Page 54 of A Spinster's Sinful Temptation

“What’s wrong with her laughing in such a carefree manner?” Derrick asked.

“Women aren’t supposed to have what my father calls a ‘belly laugh.’ It’s not attractive.”

Derrick chuckled and picked up a cut strawberry. “Look, it’s just us out here, and Randall isn’t going to mind at all. He seems quite taken with your sister, anyway.”

“Really?” Ellie arched an eyebrow. She shifted around to look at the other group, and Derrick thought Regina seemed to be leaning a little more towards Randall as he said something else. “Maybe so. Regina does like someone who can make her laugh.”

“Randall is quite good at that.” Derrick popped the strawberry into his mouth. “Look, don’t worry about them relaxing. Nobody here is going to care that they’re laughing in a manner that isn’t attractive. In fact, I prefer it.”

“You prefer a loud laugh?”

“If you call it that, yes. It means the woman is relaxed enough in my company to let her guard down.” Derrick smiled at her. “Regina’s far more relaxed than you are right now.”

Ellie sighed and shifted on the blanket, smoothing her hands over her skirts to get rid of the creases. She had been rather nervous when they arrived, and she was still a little uncomfortable now. Derrick wanted to help her relax, but he wasn’t sure how. Of course, he knew kissing a woman was enough to help them relax, but that wasn’t something he should be doing in front of his sisters. That would just make Ellie feel even more embarrassed.

It felt like this was the first time he was entertaining a woman. Derrick had a flashback to when he was eighteen years old and was trying to woo an earl’s daughter. She was beautiful, graceful, and turned him to mush whenever she smiled at him. And Derrick had ended up sounding and behaving like a buffoon. He hadn’t seen her much after that.

That’s not going to happen with Ellie. We’re going to do better than that.

“Forgive me, North.” Ellie sighed and picked up her glass, taking a sip. “I thought this was going to be a bit more… well, a bit easier for me to handle with pretty much nobody here. Instead, I feel even more nervous.”

“Do you want to head home?”

“No, I don’t.” She shook her head. “I just… this is the first time I’ve been engaged, and the first time any gentleman has invited me out for a picnic.”

“You’ve not been courted?”

“I’ve had gentlemen spend time with me, but I was always more focused on my sisters. They were my priority after my mother died. Then Father became sick, and courtship was the last thing on my mind.” Ellie shrugged.

“It never seemed to become a priority for me, not until Father said we needed to head into London and start looking for husbands. It felt… I must admit that it felt like a chore I didn’t want to do.”

Derrick laughed. “I’m glad you think of me as a chore.”

“I didn’t mean it like that!”

“I know what you meant, and I’m not offended.” He shifted to sit beside her, stretching his legs out. His knee was starting to complain from being bent for so long. “At least you got a proposal out of it. And we appear to get along, don’t we?”

“We do.” Ellie bit her lip and picked up a cube of cheese. “If I don’t marry for love, the least I could have in a marriage is to get along with my husband and be friends.”

Friends. Derrick wasn’t quite sure how to classify what they had. There was a lot of chemistry between them, that much was clear. And he did enjoy her company. Plus, he couldn’t get the kiss from the day he proposed out of his head. Friends didn’t react to a kiss like that.

But he could tell that Ellie was still shy about it all. It was probably best that he didn’t push it. Instead, he gave her a smile.

“We can certainly be friends. I don’t want you to be unable to talk to me when you need someone there for you. I know you have your sisters, but… there are some things you can’t talk to them about. I’d like to be that person.”

Ellie gave him a small smile in return and put the cube of cheese into her mouth. Her fingers brushed against her lips, and Derrick felt a stirring in his gut. He wanted to be the one who fed her, touching and caressing her as he did so. But he might get a disapproving look from her cousin Emma, who seemed to be watching them more than Ellie’s sisters. Derrick didn’t want to get anyone upset by doing something so scandalous in public.

He found it frustrating that something as simple as holding hands—an innocent gesture—was considered scandalous.

Another giggle had Derrick looking towards the other blanket. Randall had pulled Regina to her feet, and they were walking towards the river. Dorothea had her cousin’s attention, deep in a conversation that meant they hadn’t noticed the other members of their group wandering off. Regina was holding onto Randall’s arm, smiling up at him as Randall said something. Her laugh was clear and gay to Derrick’s ears.

“I have a feeling this has turned into a double courtship.”

“What?” Ellie looked around. “You mean my sister and your friend?”

“They certainly appear to be getting along and seem rather similar in temperament.” Derrick watched as Randall bent over and plucked a daisy from the grass, which he held out to Regina. “Randall’s being very charming with her as well.”

They both witnessed Regina blush a bright pink as she took the daisy. Then Randall whispered something to her that made her giggle. Ellie smiled.

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