“That is not true,” Sara whispered.
“Yes, it is.” Louisa stood and moved toward the open door. “If you want to change, I think that is admirable. But I will believe it when I see it. It is going to take more than a conversation about sin with a vicar to do that.”
The rustle of her skirts faded down the corridor and Sara turned her head once more to watch the rain.
Nathan put another log on the fire and straightened, putting most of his weight on his good leg. The chill from the damned rain had settled in the house; such weather made his leg ache even without adding that extra bit. He shifted to the table he had set up nearby that held the ingredients for a hot toddy. He wasn’t feeling poorly, aside from his leg, but the concoction helped banish the chill in general.
He coated one of the mugs with honey and added the dram of brandy and bit of lemon. He lifted the kettle from where it warming by the fire and poured it in, watching the steam rise. As he stirred, the spoon clinked against the mug, ear-piercing in the silence of the library.
He lifted the mug to his lips, blowing on the hot liquid before taking a sip. He stared at the fire, thinking of the fires at the charity fair last night. And Miss Collins. Sara.
His day yesterday had been spent simultaneously stalking and avoiding the woman. He didn’t even know why or how he had ended up at the event; it was certainly not in line with his desire to be unsocial. But he had found himself wandering around, exchanging small talk with those who he had met and glowering at the children running around him.
Every time he turned around, she was there. With the children, with her friends, at the food tables. And every time he saw her, he couldn’t help but stare for several moments before tearing himself away and turning his back on her. Until the dance in the evening.
That was the image that stuck with him. He had seen her across the dancing area, her skin kissed by the large bonfires and looking so tantalizing that all intentions of avoiding her had flown from mind. The urge to approach her had thudded in his bones, making it near impossible to resist.
And he hadn’t. Hadn’t resisted the urge to approach her and hadn’t resisted any bug that had burrowed in his brain to pull her into sitting with him and provoking her with his conversation.
And he didn’t regret it.
The way her cheeks had flushed when he described his dreams to her had been the most arousing thing he had ever seen. Her chest had risen as her breathing quickened, and if he hadn’t been so riveted by the way her eyes had glowed with desire, he was certain he wouldn’t have been able to look anywhere but her bosom. Even now the memory sent a spurt of excitement from his stomach to his groin.
Nathan took another sip of his hot toddy, enjoying the warmth spreading through his chest. He turned away from the fire to move back to his chair to continue reading his book. The sight of Sara Collins standing not ten feet away from him, completely drenched and shivering, made him choke on the tea.
“Jesus Christ,” he gasped against the scalding in his esophagus. “How the hell did you get in here?”
Her teeth were chattering. “Th-the-there was no an-answer at th-the d-d-d-oor. I let m-myself in.”
“Generally when there is no answer at a door, people leave.”
“I’m s-s-s-sorry.”
His gaze ran down her body, taking in the bedraggled clumps of hair hanging around her chin and shoulders and how her soaked dress clung to her curves, accentuating her bosom and hips and giving more than hint of the juncture of her thighs.
His mouth went dry and his brain began to empty.
His gaze retraced its path back up her body, lingering when he saw the tight nipples through the wet material at her breasts, appreciating the way they were moving in time with her breathing. His gaze returned to her face, enjoying the column of her neck and her trembling lips before meeting her eyes.
It was a belated realization that her breasts were moving and her lips were trembling because her entire body was being racked by shivering.
Nathan closed the distance between them in short work and thrust his hot toddy into her hands. “Drink this,” he ordered before moving to retrieve a blanket from one of the sofas. “Little fool. Did you not even wear a cloak?” He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and watched her swallow some of the toddy.