“Let’s see,” she mused before raising her glass. “To bouquets of peonies, starless nights, and you.”

They clinked their glasses and sipped, thoughtful.

Reese stretched out his legs, leaned back on one palm, and looked out at the tranquil water. Sophie stared at his profile, trying to decipher the emotions that flickered over his face. “What are you thinking about right now?” she asked.

He swallowed and kept looking out at the lake. At first, she feared he wouldn’t answer, but at last, he said, “I was remembering all the days Edmund and I spent here. Swimming, fishing, paddling around in a leaky rowboat.”

“You must miss him,” she said.

“He was the sort of person who charmed everyone he met. At ease anywhere from a pub to a ballroom to the floor of Parliament. Everybody loved him.” Reese picked a pebble off the pier and flung it into the water. “He couldn’t have been more different from me … but he was my best friend.”

“I think that you are more like him than you realize,” Sophie reasoned. “You’ve charmed me.” That last part had slipped out before she could stop it, but she didn’t regret saying the words. Reese deserved to know he was good and kind too, and if she could hold up a mirror to help him realize that truth, then she was happy to do it.

“I’m nothing like Edmund,” Reese said flatly. “He was honorable and decent and good.”

“So are you.” She leaned forward and craned her neck, forcing him to look at her. “You are all those things.”

“You don’t know everything about me, Sophie,” he said, adamant. “You don’t know all that I’ve done. Trust me when I say that my brother’s the one that should be here now.”

“I’m so sorry that he’s gone, Reese. I’m so sorry that there’s a hole left in your heart. But I know this for certain—I’m very glad that you’re here now. I wouldn’t want to be here with anyone else.”

“Except maybe Singleton?” He shook his head as though disgusted with himself. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m not sure why I did.”

“It’s all right,” she said softly.

“You’re still going to marry him?”

Her stomach clenched. “Yes. But I meant what I said just now. I wouldn’t want to be here with anyone but you.”

He said nothing to that, but quickly drained his glass of wine and abruptly stood up.

“Where are you going?” she asked.

“For a swim.” He tugged off one boot, then the other.

“Right now?”

“I need to cool off.” He’d already shrugged off his jacket and was tugging at his cravat.