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ways.
    “Oh, Lady Stella! You’ve come!”
    “Yes, of course,” Stella said, though she did not know how she found the words when James Norris’s hand touched the small of her back as though it belonged there.

CHAPTER SIX

    There was a sweetness about Stella Barrington that James had noticed before, but he’d not really taken note of the depth of her character. Their visit at the Jenkins cottage was tedious and painfully long, but Stella never wavered in her support and kindness toward the two older women.
    They grieved and she comforted.
    They complained and she consoled.
    Stella went out of her way to be solicitous toward the old ladies, and promised to return to visit within a few days. When he left the Jenkins cottage with Stella, James was ready for some fresh air and a bit of silence, for the two women had talked, it seemed, without taking a breath.
    He lifted Stella into the gig and climbed in after her, then started for the road to the manor. He drove a short way into the country, then took a side road that led in a direction he remembered from his many past visits to Robert’s house, toward a small pond.
    “Are we going to Deadman’s Pond?”
    James chuckled at the name. “You know about that?”
    “Of course,” she replied. “I know you and Robert and the other boys played pirates and sailors at the pond. While Virginia watched.”
    Yes. Virginia watched. Virginia had always tagged along. Charming them all while Stella had been left behind.
    James did not want to leave her behind now. “Your father never allowed us to play at the pond unless he or Fordson was present.”
    “Of course not! He was afraid you’d all drown yourselves,” she said with a laugh.
    “We might have. Look,” he said as they approached the pond. He pointed at the huge oak whose branches overhung the water. “Our rope still hangs from it.”
    “You seem surprised.”
    “I suppose I am. I hadn’t thought your brother would keep it hanging there.” He guessed there were several things he had not thought or expected when he’d come to Barrington Manor. That his favorite childhood haunt would have remained untouched.
    That Robert’s younger sister might be the more appealing of the two.
    He pulled the gig to a halt near the pond and jumped out. “Shall we take a little stroll?”
    * * *
    James helped Stella down and she wondered if this was it. If this was the moment when something a bit more definitive would take place.
    Her father would not approve of this little detour, and Stella knew his reason. He did not want her hurt, in any way.
    She tried to rein in her desires, but it was so difficult not to want James when he was being so charming and so attentive. Surely he would not have come so far out of the way if he had not wished to be alone with her.
    She knew it was altogether too brash to hope…
    “The tree is still perfect for climbing. Years ago, Robert and I took the rope and climbed up to hang it from that branch. See how it dangles over the deepest part of the pond?”
    She shivered.
    “Are you cold, my lady?”
    Without waiting for her answer, he took off his coat and put it around her shoulders. And he did not step away. With a light touch, he took the lapels and pulled them together over her breasts, enveloping her in his warmth.
    “Stella…”
    She tipped up her face and looked into his eyes, which flickered over her features and ended upon her mouth.
    “I would like to kiss you,” he said.
    She licked her lips and then his mouth was on hers, a warm but tentative touch.
    A fierce, bold longing rushed through Stella, and when he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss, she slipped her arms up to his shoulders, letting the coat drop to the ground. James made a low, throaty noise and drew her body flush against his.
    But he suddenly broke the kiss and it was over almost as quickly as it had begun.
    “Forgive me,” he said. “I should not have taken such liberties.”
    Stella tamped down the