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“Oh, please do not mention that.” Thea dropped her face into her hands. “It is the very reason I was trying to avoid you tonight. I am so embarrassed.”
I reached for her wrists and gently pulled to remove them from her face. I was aware that I smelled awful, that my hands were dirty, so I only touched her lightly. “Embarrassed for what reason?”
“I misunderstood . . . oh, I cannot tellyou.” She twisted her wrists in my hold and pressed her fingers into my arms, clutching them. “You will find all sorts of meaning where none exists.”
“Now you have no choice, I fear. My curiosity will not allow this to rest until you’ve satiated it.”
She shook her head. “It’s too ridiculous. You will laugh at me.”
“If I swear not to crack even a smile, will you tell me?”
“Not even a little smile.”
“I swear it.”
Thea let out a long sigh. “Very well.” She closed her eyes, then spoke. “I was under the misinformed impression that you and Miss Dodwell had an understanding, and when you spoke of business transactions this morning, I believed you to be working on the marriage contract and finding an estate for your soon-to-be bride.”
My mouth dropped open. “What the devil gave you that impression?”
“Felicity, because of something your mother said to her.”
My stomach tightened in anticipation. Her emotions had been a mess because she thought I was interested in marrying someone else. It was a sign that she heldsomeregard for me. “You women are nothing but a bunch of gossips.”
Her hold on my forearms tightened. “You should not allow your mother to think you are considering a woman you are not truly considering.”
“You should askmeif I am considering a woman instead of listening to my sister-in-law.”
“You should not dancetwo setswith a woman unless you want all of Bakewell to be under the same misunderstanding.”
“You should not tell other men that you find Bakewell charming when in actuality they are asking—”
“Oh, not that again.” She dropped her head back and let out an irritated sigh.
I pulled on her arms, and she looked at me, stepping a little closer. I lowered my voice. “You should stop avoiding me.”
“How am I avoiding you?” she whispered, matching me tone for tone.
“You haven’t ridden with me in weeks.”
“But the cold—”
“I do not buy that excuse for one minute. You said tonight that you chose this corridor to avoid me. If we have a truce, Thea, then we are friends, and we should not avoid one another.”
“Because it is natural for friends to hold onto one another in dark, quiet corridors and whisper?”
“It is. It is also natural for friends to be upset when they believe the other has already engaged their heart to Miss Dodwell.”
She froze beneath my touch, her hands tightening just the slightest bit. “Well, I would have lost you, Benedict. And then who would I bicker with?”
“No one.” My chest surged with yearning, her words echoing in the vast chambers of my heart. She hadn’t wanted to lose me, and her warm gaze filled me with satisfaction. “You are not allowed to bicker with anyone but me. It is only natural, as we are friends.”
“That excuse will not work for everything.” I could hear the smile in her voice as her lips curved gracefully up. “That did not make any logical sense.”
“It can work if I want it to.” I released her arms and her hands dropped to her sides. A moment of hesitation swept over me, but I blasted through it.Three weeks.Sliding my hand gently, delicately over her waist, I pulled her a little closer. Her scent, delightfully citrus and floral, met my nose, and I inhaled quietly.
Thea did not pull away, so I slid my free hand over her jaw, losing my fingers in the base of her hair. Her round eyes did not move from mine, and her breathing seemed to shallow in rhythm with my own.
“It is certainly natural for friends,” I said quietly, “to kiss.”
