She stopped to stare at him. “What are you doing?”
“It’s called flirting. Maybe you’ve experienced it before?”
“You’re tormenting me. Annoying me. That was definitely not flirting.”
“We each have our own opinions. What did Old Warner do to earn your admiration?”
Rebecca thought about that for only a moment. “We met, and he proposed.”
Rafferty gaped. “And that was enough for you?”
“Yes, of course, it was.”
“That is the most tragic courtship tale I’ve ever heard,” he muttered. “Every woman deserves to be flirted with. Warner certainly cheated you.”
Angered by the comment, Rebecca glared. “Thank you, my lord, for the reminder. I have firsthand knowledge of my husband’s faithlessness, since I caught him in the act. I do not need you to rub it in my face.”
Mortified by what she had just revealed, Rebecca headed toward the manor at a faster pace.
“Wait,” Rafferty called out. “I didn’t mean…”
But Rebecca would not stop. She was angry again, in a way she hadn’t been in a long time. All his talk and false flirtations were cruel. She had been out walking on her own quite happily until Lord Rafferty and his daughter had joined her. Rebecca had even enjoyed the time they’d spent together until that moment. She would have been better served to stay in.
Rebecca heard screams and paused.
Lord Rafferty was suddenly at her side. “What the devil was that?”
When the screaming resumed, Rebecca grinned widely. “Nothing to worry about, I’m sure.” She glanced at Lady Ava and regretted they must part now. “Don’t let me spoil your outing with your father, Lady Ava. Excuse me.”
She caught up her skirts and quickened her steps even more.
As she rounded the corner of the house, she saw a familiar traveling carriage on the drive and shook her head at the chaotic scene playing out before her eyes. Her younger brot
her Samuel stood beside the carriage, holding his twin sons by the shirt collars.
The boys were fighting to be free of the restriction and complaining very loudly.
They were also saying her name repeatedly.
“What is this ruckus about?” she called to them.
“Auntie Becca.” The boys, suddenly released, sprinted toward her.
Rebecca dropped low as the boys flung their arms around her neck, nearly knocking her down to the ground with their enthusiasm. “My dear boys. At last, you’ve come.”
Rebecca hugged them both tightly and kissed the tops of their blond heads. Rebecca had helped raise this pair of rascals for a few years after their birth before restlessness had driven Samuel from London with the boys in tow.
They turned their little faces up to hers. “We were in…” twin one began.
“Mupe Bay,” twin two finished.
She cupped their tanned little faces. They did best in the outdoors, with few rules and space to run about. Cooping them up only brought out the worst of their natures. “Did you bring me any seashells this time?”
“We brought you…” twin two began.
“…something much better,” twin one finished, burrowing closer.
“We brought you rocks from Dorset,” Samuel told her as he strolled over to join them with a smile. “Ones with tiny leaves trapped inside.”