Sarah shook her head. “No, but Papa dearly loved to listen to it. Every time he came back from his travels, he’d bring me an instrument of some kind until I came to love the flute. He sold the rest, and from then on, he would bring me sheet music.” She smiled in remembrance. “It’s horribly expensive, but I’m so grateful to him.”
“He supported your endeavors?”
“Papa always said, ‘Sarah, you’re stubborn enough to teach the men of this world a trick or two, and I won’t discourage that.’ But when he died…” She bit her lip as a stab of grief suddenly came to life. “I didn’t play for a year. Perhaps that’s why I can’t move past this bloody passage. It reminds me too much of him.”
“You are quite stubborn.” His chiseled lips curved with a slow grin. “We never know how much influence our fathers have on us until they’re gone. Good or bad, they remain as either a guide or a warning.”
“Yes.” Sarah stared at him in amazement. It was a rather insightful statement for him. And there was no sign of the usual anger that accompanied any mention of his family. Oh, it was so encouraging to see such growth!
“If music is the one thing that brings you happiness, pursue it with all the passion you have in you. I won’t hold you back, for I wish I’d had that too.” He flicked a glance to one of the windows. A hint of sadness tinged his expression, but why? “Unless you’d like to walk in the rain, we’ll need to postpone our daily constitutional.”
“I don’t mind. We’ll spend the time here.” Unbidden, she perched on the sofa with a cushion between them. When she caught a whiff of his bay rum shaving soap, a tremble moved down her spine. “Thank you for last night. I appreciated your support as well as your expertise while dancing.”
“I enjoyed the evening, too, which surprised the hell out of me.” He didn’t change his lounging posture, but his eyes darkened slightly as he looked at her. “I’m merely sorry I had to wake you prematurely. You looked so peaceful in the carriage, but that was hardly a fitting bed for a countess.”
“No, I suppose not.” She ducked her head while pushing her spectacles into place. “It’s been a while since I passed such a lively evening.” A touch of heat infused her cheeks. “I’ll not do so again, for it isn’t flattering for a countess to claim fatigue and fall asleep on the ride home.” No doubt the strain of being thrust into the public eye had taken a toll on her.
“I found it endearing. Also, you snore.”
“I do not! I’ve never snored in my life.” A hint of indignation echoed in her voice before she caught the amusement in his eyes. It was so out of place that her lower jaw dropped slightly. “You’re teasing me.”
“Yes.” He straightened, planting both booted feet on the floor, and then turned toward her. “Thank you for extending such trust to me that you would fall asleep on my shoulder. I don’t take that lightly.”
“You were charming last night, I’ll give you that.” He’d been so solid and warm that she’d felt protected with him. Sarah ran her fingers over the fabric of her morning dress of yellow sprigged muslin. “And you handled my great uncle splendidly.” No matter how many times her relative tried to ingratiate himself to the earl, Andrew always saw through the obviously flattering remarks and deflected the conversation.
“I dislike when anyone disparages my wife.” A muscle in his jaw ticked. “You command a certain respect in England now. I won’t have that overlooked by petty jealousy.”
She’d never heard him directly refer to her as that before, and it caused another hoard of butterflies to take flight in her belly. “Then it’s a good thing you and I don’t have another society event on our social calendar any time soon.” Why was her voice so breathless?
“Oh? Did you not enjoy yourself?”
“I did, though it was tiring. However, I merely meant… that is to say…” Drat. How had she fallen into this muddle? Never did she have issue with saying exactly what was on her mind. Why now? “I’d like to spend more time with you, alone,” she finally concluded as her cheeks heated even more.
One of his eyebrows rose. “If you’re of a mind, I could teach you to play whist or faro. If you have a favorite book of poetry, I could read to you.”
She pressed a hand to a flaming cheek. “That sounds lovely, but perhaps we could indulge in that later.” Why was it so difficult to tell him what she wanted?
Because something had shifted between them. It both frightened and exhilarated her. Truly, they had started their relationship anew, and now… well, she wanted more.
“I might be a cad, but I do so wish to hear you say it, Sarah.” Andrew scooted onto the cushion beside her. A certain intensity lit his eyes. “How should we spend our time?” he asked, his voice a thrilling whisper that sent tingles down her spine.
Heat swept over her in a wave. “Oh, must you continue to be aggravating?”
“I will, for it keeps a nice spark between us.” When he winked, she couldn’t help her grin. “And a spark is the first step to building a fire.”
“Fine.” She leaned toward him. He smelled so delicious, and those shoulders! Oh, but she wanted to touch him, hold him. “Kiss me. I thought you might have done so last night but—”
He moved so quickly, pressed his lips to hers so fast she didn’t have time to finish her sentence. The kiss was gentle, fleeting, naught but the chaste kiss of a man early in courtship, yet it left her needing so much more. When he pulled away, humor danced in his eyes with desire darkening those depths. “I did want to but feared of doing anything that might weaken my control over other emotions.”
Sarah pushed her spectacles back into place. “How do you feel now?” Would they always need to be concerned about his state of mind before doing anything intimate?
“Like I should really go close the door.”
“Truly?” Excitement accelerated her heartbeat. Was she making yet another mistake when it came to him?
“Oh, yes.” He rose smoothly to his feet, and Sarah stood as well. “After last night, this next bit is inevitable to mark a new direction, don’t you think?” he asked as he strode across the room, closed the door, and then turned the lock. The mechanism clicked into place.
“Yes.” The word sailed out from her suddenly tight throat on a whisper. Tingles played up and down her spine while the earl moved to the side door that connected into the next room. He locked that one as well.