Page 96 of Brave New Earl (The Way to a Lord's Heart 1)

“You scooped me up like an expert angler landing a trout.”

“Leaving you flopping about and gasping for breath?”

“Certainly gasping,” he replied.

His look made her flush. “It wasn’t like that.”

“Well, I may have helped out here and there. I was certainly happy to…capitulate.”

“That’s what you call it?”

“Unconditional surrender.”

The tender way he said this caused a prolonged pause in the conversation. Some minutes later, Jean surfaced, breathless, pushing back the curls that had fallen over her forehead. “We were talking of overbearing parents.”

“Were we? Surely not.” He pulled her closer.

“Well, we began there.”

“And moved on to more pleasurable matters,” he interrupted, dropping another kiss on her intrepid hair.

“Yes, but… No, you mustn’t distract me. I want to talk about Geoffrey.”

On the other side of the room, curled up on the cushion of an armchair and hidden by its tall back, a small figure came alert.

“What about him?” asked Benjamin.

“I want to be a good parent to him. Good parents.”

“As I haven’t been?”

Jean brushed this aside. “I’m not talking about that. The future is the important thing. I will not be an oppressor. Geoffrey must be allowed to be free.”

In the armchair, Geoffrey listened hard.

“Certainly. Every boy ought to run wild a bit. But he must also learn responsibility. We want him to be a man of character.”

“Encouraged to be,” replied Jean. “Shown by your example—”

“Mine?”

“Of course.” Her tone suggested this was obvious.

“Thank you.” Benjamin was more touched than he would have predicted.

“Geoffrey must have scope and opportunities to shine.”

“Along with love,” said Benjamin.

“Yes, of course love! By which I mean action and sacrifice, not just an empty phrase repeated with nothing done to demonstrate it.”

A tear welled up and ran down Geoffrey’s cheek, though he did not make a sound.

“We must constantly be on the lookout,” Jean added. “I won’t be like my mother, or Mrs. Wandrell.”

“You never could be,” Benjamin answered. “You’re not the least vindictive.”

“I hope I’m not. It’s a terrible trait.”

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