Be My Bride by Regina Scott Page B

rose. All he’d have to do was lower his head once again and  . . . .
    “Aw, she caught him!” Adam cried from the hedge. “Do we have to go to tea now?”
    Daniel forced himself to let go of her. Cynthia smoothed down her skirts and stood a little straighter. He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Her effort was completely in vain with her hair wild about her shoulders and dust caking the hem of her skirt.
    “That’s only fair, Adam,” she told her son with a smile. “I did catch Daniel, and he promised we’d go in when I caught one of you.”
    “Oh, all right.” Adam sighed. Within minutes, they had rounded up James and John and were headed back to the house with Daniel in the lead. Cynthia picked up her basket and trailed behind. She told herself she was quite glad she had managed to get them to return to the house, but suddenly she had lost all interest in tea, and she couldn’t wait to get some time to herself to think.
     

Chapter Nine
     
    She didn’t get time to herself until after the boys had retired. Daniel seemed disappointed that she didn’t choose to stay up and play chess or billiards with him as had been their wont of late, but today’s kiss in the maze had thoroughly unnerved her and she found it impossible to be alone with him until she knew why.
    After she had departed, Daniel sat staring into the fire, thoughts unfocused, or rather refusing to focus on a particular incident. He nodded at Evenson who came in to check the windows and doors before going to bed. “Is there anything more I can do for you, sir?”
    “Can you explain women to me, Evenson?” Daniel asked.
    Evenson sighed. “If I could do that, sir, I would no longer be your butle;, I’d be the richest man in England.”
    “In the world,” Daniel amended.
    “Just so, sir. Good night.”
    Daniel nodded again as he left. He continued to sit in front of the fire, watching the red coals dimming one by one to black. Around him the room grew still and cool. He had spent many such nights before Cynthia and the boys had come into his life, but the memories were far from pleasant. His life was richer and better with them in it. He had thought he was content with his lot. But after the kiss this afternoon, he knew he could never be.
    He had fallen in love with Cynthia.
    He shook his head. How could he have been such a fool? He had wanted to win her heart, but somehow he had never considered that he might lose his own. He’d thought the poets mad, but now he knew they were no madder than he was. The frog was hopelessly in love with the beautiful, clever, wonderful mother of his sons. If she had felt for Nathan half of what he was feeling for her, he suddenly understood how she could run away and leave everything behind.
    Most likely it had been creeping up on him all summer long, only he had just noticed it this afternoon when she had run up behind him. He really hadn’t been intending to kiss her, but with her mouth so delectably close he hadn’t had much choice. And the taste of her and the feel of her had been so sweet. He closed his eyes just thinking about it. God, how could he ever be in the same room with her again without wanting to hold her that way once more?
    He leaned back on his elbows. He couldn’t face her without saying something, that much was clear. But what was he to say? “My dear Cynthia, I know I made a bargain when I married you, but I’ve changed my mind. I want ours to be true marriage. You will report to my bed this evening.” He shook his head. That would hardly do. Yet he balked at the idea of simply telling her he loved her. Surely she would just smile politely and tell him to go to blazes.
    “They’re all right about you, my lad,” he said with a sigh. “How much of a man can you be if you can’t even tell the woman you love that you love her?”
    Upstairs the woman he loved was having a similar conversation with herself. It was equally plain to her that she had fallen in love with