stared at the floor, instantly contrite. “Miss Fallowes.” He interrupted her nervous chatter with deliberate firmness.
Juleah paused at the door.
“Please forgive me. I went too far.”
She shifted her gaze away from his. In spite of the high emotions that passed between them, Juleah forced the tears back, and a trembling smile spread gently over her lips. “Let us say goodnight and not speak of this again.”
He watched her step from the room. The urge to stop her overwhelmed him to the point that he headed down the hall after her.
“I am quite starved,” he said. “Have you had supper?”
8
T he following morning, dawn streamed through the window. Warmth alighted upon Seth's face and brought him back to the real world. The candle on the table, the tray of bandages, and the empty mug were reminders of the night before.
He struggled into clean clothes and pulled on his boots. A confusing mix of elation and pain troubled him. He splashed cold water from the basin on his face and dried it with a rough towel. For some time, he sat in a chair in front of the fireplace, stared at the embers that glowed in the grate, and prayed for guidance.
Part of him filled with chivalrous emotion, the other with overwhelming loneliness. The feel of her would not leave—the smooth texture of her lips, the warmth of her companionship. The thoughts they had shared opened her up to him. She had told him more about her family, the kindness of her mother, the dutiful father who had grown eccentric, energetic Thomas, Jane, and Peter, her brother who had died in America. She shared with him her love for herb gardens, how she wished she could study as men did and become proficient in horticulture.
He discovered she held deep spiritual beliefs, the greatest being hope of life beyond the material world.
Seth left his room and found Juleah out in the garden wrapped in her dove-gray cloak. As he approached, she yanked from the soil the dry remnants of a marigold plant.
“The garden has been neglected.” Her tone was somber. He helped her up and she regarded him with forlorn eyes. “I know what you wish to say.”
“You can read my mind?” He smiled lightly.
“The eyes of a man are the windows to his soul, Mr. Braxton. Do not say that you love me.”
He drew her to him and cupped her face within his hands. “You want me to withhold my feelings?”
“It is too soon.” She slipped out of his reach.
“On my life, I do not understand.”
He marveled at her reaction, the change in her mood. “I am glad we talked last night. I remember the clock striking two before we said goodnight.”
Juleah let out a heavy sigh and pushed back her hair from her face. “I received a letter from my mother. It has been more than a month I have been away, and she misses me. So, I must go home to Henry Chase.”
Before Seth could reply, she turned and walked back into the house.
Juleah shut the door behind her. She went to the window and stared across the span of green and beyond. Mist lay in glossy white ribbons in the lowlands. The scarlet light of morning touched upon the dew-drenched bracken.
She shoved aside angry tears.
Her feelings for Seth frightened her. How could she fall in love with a rebel? No doubt he longed for Virginia, would sellTen Width, and leave. If she allowed something more to grow between them, he’d break her heart.
Perhaps he cared nothing for her, and this was just a moment . Oh, but it had felt warm and wonderful the way he kissed her.
She flung herself down upon her knees at the bedside. Covering her face in her arms, she prayed for answers. Seth Braxton stirred up such strong feelings within her that she wanted to shout. What had drawn her to him? Was it his solid self-confidence, his sense of duty, his spiritual conviction? Or was it his ability to make her feel as if she’d known him all her life and that she deserved to be loved? What did she discover beneath his handsome surface that pulled
Juleah paused at the door.
“Please forgive me. I went too far.”
She shifted her gaze away from his. In spite of the high emotions that passed between them, Juleah forced the tears back, and a trembling smile spread gently over her lips. “Let us say goodnight and not speak of this again.”
He watched her step from the room. The urge to stop her overwhelmed him to the point that he headed down the hall after her.
“I am quite starved,” he said. “Have you had supper?”
8
T he following morning, dawn streamed through the window. Warmth alighted upon Seth's face and brought him back to the real world. The candle on the table, the tray of bandages, and the empty mug were reminders of the night before.
He struggled into clean clothes and pulled on his boots. A confusing mix of elation and pain troubled him. He splashed cold water from the basin on his face and dried it with a rough towel. For some time, he sat in a chair in front of the fireplace, stared at the embers that glowed in the grate, and prayed for guidance.
Part of him filled with chivalrous emotion, the other with overwhelming loneliness. The feel of her would not leave—the smooth texture of her lips, the warmth of her companionship. The thoughts they had shared opened her up to him. She had told him more about her family, the kindness of her mother, the dutiful father who had grown eccentric, energetic Thomas, Jane, and Peter, her brother who had died in America. She shared with him her love for herb gardens, how she wished she could study as men did and become proficient in horticulture.
He discovered she held deep spiritual beliefs, the greatest being hope of life beyond the material world.
Seth left his room and found Juleah out in the garden wrapped in her dove-gray cloak. As he approached, she yanked from the soil the dry remnants of a marigold plant.
“The garden has been neglected.” Her tone was somber. He helped her up and she regarded him with forlorn eyes. “I know what you wish to say.”
“You can read my mind?” He smiled lightly.
“The eyes of a man are the windows to his soul, Mr. Braxton. Do not say that you love me.”
He drew her to him and cupped her face within his hands. “You want me to withhold my feelings?”
“It is too soon.” She slipped out of his reach.
“On my life, I do not understand.”
He marveled at her reaction, the change in her mood. “I am glad we talked last night. I remember the clock striking two before we said goodnight.”
Juleah let out a heavy sigh and pushed back her hair from her face. “I received a letter from my mother. It has been more than a month I have been away, and she misses me. So, I must go home to Henry Chase.”
Before Seth could reply, she turned and walked back into the house.
Juleah shut the door behind her. She went to the window and stared across the span of green and beyond. Mist lay in glossy white ribbons in the lowlands. The scarlet light of morning touched upon the dew-drenched bracken.
She shoved aside angry tears.
Her feelings for Seth frightened her. How could she fall in love with a rebel? No doubt he longed for Virginia, would sellTen Width, and leave. If she allowed something more to grow between them, he’d break her heart.
Perhaps he cared nothing for her, and this was just a moment . Oh, but it had felt warm and wonderful the way he kissed her.
She flung herself down upon her knees at the bedside. Covering her face in her arms, she prayed for answers. Seth Braxton stirred up such strong feelings within her that she wanted to shout. What had drawn her to him? Was it his solid self-confidence, his sense of duty, his spiritual conviction? Or was it his ability to make her feel as if she’d known him all her life and that she deserved to be loved? What did she discover beneath his handsome surface that pulled
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