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Chapter 16
Richard cried out as he nudged a branch aside, only to have it snap back and hit him in the face. He lost his footing and fell back, landing hard on the ground. Isabel looked up from what she was doing.
“Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Richard sat up and rubbed his jaw. “Nothing to worry about.”
Isabel frowned.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure.” Richard scrambled to his feet, slipping a little in the mud as he straightened up. “Nothing’s hurt.”
Except his pride. It would be just his luck that he ended up making a fool of himself with Isabel around. She seemed to bring out that side of him just as much as she brought out the confident side Richard had cultivated on the continent.
A few women had shown him ways to maintain that confidence and not let it wobble, and Richard thought he had managed to do that. But when it came to Isabel, he was all over the place. He was either strong in what he wanted or acting like the bashful, shy boy he had been when he left England.
She had him all over the place, and Richard wasn’t sure he liked it. Especially with her due to marry Galliston.
Of all the people she could have accepted a proposal from, why did it have to be him?
There was a loud roll of thunder, and Richard looked up at the skies. He had heard the thunder over the last hour, and it was getting louder. There was going to be a lot of rain very soon.
“We need to head back, Isabel. It’s going to start raining soon, and you and I are going to get caught in it.”
“But I need that final ingredient!” Isabel picked up her basket and stood up. The hem of her skirt was wet, and there was mud on her dress as well as her face, smudged across her cheek. “It’s got to be around here somewhere.”
Richard sighed.
“We’ve been going around this part of the woods for close to an hour now. If we haven’t found it by now, it’s not going to be here.”
“But it has to be! I documented it myself!” Isabel cried. She looked at the cliff further up the hill. “Some of it grows up the side of this cliff face. Maybe I can find some there.”
“What? You can’t …”
But Isabel was already hurrying away. Richard groaned and hurried after her. She was stuck in her single mindset again, where she would not stop until everything was done to her satisfaction. Richard wanted to help, but with the storm closing in, he wasn’t keen on being outside when it broke. That was going to happen very soon.
And yet, he couldn’t let Isabel go out on her own. She would just end up getting into trouble, and then she would be stuck out in the rain. Richard knew trying to dissuade her from going out would be pointless.
He just needed to stop her from doing something stupid. Like attempting to climb the cliff face.
Richard broke into a run, his thighs aching as he climbed up the slope. Isabel had put the basket down and was starting to find a handhold in the rocks. Richard caught up to her as another roll of thunder sounded above them. It was almost right over them.
“Isabel, this is a really bad idea.”
“I have to get this plant, Richard.” Isabel shrugged him off as she began to climb. “This is the final thing needed for that tonic, and then I’ll come back to the house. I’m not leaving without it.”
“You’ll break your neck!”
Isabel barked a harsh laugh.
“I’ve been climbing this since I was a little girl. I can manage it.”
Richard didn’t know about that. A little girl was different from a grown woman. They didn’t have big dresses hindering their movements, for a start. Grown women weren’t meant to be climbing cliffs.
Although the sight of Isabel’s hips wiggling near Richard’s face was enticing. Arousal stirred in his gut and went lower. Richard growled and looked away.
“Isabel, this is really not appropriate or proper.”
