“Please, sit and show me which star you believe to be the brightest.”
He invited her to sit as if he believed his admitting he liked her made her skittish. It did, so she welcomed this shift in conversation back to their original intent for being out this late. Sitting, she pointed to a reddish-looking star, “That one I believe.”
“You are correct. That is Arcturus, the guardian of the bear.”
“You mean to tell me there is a bear amongst that cluster of stars?”
“Not in the sense you would expect when staring at the clouds. It would be more like rudimentary line drawings,” he said with humor in his voice, “but that is a bit too complicated for our first lesson. What is the second brightest star you see?”
Is he hoping there would be more opportunities for them to stargaze?This was something she could become accustomed to doing regularly, present company notwithstanding. The freedom to do this was one of the very reasons she was now escaping her life. Thaddeus, though not a gentleman of the peer, was a gentleman nonetheless, and he seemed willing to grant her whatever she desired. Does that mean there were possibly other gentlemen willing to do the same, or was he an anomaly due to his Scottish upbringing.
She looked at Arcturus, then at the surrounding sky; there was another star which stood out above the rest, but certainly less than the guardian of the bear. “That one.” she said excitedly, glee bubbling inside as if she’d made a great discovery.
“You have to direct me from Arcturus; is it to the north or south of it, to the east or west of it? I can’t follow your pointing from all the way over here.”
“So, from Arcturus you go up a little bit and then over to the left but a little less than how much you went up, and the biggest one there is the second brightest in the sky.”
“Do you truly believe I followed those directions just now?” Amusement was rich in his voice.
“Yes.” Perdie’s directions made perfect sense to her, but the man seemed fit to descend into a fit of laughter.
He stood and strolled over, then sat next her. The warmth of his body penetrated her dress and seeped into her core. Perdie held herself perfectly still, reigning in her body’s ridiculous reaction to his nearness. But the dratted man dipped his face to within a breath from hers. His scent filled her nostrils—burgamot and oakmoss—a citrusy, earthy fragrance which raced her heart.
“Show me again, I’ll follow where you point from here.”
She dug her fingers into her palm, using the bite of pain to calm her nerves for she knew he was deliberately being roguish with how scandalously close he came. But she refused to let him be privy to the turmoil his closeness caused. “There.” She hurriedly pointed to rid him of his excuse for being next to her.
“That is it, Vega, a part of the group of stars called Lyra, which is named after the lyre of a great musician and poet named Orpheus in Greek mythology. The myth says that his wife died on their wedding day, and when he discovered her, he played songs so sad it made the gods and nymphs cry. The gods being so moved by his playing granted him access to retrieve his wife from the underworld. But Hades gave him one condition: he was to walk in front of her and never look back at her until they were in the upper world. Orpheus, brimming with joy, complied and walked never looking back, and as he exited into the upper world he turned and looked at his lovely wife. But she had not yet crossed the threshold, and so disappeared from his sight forever.”
“That is such a sad tale. Where did you learn all this?”
“My da, he loved stargazing and the mythology surrounding the constellations. He would let me and my sisters stay up till the wee hours of the night then take us out for midnight picnics. He would show us the stars and regale us with their tales. To preserve his memory and traditions I decided to build on my knowledge so I too can entertain my children with such late-night adventures. And be prepared to titillate some bonny lass under the night stars.”
She turned to face him, and encountered intense hazel eyes peering into her. He really was handsome, with his chiseled jawline, high cheek bones, aesthetically pleasing nose, and sensuous mouth. She recentered herself once more, suspecting there would be a visible mark in her palm in the morning. “Given I have no intentions of being stimulated, I thank you for this experience and bid you farewell.”
He chuckled, and she rose and hurried away so fast it was as if she ran. Upon reaching the carriage, she leaned against the side, staring out into the wild vastness of the night sky. The carriage rocked a bit, and Felicity jumped to the ground. Rather impressive considering.
“You are here to have the adventure of a lifetime and yet you are back so soon?”
Perdie laughed lightly. “I think…I think it wise to continue on to the inn. We need not delay any longer.”
They both glanced over to the fire in the distance where Thaddeus and Lionel sat on a log. She hadn’t realized the lad had joined him. They were chatting and he fondly ruffled the boy’s head, who grinned widely. The boy seemed to bask in his approval and not for the first time she wondered at their relationship. It did not seem to be much of a master and servant. It was almost as if they were a family. Her throat tightened. Perdie missed her brother. And even mama’s querulous nature.
“You seem worried,” Felicity murmured.
Perdie sighed wistfully. “I feel confused…”
“Tell me,” Felicity urged softly.
Perdie wondered why she felt so unsettled around Thaddeus. Lord Owen had never once made her feel…unsure. In fact when she had just met him, immediately she had known he would be her husband. She had been so young and fanciful. Mortification filled her soul when she recalled the tantrum she had thrown when she begged her brother to allow their engagement. “When I was with Lord Owen I felt excited, happy to see him. My heart raced and I was pleased at the thought of marrying him, Felicity. I even dreamed about our wedding day.” Perdie glanced toward Thaddeus in the distance. “But Lord Owen never once tempted me. I have never desired to kiss him.”
“Thaddeus tempts you?”
The question was a stab into Perdie’s heart. To admit it would make it inescapable. “Yes,” she whispered, the words heavy on her tongue. “So very much, Felicity. How can I feel different feelings, ones more complex for a stranger than for Lord Owen? Is it that easy to fall out of love with a man? Perhaps I was never in love. Perhaps I am too young and inexperienced to truly know anything of love. And I am thoroughly vexed that I am having this conversation when anything to do with love and kissing should be the last thing on my thoughts!”
“Have you considered that there are degrees to love?”
Perdie jolted. “What?”