Page 99 of Winterset
“Oliver!” I gaped at his crooked cravat. “Your guests.”
“Help me retie it?” he murmured.
I lifted my hands to his cravat again, but they were trembling too much to do any good.
I could feel the heat of his body through his shirt. We were standing so close. So close that if I were to look up, our mouths would meet in a kiss. I wanted to kiss him, and the rapid way his chest rose and fell with each of his breaths hinted that he wanted the same. But I had misjudged one moment between us, and I did not want to make the same mistake again.
I glanced away, giving Oliver the opportunity to retreat, but he cupped my chin and gently drew my gaze back to his. He brushed his thumb across my cheek, and the sensation made me shiver with pleasure.
I leaned into his touch, inhaling the spicy, sweet scent of the cologne on his wrist. He smelled so good. He always smelled good, but tonight, he was intoxicating.
He looked at me like I was something precious, something he treasured.
But he didn’t kiss me. He seemed afraid that one wrong move would send me fleeing into the shadows. After the trauma I’d experienced with Mr. Cavendish, I had not thought I would ever feel so safe with a man again. But the time I’d spent with Oliver had changed me. I wasn’t frightened anymore. I wouldn’t run. Not from him.
I lifted my still trembling hands to his shoulders.
The simple contact seemed to reassure him. He lightly rested his hand on my waist, pulling me closer with a careful restraint that only made me want him to kiss me more. He dipped his head but hovered a breath away, giving me a final opportunity to retreat.
I tilted my chin just enough to show him that I welcomed his kiss, that I wanted it.
Finally, he lowered his mouth to mine.
Oliver’s kiss was soft and sweet and achingly slow, and I savored every second, the tenderness of his touch, the warmth of his lips, the gentle pressure of his fingertips on my face and waist. It was a kiss that asked for nothing but offered everything.
When Oliver finally drew back, he rested his forehead against mine. We lingered like that as long as we could. Until we heard a carriage coming down the lane outside.
Oliver reluctantly stepped back, trailing his hand down my arm before finally letting go. He smoothed his crumpled cravat and tied a quick knot. He then turned and retreated down the corridor. At the end, he looked over his shoulder at me and smiled. It was small but more certain than before our kiss.
My heart swelled with happiness.
Everything felt foreign and fragile, like we were walking a path we didn’t quite know how to navigate, but we were both eager to see where it would lead.
Oliver
Standing on the drive, Iwatched the Daltons’ carriage come toward me. I’d hoped Markham would arrive first so that he could act as a buffer between Miss Dalton and me, but unfortunately for me, he did not.
As soon as the Daltons’ carriage came to a stop, one of the men I’d hired to help as footman tonight stepped forward to let down the step and open the door. I had also hired a few stablehands to assist with the horses and carriages in the stables but no one additional.
When I’d made my invitation, before I’d known about Kate, I’d planned to hire more staff. But after she’d come out of hiding, I hadn’t felt comfortable bringing additional people inside the manor. I hated how hard my servants would have to work to put on this dinner and reading tonight, but Kate’s safety came first.
Mr. and Mrs. Dalton alighted first, followed by Miss Dalton’s younger sister, Miss Arabella Dalton. It had been lucky indeed that Miss Dalton had a younger sister. Otherwise, our numbers would not have been equal, and I would have had to invite more guests. Finally, Miss Dalton poked her head out the door.
Knowing the part I must play, I stepped forward and tapped the footman on the shoulder and asked him to move aside so that I might assist the young lady myself. I did not relish having to play the part of a doting suitor tonight, but I was a gentleman.
Miss Dalton gracefully placed her gloved hand in mine and stepped down. I tucked her hand into the crook of my elbow, and we started up the stairs.
“You look lovely tonight, Miss Dalton,” I supplied the expected pleasantry, and while itwastrue, she was not as lovely as Kate.
“I am glad you think so, Mr. Jennings. I had this dress made especially for this occasion.”
I hoped she hadn’t spent too much, for the effort was wasted on me. Her excitement, however, was a good reminder to tread carefully tonight. I didn’t wish to give the girl false hope, at least no more than I already had.
We’d just reached the portico to wait with the rest of her family when Markham’s carriage entered the gate.
I made idle conversation with the Daltons as the conveyance traveled down the short drive and around the fountain, then finally came to a stop.
The footman opened the door, and Markham stepped down. His eyes skimmed over the chimneys, the cornice, the canted windows. My manor likely did not hold a candle to his own—he was a baron and likely lived in a far grander house than Winterset—but I was proud of all the improvements I’d made since my arrival; the drive was freshly graveled, the fountain clean and working, and the ivy neatly trimmed.
