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“Like that man who spoke to you at the inn,” he continued, frowning slightly. “A common practice amongst thieves is to bump into you, seemingly by accident, but really to pick your pockets. Often, they are so skilled that you will have no idea they are doing it. By the time you realise they are long gone, and there is nothing you can do about it.”
Delia shuddered. “What a brutal world it is.”
He gave a short bark of laughter. “I suppose so. It is just the way of it, and we all must learn to protect ourselves. If you had grown up on the streets, it would be second nature, as normal as breathing.”
“You obviously learnt the hard way,” she said, gazing at him curiously. “You said you grew up in the tenements of Bradford.”
“I did,” he said, exhaling slowly. “It was rough. But there were also good things about it. A strong sense of community. Everyone knew their neighbours.” He hesitated, his voice turning wistful. “It is strange, but sometimes I miss it. I live alone in a grand house now, in one of the most fashionable areas of Bradford and do not know any of my neighbours at all. It strikes me now as a very isolated way to live.”
Delia nodded. She didn’t understand his background, having never lived such a life, but she understood how isolating living in a grand house sometimes was. Sometimes she envied the easy camaraderie among the maids and local townspeople. She was always above them, the lady of the manor, and they were wary with her.
It was one of the reasons she was so close to Minnie. Her maid had never been like that. They had bonded immediately, and she had always thought of Minnie as a friend, not an inferior. And she had been so lonely after her mother died. It was only she and Papa rambling around the big house. It struck her now that a sense of community had always been lacking in her life.
“How did you rise in the world?” she asked, really wanting to know. “How did you climb the social ladder when your beginnings were so humble?”
He grinned. “A lot of work, Miss Parker. I worked three jobs around the clock. I never spent a penny of the wages I earned, other than on room and board. I saved it all until I had enough to purchase my factory and the machines needed to open it. As well as first month’s wages for all my workers, of course.”
Delia shook her head incredulously. It was quite an achievement.
“What drove you to want a better life?” she asked in a hesitant voice. “Why were you different to everyone else around you?”
He laughed. “I always yearned for a better life. I watched my father working himself to the bone, day in and day out, for a pittance and swore I would have more. He also had too many mouths to feed.” He paused. “That is another reason I have avoided marriage, Miss Parker. If I had married young and had a large family to support, there is no way I could have achieved what I have. It becomes a vicious cycle.”
“But you could afford to have a family now,” she said, her heart beating hard. “You could support a family with ease.”
“Ah, yes, but I would have no time to spend with them,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “The double-edged sword.”
“You truly never wish to marry?” Her breath caught a little as she asked the question. “You truly do not wish to fall in love and spend the rest of your life with your soulmate? For I cannot think of anything that would be more fulfilling in life.”
His eyes flickered over her. “You seem fixed upon the idea of a love match in marriage. You are too romantic, Miss Parker. You need to toughen up. You reallyhavelived a sheltered life, haven’t you?”
Her face burnt. He was making fun of her. He thought her a foolish woman who couldn’t look after herself and was too idealistic.
“Perhaps I have lived a sheltered life, Mr Hartfield,” she said slowly, raising her chin. “And you are right that I need to be more guarded and protect myself.” She took a deep, ragged breath. “But I refuse to toughen to the point that I can never allow myself to dream of love. What else are our lives for? Are we just put upon this earth to merely survive—to work and eat and sleep? I find that idea very sad.”
His face contorted with emotion. “I did not mean to disparage you, Miss Parker. I greatly admire you. You must know that.” He stepped closer, gazing down at her. “In fact, I am hard-pressed to think at the moment of a woman who I have admired more. Or desired more.”
Delia gasped. He was standing so close she could feel his warm breath upon her face. Once again, the details of her dream about him leapt into her mind. She shivered as a delicious frisson of desire ran down her spine. The air was thickening between them, almost pulsing.
Her heart started racing wildly. She knew she should turn and walk away. She should retreat to the inn and put a stop to this. But she couldn’t. It was as if he were slowly drawing her into a web.
Time seemed to warp and slow down as she watched him reaching for her, pulling her towards him. When his lips finally descended upon her own, she wound her arms around his neck. The softness of his lips upon her own made her shudder. It was the very first time she had ever been kissed like this.
It was shocking. It was electrifying. With him, it was everything that she had dreamt it would be.
The kiss deepened. He gripped her tighter, tilting her back as if he couldn’t get enough of her lips. Delia groaned deep in her throat. A warm wetness was flowing out of her, running through her like honey. She was tingling all over with delight. She wanted to stay here like this with him forever.
She wanted him to touch her body intimately. She wanted him to do more to her. She thought she could never have enough of him.
Shocked, she pushed him away, her chest heaving. What was she doing? How could she be behaving in this wanton way with him? He was a stranger. A man enslaved to his work who didn’t believe in love or marriage. A common man.
He could never be the man for her.
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.
“I am sorry,” she said in a strangled whisper. “I am not myself. I must go inside.”
She turned and fled, running back into the inn, not looking back. He didn’t call out to her or follow her. And for that, at least, she was grateful.
