Page 68 of Charming Artemis

“You are in earnest?”

He nodded and motioned for her to sit. He snatched the very wide-toothed comb from the dressing table and a length of ribbon. Artemis watched him with equal parts interest and confusion.

Perhaps he ought to take pity on her and explain.

“Caroline and I have spent large swaths of my school holidays running around the grounds of Lampton Park and Farland Meadows. She has curly hair as well, though not as curly as yours. Almost without fail, her hair would grow wild and unmanageable. She would become utterly frustrated with it, and our games and walks would have to end early.” He sat on the bed beside Artemis. “So I asked Marion to teach me how to tend to Caroline’s hair. I’ve grown decent at it, though I can’t do anything particularly fancy or impressive.”

“That you can do anything at all with curly hair is impressive.” Artemis glanced at his hair. “Yours has a bit of wave to it.”

He nodded. “All of us brothers inherited some degree of our father’s very wavy hair.”

“You told me once his hair grew curly and difficult in the rain,” she said. “Mine is the same way.”

“I believe you.” He set the ribbon beside him. “Turn about, if you would.”

She did, placing her back to him. He took up the comb and began to slowly, carefully untangle her hair.

“Do your friends at Cambridge know you are a coiffeuse?” she asked.

“No, and you’d best not tell them. I’ll never hear the end of it.”

“Do they not already have ample ammunition, you being a mathematician and, therefore, terribly easy to mock?”

He was growing more adept at hearing the amusement underneath her dramatics. “Fortunately, I am so suave and sophisticated that they are too in awe of me to jest overly much.”

“If they grow excessively mocking about your overfondness for numbers, you can always challenge them to a game of catch us, catch us. They would be bested so thoroughly they would never tease you again.”

He worked carefully at her knotted curls. “Your hair is considerably thicker than Caroline’s.”

She pushed out a frustrated breath. “There is far too much of it. When you arrived, I had very nearly convinced myself to cut it all off.”

He paused, his heart dropping to his stomach. “You wouldn’t really, would you?”

“If I had, you could be with your family just now. I’d not be proving a bother.”

“You have beautiful hair, Artie. It’d be a tragedy if you cut it all off.” He took an untangled bit of it between his thumb and forefinger. It was so soft and thick. Many ladies would have been swallowed up by it, the sheer volume overshadowing the lady herself. But Artemis carried it off beautifully. “Combing through it is no bother.”

“I still can’t believe you know how to style curly hair.”

“I am a gentleman of hidden talents: hair arranging, children’s games, mimicry, flower arranging, falling off roofs.”

“Flower arranging?” She turned her head the tiniest bit toward him. “Youare the one bringing the flowers?”

“Of course.” He began working on another section of her hair. “My father taught me a lot about flowers, with his most important lesson being that many ladies like to have fresh flowers to add a bit of color and beauty to their home.”

“Were the flowers in my room at Brier Hill from you as well?”

“They were.”

He didn’t realize she hadn’t known that. “Though things have not always been easy between us, I have only ever wanted you to be happy in our home, Artie.”

She didn’t speak for a moment. Charlie couldn’t see her face. He didn’t think he’d upset her, and he was being very careful not to pull her hair as he combed through it.

“Why do you call me that?” The question sounded not upset but genuinely curious.

“‘Artie’?”

She nodded.

---