He lowered the oars in position but did not reach for the fishing rod. Instead, Edmond stared at her. “Would it be permissible for me to write you when I am away?”
Oh!The ache inside her chest spread. “Yes.”
A small smile touched his mouth. “Good.”
He reached into a small basket she’d noticed but had not commented on and withdrew a cake.
“Is that for the fishes?” Ester asked, leaning forward. “I thought they were baited with worms and fish guts.”
“This is for us,” he said with a quirk of his lips. “Spiced rum cake from Vi. Now that Lucien is in residence, we must hurry and eat it, or that bounder will steal it away.”
Ester grinned. “Where are the forks.”
“Hell. I forgot that bit.”
She reached over, broke a piece of the dense cake with her fingers, and popped it into her mouth.Good heavens. “This is glorious.”
“I know. Half is yours.”
She plucked another piece and almost moaned at the decadent taste. “How did Vi learn to bake this treat?”
“Our mother,” he said gruffly. “She…our mother loved baking and cooking. I usually helped our father in the field, and Vi helped our mother in the kitchen. They would cook and sing together. Vi sounds just like her.”
“I’ve heard her sing in your club. Her voice is incredible,” she said softly. “May I ask how you lost your mother?”
His fingers tightened on the small plate holding the cake. “A fever…took them both within days apart. It has been years; no need to have that wounded look in your eyes.”
There was a little silence.
“I am still very sorry for it. My heart still hurts from the loss of papa. I cannot…” she cleared the hoarseness from her throat. “I cannot imagine if mama and papa had died in the same period. It was a devastating loss for your family.”
He touched her cheek as if he could not help himself. Ester closed her eyes, savoring the comfort of his caress. They ate their cake in pleasant silence, the boat mildly rocking atop the gentle waters of the lake.
“What else do you enjoy, Ester, other than dancing, kissing, running bare foot in the grass and playing shuttlecock.”
She laughed, absurdly pleased with Edmond. “I enjoy my family.”
His eyes gleamed. “So do I.”
“Does that mean perhaps one day you will become a man who marries and has a family of your own?”
His eyes widened slightly before crinkling at the corner with his smile. Those silver-gray eyes searched her face with penetrating intensity.
“Perhaps one day. I have never thought of children of my own. That life…it does not seem to belong to me.”
A sad ache went through her heart, and she leaned over and trailed her fingers into the cool water. “There were times I felt the same. I had a great hunger to leave Penporth, the idyllic village I grew up with my siblings. I wanted to see London and all the wonders it had to offer. I want to visit Europe and the places I read about in books. Now I also find that I…think of a home…a husband…perhaps a son and a daughter. I think about love,” Ester whispered, meeting his eyes. “Am I greedy to want it all?”
His mouth curved slightly. “No. Once, I was so hungry for wealth and success that I could not eat or sleep. I was a lad of about fourteen years; those dreams were my succor and food. They would not leave me alone even when I was afraid to reach for it.”
“And now you are a brilliant businessman with a wealth that matches earl and dukes. I think you are rather incredible.”
He went still and stared at Ester as if somehow he did not understand her. Suddenly uncomfortable, she said, “Are we to fish?”
“I much prefer conversing with you. I find that greed for more fills me whenever I look at you. I want to know everything about you, it seems. The thought will not leave me alone.”
He said this with a sort of rueful surprise.
“I assure you, Edmond, the feeling is entirely shared.” She launched herself into his lap, laughing against his mouth when the boat rocked precariously.