With one hand, he cupped her face and angled his mouth towards hers. His kiss was light and sweet, tasting of red wine and decadence. His teeth gently tugged on her lower lip as he broke the kiss. He did bite her after all and she loved it.
‘And I do not think that you are a wicked girl,’ he said, caressing her cheek. ‘I think that you are a different one.’
She gave him a sad smile. ‘To thetonthey are the same thing.’
Samuel twirled one of her curls on his finger. ‘You will have such a happy ending that all the books you have read before will pale in comparison.’
Her gaze met his. For once, he had left her speechless. Her heart was pounding like a cannon in her chest and her pulse was racing as if she were going into battle.
‘There you are,’ Mama said from behind them. ‘I have been looking all over for you, Frederica. Your presence has been missed.’
Lady Hampford’s expression appeared stern at first, but Frederica knew that she was pleased to see them together. She gave Samuel a knowing smile.
Stepping back from Samuel, Frederica went to her mother. ‘Sorry, Mama. Samuel missed dinner and he was positively famished. He nearly ate the curtains.’
‘And the chairs,’ he added helpfully.
Mama did not appear at all convinced by their flummery. ‘I am glad Samuel was not forced to such dire straits. This house has been let after all. The younger members of our party appear a little dull. I thought that you two could begin the dancing.’
Frederica grinned. ‘But who will play the pianoforte?’
‘You are not the only one who is proficient,’ Mama said in her most duchess-like voice. Her mother did not practise often, but she did play well.
Frederica grabbed Samuel’s hand and dragged him back up the stairs to dance with her.
Chapter Eleven
Samuel wasn’t riding the next afternoon in hopes of running into Frederica.
No.
Of course not.
Why would he want to do that, when he had danced with her three times the night before? The Duchess of Hampford had indeed been a proficient musician and played for nearly two hours while the younger couples danced jigs. Alas, she seemed not to know any waltzes; however, she overlooked Samuel squiring Frederica for a third dance. Only two was considered proper.
He certainly had not woken up early to complete his lists of tasks for the general so that he would be free for most of the afternoon. His horse clearly needed the exercise and Samuel had unaccountably developed an interest in locally made cheeses. He had discovered that no two farms’ wares tasted alike. Something he would not have known if Frederica hadn’t insisted on visiting a new farm around Brussels each day. With or without him.
And perhaps he had also grown accustomed to a certain young lady’s enthusiastic kisses. They no longer felt like falling, but flying. Each kiss sending him closer to the hot sun. Until like Icarus, his wings would melt.
‘Yoo-hoo! Samuel!’
He turned to see Frederica and her groom riding towards him at speed. She probably never allowed her poor horse to walk. No. Frederica ran towards life with an exuberance that left uproar in her wake.
‘I found us a new farm.’
Samuel reined his horse around to meet hers. ‘And cheese?’
She smiled at him and something inside of him broke and was remade. ‘The most delicious cheese.’
‘Shall we race there?’
Shaking her head, Frederica said, ‘No. No. I am tired of losing to your mare. But perhaps we can have a shooting contest when we get there. Jim brought empty bottles for us.’
Sure enough, Frederica’s groom had a bag slung around his shoulders and Samuel could hear the clinking of bottles. ‘I don’t think that shooting in a war zone is wise.’
She leaned over and rubbed his horse’s nose. ‘What is wise, is rarely fun.’
Samuel half wished that she would rub his nose. What an absurd thought! ‘Come, I’ll let you lead the way this time.’