“All accomplished ladies must play, or that was my father’s thought on it. We all learned under the tutelage of the odious Miss Bertha Granger, who rapped knuckles when one played the wrong note.”

He smiled a little. “Did it have the desired effect?”

“To make us good at it?” She shrugged. “Well, Juliana is a virtuoso, Anne despises it all and refuses to be any good at it, and I am somewhere in between. So mixed results.”

He wrinkled his brow and then watched as she slid her fingers along the keys of the piano without pressing them. “What did you mean when you said I did this last time?” he asked.

“With Anne,” she explained as she moved to the window and looked out at the estate grounds and the sea in the distance. A sense of peace overcame her, and she drew a long breath as she enjoyed the view.

“Your sister made it very clear she had no interest in my estate,” he said, suddenly closer, and she turned to find he had moved on her and was now just an arm’s length away. “I never gave her a tour like this.”

Her lips parted. “I—oh.”

“But you seem to feel differently about the place,” he said, and stepped even closer to look out the window at her side. She made herself look again but the peaceful feeling fled when his body heat was curling around her and all she could feel was him.

“I have been here nearly a month,” she said softly. “And I do very much love this estate. I love the sea views and the high hills. I love the house and all its hidden rooms and passageways. Anne adores London and all its excitements, and I certainly do not hate the city when I am there. But give me a country living and I could be happy all my days, I think.”

“Happy all your days,” he repeated, his voice suddenly rough. “Then I grant you that wish, for I also enjoy the country a great deal and am here more often than not.”

She forced herself to glance up at him with a slight smile. “Well matched, then.”

He was looking at her mouth now, not her eyes, and her body stirred as it had on the terrace. Only this time she had nothing to make her stop when it came to his kiss.

But he didn’t kiss her. He took a long step back and said, “Perhaps you would like to see the library, though I assume you have visited there many times during your journey, as I believe you to be a great reader.”

“I am,” she said, trying to calm her racing heart and maintain the light interaction that seemed to make him most comfortable. “But I never resist when it comes to a library. Please lead the way.”

He did so, letting her ooh and ahh over the fine room, and even made recommendations amongst the books she hadn’t read before. A few more parlors and gathering spaces came next, and then he took her through a massive, carved door that led into what had to be his study, judging from the large desk facing the door and the papers and quills spread across it.