But there were a few other things, as well. Broad shoulders, a tapered waist, and a very firm posterior.

Not that she’d been looking at his posterior, mind you. Harriet was quite certain she wouldn’t have noticed anything about the captain at all if she hadn’t been forced to endure Ophelia’s and Sophia’s constant musing on the subject.

Every day, they watched, commented, debated, and argued about which of the captain’s features they liked the best. Sophia was very fond of his blue eyes, shadowed as they were by coal black lashes so long that they curled just a bit at the ends. Ophelia rather thought she liked the way his muscles rippled beneath his shirt while he was working. The only thing the two were in complete agreement on was the captain’s rump. They both thought it was a thing of godlike beauty.

To be honest, his posterior was rather impressive. Especially arrayed in Stephen’s slightly too-tight breeches. Harriet smiled. There were some advantages to working in the fields. Mainly, you had the opportunity to watch your more interesting companions for lengthy periods of time without their being aware of it. Until four days ago, Harriet hadn’t been aware of that particular benefit to field work.

Not that any of it mattered. It was a complete waste of time to dream over a man who was bound to leave. Fortunately for her, Harriet had long since learned to waste neither her time nor her life dreaming about things one could never have.

Father, of course, had believed differently. He had been a dreamer. She could remember him saying that their only chore was to enjoy life to the fullest and to let tomorrow take care of itself. But his determination to live in a manner he could ill afford had, on his death, left his family deeply in debt. Harriet had learned that the only time one could really enjoy tomorrow was after one had taken care of today.

She thought about her brothers and sisters. About Stephen, who worked so hard that his hands were already callused and rough; about Sophia and Ophelia, who fetched and carried and cleaned; about Derrick, who’d lost the chance to attend Eton; and especially Mother, who worried about them all, more than she wanted anyone to know. Harriet had to force away a very real flare of anger at her father for his shortsightedness.

A noise outside of Harriet’s door drew her attention to the clock. Piffle! If she didn’t get busy, she’d be late again. And all because she’d lain in bed too long.

Harriet took a deep breath, pushed aside the mound of blankets and jumped to the floor, the cold chattering her teeth. Hugging herself, she ran across the room, threw open the door to the wardrobe, grabbed her clothing from a peg and ran back to bed.

She tossed the clothes onto the bed and then dived under the covers, luxuriating in the cozy spot she’d just left. It was warmer in the house during the winter, when it was so cold they had to have the fires lit. But in the spring, when it was warm in the daytime, they made do without the fires, which left the mornings a bit frosty early in the season.