The earl watched her with a slight grin curving the most chiseled set of lips she’d ever seen outside of a statue. “Put away your claws, Miss Copeland. I’m not here to antagonize you.” He clasped his hands behind his back. Each time he moved, threads of silver highlighting his midnight hair, arranged in a popular style, glinted in the sun. Heavier silver marked his meticulous sideburns, so he wasn’t a young man any longer, even if he looked virile and powerful. “In fact, I wished to see how you’ve fared with your ankle.” He raked his regard down her body with such a leisurely pace Sarah swore she felt as if he’d caressed her.
That wasn’t proper behavior from a neighbor simply visiting. Tamping the urge to give into a shiver, she cleared her throat. “Oh, it’s healed nicely. No further damage. Thank you.” Her nerves were strung too tight and knots pulled in her belly merely from his proximity. Surely, he would leave soon. After that she could finally relax.
“That is good to hear.” The man had wicked promise in his stormy eyes, but why? Was he amusing himself at her expense? Again, for what purpose?
“Yes, well, if that’s all, my lord?” She was much like a bumpkin in his presence, for he was so elegant and well dressed. His dove-gray breeches alone probably cost more than half her yearly stipend. “I have things to attend.”
“Ah, but that’s a lie. You said yourself your charges were out of pocket, thus leaving you nothing but free time.”
“The children don’t occupy all of my time. I do practice on a flute when I’m free.” In fact, she’d planned to do so later today.
“Interesting.” He came forward a few steps, and the gleam in his eyes was more pronounced. A tiny tremor danced down her spine. “Since you’ve suffered no ill-effects, would you walk with me between this house and mine?”
Sarah stared as if she were a green girl just out of the schoolroom. “Right now?” It came out as a squeak that showed her as hopelessly inexperienced.
“Why not? You’ve nothing on your schedule.”
This type of situation never happened to her. “But—”
“Do you have other tasks to perform around the house?”
“Well, no but—”
“Are you practicing your flute for a concert?”
“I can only wish, but sadly, no.”
“Then come with me, else I’ll pull rank on you again and order you to.” The command in his voice was both thrilling and troubling. “Where is the harm in keeping me company?”
Ah, so he’d only asked her to help pass the time. Some of the nervousness eased. He wasn’t interested in her as a woman; he was merely being his prickish self. “So I understand, you wish to walk with me for no other reason than to…?” She trailed off, perplexed, and gazed at him from over the rims of her spectacles. That didn’t put things into greater clarity.
He rolled his eyes to the ceiling. “To spend time in your company.”
“Oh.” Her heartbeat accelerated. This was too fantastic to believe. Surely she hadn’t gained his interest with that one volatile meeting three days ago. “Spend time with me.” When had she resorted to repeating someone else’s words? She had more intelligence than that.
“Of course.” Banked power rumbled in his baritone and fairly sang in his tense body language. She’d already seen his temper, but the hint of vulnerability shadowing the back of his eyes tugged at her, begged her for help. But why and how?
The awareness of him rushed back, more insistent this time. Surely, he didn’t mean anything more than a walk. They’d just met. But the underlying current of tension crackling between them compelled her to agree. Slowly, she nodded and put her eyeglasses back into place. “Very well.” She’d be an idiot of the first order if she didn’t at least discover what it was he didn’t say.
“Good.” A tiny grin flirted with his lips. “Shall we? No time like the present.” He swept an arm outward to indicate the door while he stood back so she could proceed him. “Perhaps we’ll indulge in another invigorating conversation.”
There was all too much room for interpretation in that statement. Heat stung her cheeks, but it intrigued her to know he found their argument the other day stimulating like she had. Still, did the earl have a hidden agenda? As she passed him and moved into the corridor, she dismissed the silly thought. Of course he didn’t. They were practically strangers. Perhaps he was indeed here to ask after her health and merely take her walking.
Except… life isn’t that transparent or easy.
“I must find my bonnet and gloves.”
He nodded but his eyes narrowed. “Wouldn’t want to do something so scandalous as appearing on a country lane sans one’s headgear.”
“It is a bit ridiculous. However, one malicious comment from a passing villager, and my position will be in jeopardy.” Did he not understand how the world viewed women and judged them twice as hard as they did men?
A quarter of an hour later and once outside, gratitude filled Sarah, for the sun was high and it warmed her skin. The birds chirped in the trees and shrubbery, and the fields were filled with wildflowers or hay and wheat, depending on the whim of the farmers. She breathed in deep lungfuls of the country air and released them. Yes, a walk on such a day as this was what she needed for a new perspective. At the last second, she couldn’t quite stop the sigh of pleasure that escaped.
“Have you lived in Derbyshire all your life?”
“Only the past five years. Before then, I resided in Surrey, for my father was a merchant and needed to maintain a residence closer to the capital, but London is too expensive to live in.”
“That leads me to my next question.” Though he kept his hands clasped behind his back as they walked, his commanding presence beside her couldn’t be ignored. He was much like a distant storm, not yet a threat but looming. “Who are your people?”