with that?”
“Nothing—if you’re stupid. But you’re not stupid. You can’t fool me for an instant. You don’t want a dissolute life.”
He shrugged. “You think too much, Lieutenant.”
That old name! It warmed her heart to hear him say it, although she wouldn’t tell him.
“And you don’t think enough, Captain, ” she told the top of his head. She longed to run her hand through those shiny, dark curls.
He stood up, and the front chair legs hit the floor with a loud thump. “Listen to me.” He hovered above her. “You can’t go to Paris—what would be the point if you did? Monsieur will say no to tutoring you. Can’t you learn the art from books?”
“It won’t be the same. Can you learn how to design buildings only from books? Or didn’t you need a mentor to help you reach your potential?”
“A mentor is preferable, but it’s not realistic in your case. What would you want to do, once you learn the art of sugar sculpting from Monsieur?”
“I’ll come back to all of them,” she said, “Uncle Bertie, Mother, Brick and the other servants, and the moor, after I’ve learned everything I can. When I live in Dartmoor again, I’ll be in great demand. By then, I’ll have learned to pack and ship my wares, and people will pay extraordinary amounts for my creations.”
“You’re a lady, Pippa. You’re supposed to get married, have children. Don’t you have an obligation to your family to make a good match?”
She sighed. “You know the answer to that. Of course I do, in the eyes of the world. But the moor”—she grasped both his hands—“it speaks every day, and it’s much louder in its silence than any gossips, the Toad, Mother, and all the expectations that have been thrust on me since I was a little girl. The moor says that I have only one chance”—she squeezed his hands hard—“ this chance, to live my life. And I’m going to take it.”
He pulled away, walked to the window, and peered out. “We’re grown now.” His voice was steady when he turned back to face her. “Today you were preyed upon by a scoundrel who’ll deny everything if he’s accused. I thought you were merely in the garden or downstairs when I walked by your room this morning and found you gone. Hawthorne and Trickle had already cleared evidence of him from your room.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“And then you put yourself in further danger by naïvely throwing yourself on the mercy of what is, in large part, a cruel world. Furthermore, I’m on my way to a dull house party where I intend to work on a modest commission that will get me no further ahead in the realm of architecture than running away will do for you. This is real life, Pippa. It’s time to put childish fancy behind us.”
Her throat was suddenly hot. “When we were children, you were the perfect companion. We saw wondrous things together, and we acted as if only the present moment mattered. I always knew”—she gulped—“I always knew we would be friends—that there was no limit to our understanding of each other. But that didn’t last long, did it? A dozen years ago, you changed completely. I suppose you grew up, according to your definition of the term. And now we’ve nothing in common. Nothing beyond—”
She couldn’t go on, but she was thinking of how well their bodies fit together when they kissed.
She strode to the door, but before she could unbolt it, he caught her hand from behind.
“So we’ve nothing in common, eh?” he said close to her ear.
She shook her head.
“And I know nothing of joy?”
She nodded vigorously.
He encircled her waist with his palms. “If that’s so, how is it that I can make you feel”—he raised his hands and cupped her breasts—“like this?”
She froze and tried to ignore the incredibly erotic sensations his hands aroused in her.
“And why is it,” he murmured, “that I know exactly how to make you happy?”
“No you don’t.”
“Oh, yes I do.” A beat of
“Nothing—if you’re stupid. But you’re not stupid. You can’t fool me for an instant. You don’t want a dissolute life.”
He shrugged. “You think too much, Lieutenant.”
That old name! It warmed her heart to hear him say it, although she wouldn’t tell him.
“And you don’t think enough, Captain, ” she told the top of his head. She longed to run her hand through those shiny, dark curls.
He stood up, and the front chair legs hit the floor with a loud thump. “Listen to me.” He hovered above her. “You can’t go to Paris—what would be the point if you did? Monsieur will say no to tutoring you. Can’t you learn the art from books?”
“It won’t be the same. Can you learn how to design buildings only from books? Or didn’t you need a mentor to help you reach your potential?”
“A mentor is preferable, but it’s not realistic in your case. What would you want to do, once you learn the art of sugar sculpting from Monsieur?”
“I’ll come back to all of them,” she said, “Uncle Bertie, Mother, Brick and the other servants, and the moor, after I’ve learned everything I can. When I live in Dartmoor again, I’ll be in great demand. By then, I’ll have learned to pack and ship my wares, and people will pay extraordinary amounts for my creations.”
“You’re a lady, Pippa. You’re supposed to get married, have children. Don’t you have an obligation to your family to make a good match?”
She sighed. “You know the answer to that. Of course I do, in the eyes of the world. But the moor”—she grasped both his hands—“it speaks every day, and it’s much louder in its silence than any gossips, the Toad, Mother, and all the expectations that have been thrust on me since I was a little girl. The moor says that I have only one chance”—she squeezed his hands hard—“ this chance, to live my life. And I’m going to take it.”
He pulled away, walked to the window, and peered out. “We’re grown now.” His voice was steady when he turned back to face her. “Today you were preyed upon by a scoundrel who’ll deny everything if he’s accused. I thought you were merely in the garden or downstairs when I walked by your room this morning and found you gone. Hawthorne and Trickle had already cleared evidence of him from your room.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“And then you put yourself in further danger by naïvely throwing yourself on the mercy of what is, in large part, a cruel world. Furthermore, I’m on my way to a dull house party where I intend to work on a modest commission that will get me no further ahead in the realm of architecture than running away will do for you. This is real life, Pippa. It’s time to put childish fancy behind us.”
Her throat was suddenly hot. “When we were children, you were the perfect companion. We saw wondrous things together, and we acted as if only the present moment mattered. I always knew”—she gulped—“I always knew we would be friends—that there was no limit to our understanding of each other. But that didn’t last long, did it? A dozen years ago, you changed completely. I suppose you grew up, according to your definition of the term. And now we’ve nothing in common. Nothing beyond—”
She couldn’t go on, but she was thinking of how well their bodies fit together when they kissed.
She strode to the door, but before she could unbolt it, he caught her hand from behind.
“So we’ve nothing in common, eh?” he said close to her ear.
She shook her head.
“And I know nothing of joy?”
She nodded vigorously.
He encircled her waist with his palms. “If that’s so, how is it that I can make you feel”—he raised his hands and cupped her breasts—“like this?”
She froze and tried to ignore the incredibly erotic sensations his hands aroused in her.
“And why is it,” he murmured, “that I know exactly how to make you happy?”
“No you don’t.”
“Oh, yes I do.” A beat of
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