Page 40 of The Scent of Intuition
Then she saw a shadow through the fogged-up glass wall of the orangery. The only person who frequented it was her cousin.
Could Pippa be awake at this hour?
It would be wonderful to speak with her cousin about the dilemma in her heart.
Chapter Seventeen
Alfie had comedays later than promised to collect some orange blossom petals. Hopefully, he wasn’t too late, and the blossoms hadn’t lost their scent.
He’d been to the orangery at Cloverdale House only twice before, once to harvest the ipecac and the second time in a great hurry to show Bea how to administer it. This time, he had a chance to admire the neat rows of plants. It was so early in the morning that he didn’t expect anyone to see him. He’d collect a few blossoms, and take them back to make the neroli oil. It would end up being a typical Wednesday even with the unusual start. Thus, he pulled the side door open and entered.
“Alfie!” Pippa appeared from behind a tall, potted tree, scrambling to thrust her spectacles back onto her face.
“I didn’t know you’d be here.” Nick appeared behind her, tucking his shirt into his breeches. “We were… um… harvesting… I mean, Pippa was… I was helping.”
Oh, please! The sun’s barely up. Don’t pretend that I don’t know what you’re doing.
“Bea asked me to harvest some orange blossoms, but I couldn’t get here before this morning.” Alfie cast Nick a man-to-man look, but Nick shrugged, put his arm around Pippa, and gently kissed her hair. That must be love if a man is happy to kiss the woman’s hair atop her head, Alfie thought.
“Well, it’s good to see you because we needed to speak with you,” Pippa said, seemingly unashamed that her buttons were misaligned.
“Why me?” They couldn’t have known that he’d kissed Bea.
Unless she’d told Pippa.
And Pippa had told Nick.
Uh-oh!
Nick opened the buttons of his shirt sleeves and began to roll them up slowly as if readying himself for a fight.
Alfie deflated. He deserved a punch in the gut for kissing Pippa’s cousin.
Well, he wouldn’t even duck away.
But Nick had a unique skill in aiming for the face, and Alfie wasn’t willing to take a punch for that kiss. It had been glorious, and the beauty loved it; he knew that. Women didn’t moan when they were bored; theydidmoan with pleasure as Bea had when he’d kissed her.
“So!” Nick said, and Alfie took a step back and squared up.
“Let me, please!” Pippa stepped in front of him.
Oh no, now he couldn’t duck. If a woman felt the need to deliver a punch, all Alfie could do was take it in stride. He dropped his head. Chances were that Pippa didn’t know to aim upward for the chin and might hit his forehead. Perhaps his eye.
It wouldn’t be the first time he’d had a black eye; it was a manly rite of passage, and he’d earned it when he’d tupped…never mind. That had been long ago.
These days, it was unbecoming to welcome his clients to the apothecary with a black eye, but he could explain it away. What he couldn’t explain was his bruised heart.
“It’s about the wedding, Alfie,” Pippa started.
“None of it would have been possible without your help.” Nick beamed, his arm snaking around Pippa’s waist again.
“You found each other; I really cannot take any credit,” Alfie said, trying not to look at Nick’s hand on Pippa’s waist.
“I disagree.” Nick kissed Pippa’s head again. It was starting to be odd. Alfie had never seen Nick smitten with a woman,and it was just too bizarre to witness their public displays of affection. Especially now, when he’d expected a bruising. Where was it? And what was going on?
Perhaps the secluded passages between the tall plants in Pippa’s private orangery were not exactly public. And considering that he and Nick had grown up together, there wasn’t much that distinguished them from being brothers. But still…
“We have the special license, but we would like you to be one of our witnesses,” Pippa said as she folded her hands and looked at him solemnly.
