard really good advice. If it hadn’t been for him, Richard would have no idea how to interact with anyone. Their tour of Europe would have been embarrassing with the way he normally spoke to women. The awkwardness was not often endearing.
But could he talk about Isabel? It felt like something he should keep private. However, Richard didn’t think he would get closer to an explanation unless he talked to someone about it, and he certainly wasn’t going to discuss it with his father or brother. Especially not with Thomas; his brother didn’t think Richard had had any type of success with women. He scoffed at the thought of any lady being interested in someone who preferred science and nature over position.
What position? You’re landed gentry, that’s it. You’ll never be nobility unless, by some miracle, you married a noblewoman. And that’s never going to happen.
“Richard? You’re drifting again.”
“Oh, right.” Richard finished his whisky and wandered over to the drinks cabinet, picking up the whisky decanter. “I was just thinking about my interaction with Isabel. Something happened, and I’m not ... I’m not sure what it means.”
“What kind of something?”
“I’m not sure.” Richard poured himself a drink. He had a feeling he was going to need a lot of these. “She’s all grown up now. I thought she would stay the same. Be the little girl who was always tagging along with us, who had such bright eyes whenever she talked about a subject she loved. But she was ... different.”
Cohen snorted.
“Of course, she would be different. She would be ... what, twenty now?”
“Yes. I thought things would be relatively the same.” Richard’s mouth twitched as he remembered the dormouse. “Rescuing animals hasn’t changed for her. Nor has that sparkle. But …”
“But what?”
“She looked really grown up. More ... prettier. Actually, a lot prettier. And those eyes of hers were like …” Richard had no idea where he was going with this. “They were hypnotic. I couldn’t look away from them.”
He wasn’t about to tell Cohen about how something spiked in his gut when he saw Isabel leaning over the river. For a moment before he realized she was going to fall in, he had admired the way her body curved under her dress. It was very fitting to her. And he couldn’t take his eyes off her backside. That was hardly a gentlemanly thing to do, and Richard had felt embarrassed for even staring at her like that.
Now he knew it was Isabel, he felt even worse.
“Ah, I see.”
“What?”
Cohen grinned.
“You found her attractive, didn’t you?”
“I what? No, of course not!”
“Don’t lie to me, Richard. You looked at her and saw a woman, not a childhood friend. You found her attractive.” Cohen’s eyes glinted. “I see you haven’t lost the use of your eyes, my boy.”
Richard scowled.
“This isn’t amusing, Cohen. I’m not attracted to Isabel. She was like a little sister to me.”
“But she’s not your sister, and she’s grown up now. If you found her attractive …”
“I didn’t!”
“From the way you’re reacting, I think you did. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You shouldn’t be ashamed about it.”
But Richard was ashamed. He didn’t like that he wanted to touch Isabel in a way that would make both of them blush. Or that he wanted to kiss her and see if those lips were as soft as they looked. They certainly framed a lovely smile, a smile that lit up her eyes. That hadn’t changed.
His reaction to her had. And that was unnerving. He wasn’t supposed to feel like that towards his childhood friend. He took a swig of his whisky.
