Page 79 of To Treasure an Heiress
She sighed and looked back toward the others. No one was going to like this. Not one little bit.
22
Sheridan settled into his usual seat in the library with a long exhale. They’d spent the morning on St. Martin’s after the Wednesday gig race—him and Beth and Oliver and Libby—bird-watching and walking the coast. Telly, of course, hadn’t had the least desire to get out of bed early enough to join them. And Sheridan hadn’t tried too hard to convince him, truth be told. It was rather nice, an outing with just the four of them. Especially since Libby and Oliver had been so focused on the birds and each other that they hadn’t even noticed when he and Beth had kept on walking. Hand in hand.
He might manage to wipe the grin from his face. Eventually.
She actually liked him. She laughed in all the right places and joked back just as she should. He caught her looking at him at odd moments. And though she’d flushed beautifully on Monday when he all but called himself her Prince Charming, she hadn’t argued, then or later.
He’d convince her. And not even just eventually. Soon, perhaps. He’d land on the right way to propose one of these days, and she might possibly accept.
But before that ... there was the issue of Abbie and Millicent. Which was why he hadn’t invited himself along when Telford saidhe was walking to the sweets shop after luncheon, nor had he joined the ladies and Oliver in the garden.
His sisters would be arriving on St. Mary’s on the last ferry today. The Peppers would greet them and see them to the cottage they’d let to Libby—and would be catering for them for the duration of their stay, because neither Abbie nor Millicent nor their maids knew the first thing about cooking—and then tomorrow morning, someone here would go and fetch them to Tresco.
They’d all offered—Mabena Moon, Oliver, Beth. But he hadn’t decided yet who the wisest choice would be. Oliver had quite a knack for putting people at ease, but he’d also “stolen” Libby from Sheridan, which they might not be too quick to forgive. Mabena they could likely ignore, given that they’d still look on her as a servant ... except she didn’t look much like a lady’s maid anymore, and that could put them on their guard.
And Beth was out of the question, obviously. No way he wanted them to meet her before he had a chance to talk with them.
Hence the list he’d been working on last night. He dug the notebook out and unscrewed the cap from his pen. Even looking over what he’d already written made him smile.
She’s the most amazing girl in the world. You’ll see.
She loves to explore.
She can survive in harsh situations. She first spent a solitary week on an uninhabited island as a child, with her parents’ blessing, and repeated the adventure this summer. She would make an excellent addition to my expeditions.
She wants to see the world.
She has a heart for adventure and can find it everywhere.
She actually enjoys it when I talk about the Druids.
No, really. She does. I’ve seen the fascination in her eyes.
I amnotimagining it.
She has a keen sense of humor and enjoys mine.
I’m quite serious. Stop laughing.
She has a kind and caring heart. Every time she goes to another ofthe islands, she returns with a small token for her grandmother—a shell or a piece of sea glass or a beautiful feather.
Speaking of her grandmother, she has the sweetest one in the world, and I think you’ll soon want to claim Mamm-wynn as your own, just as I do.
She comes from a wonderful family. The Tremaynes have an estate in Cornwall, and Mamm-wynn is the daughter of a viscount’s second son. See? Excellent bloodlines, if that matters to you. Her brother is vicar here on Tresco, a post he kept even after he inherited the estate. You won’t have to wonder why after you’ve met him. He is a true minister of souls.
She is a woman of deep faith.
She is quite likely descended from Prince Rupert! (Telly told me this one should clinch it.)
She’s beautiful. I know it’s shallow of me to list it, but I can’t help it. From the moment I first saw her, I’ve just wanted to go on staring. Even though Telly says she’s only a normal sort of pretty. I completely disagree. She’s the most beautiful woman ever to live.
That was as far as he’d gotten last night, because the next words that had wanted to spring forth from his pen wouldn’t do at all.
I love her.
It was true. And they’d know it just from the other items on the list. But it didn’t seem right to simply write it down and read it off to them. He ought to tell Beth first, after all. And not tell his sisters in some studied way.
