“I see.” He nodded as he drew a deeper breath. “How kind of you to come to my rescue.” His lopsided smile caused her mouth to go dry and alarm bells to ring.
She didn’t trust handsome men with crooked grins, especially not charming ones.
He shifted to his elbows, the movement drawing his shirt taut and showing his muscled form to perfection.
Dear heaven. She jerked her gaze away as a blush heated her cheeks.
Oblivious to her reaction, Lord Winstead sat up, taking care to move slowly. “I don’t believe I broke anything other than my pride.” He scowled up at the tree.
Just then, Bertie meowed, and Prudence glanced up to see him swishing his tail, glaring at the man with displeasure. “Shame on you, Bertie. Come down at once.”
The cat meowed again. Prudence rose and leveled him a firm stare. “Now, Bertie.”
Bertie jumped effortlessly down from one limb to the next until he was within reach.
“There’s a good boy.” Prue lifted onto her toes to pluck him from the tree and cradle him in her arms, running a hand over his fur. “Shame on you for escaping. You know Mrs. Sutton worries when you do.”
The cat purred in response and settled into her arms.
Lord Winstead shook his head as he gained his feet, arching his back and twisting his body to check for damage. “You are far better with felines than I.”
Holding Bertie was a welcome distraction from Lord Winstead’s fine looks, especially in his half-undressed state. “Are you certain you’re not hurt?”
“A few bruises and a sore rib or two.” He touched his side, and she imagined what his bare torso might look like given the hint of it through his shirt. He reached out a finger toward her, and her heart pounded at just what he intended.
“Bertie, you have always had a mind of your own.” He rubbed the side of the cat’s face which pressed into his touch.
She rather envied the cat at that moment.
Lord Winsted glanced up at the tree again. “My own fault. I placed my weight on a limb when I shouldn’t have. Before I knew it, I was falling.”
Prue followed his gaze, relieved to look at something other than him. “It is a tall tree. You are quite lucky you weren’t hurt.”
“Lucky?” He offered another careless smile, causing her stomach to dip. The man was trouble with a capital T. “That’s not a trait anyone in my family can normally claim.”
Uncertain as to his meaning, she held her silence. Why did she feel as if he used that smile to keep others at arm’s length? To show the world he was carefree without a worry when that wasn’t exactly the truth?
He gestured toward the path. “Shall we return Bertie inside and advise my grandmother?”
“Most definitely.” Prue buried her nose in the feline’s soft fur, trying to regain her breath. Odd, but she almost felt as if she were the one who’d fallen.
Chapter Two
Silas followed Lady Prudence to the drawing room, having donned his waistcoat and jacket. He hated that he’d fallen climbing the tree and liked it even less that someone had witnessed his failure.
When Lady Prudence knelt at his side, he feared for a brief moment that an angel had come to claim him. Her pale hair and wide blue eyes in a heart-shaped face were much like he’d always envisioned an angel might look. And when her gentle manner and calming voice eased his panic at being unable to breathe, he’d become even more taken with her.
She was different than the ladies he normally encountered with their assessing gazes suggesting they knew exactly how empty his pocketbook was.
In truth, Lady Prudence was the type he tended to avoid, especially since she was no heiress from what his grandmother had mentioned at some point in the past. Innocence and shyness radiated from her like a beacon. Wariness flashed in her blue eyes, and it was clear she wasn’t sure what to think of him. She seemed much more comfortable with the cat.
If his grandmother had known she and her aunt were planning to call, he wished she would’ve said as much so he could’ve avoided the encounter.
“You found him,” his grandmother declared and held her arms out for Bertie.
“Lord Winstead did.” His rescuer handed the grumpy feline over with a smile. “I merely had the honor of carrying him inside.”
He waited for her to share his unfortunate mishap, but to his surprise, she didn’t say a word.