Undressed (Undone by Love) by Kristina Cook Page B

haven’t much thought upon it . They take up trade? Emigrate to the Americas?”
    “Leave their homeland ? Abandon the lands they’ve worked for generations, oftentimes with no more than an hour’s notice, else their croft will burn over their head, Mr. Rosemoor? Have ye not heard of the atrocities in Sutherland? The old and infirm, burned to death in their beds?”
    Colin grimaced, shaking his head in disgust . “Good Lord, no. I’ve heard nothing of that.”
    “Surely your newspapers carried the accounts of the violence being committed in the name of progress,” Brenna said, the swell of her décolletage rising and falling at a rapid rate, her cheeks stained an angry red . The cakes sat untouched, and Jane silently stared at Colin, her mouth agape.
    Colin swallowed, then cleared his throat . “I must apologize, Lady Brenna. I did not mean to make light of what is obviously a more serious matter than I supposed.”  He looked up and saw the eyes of all the shop’s patrons upon them. He rose from his seat and offered his arm. “Perhaps we should adjourn for that stroll, ladies.”
    “What a fine idea,” Jane said brightly . “Lady Brenna?”
    “Of course.”  Brenna rose and took Colin’s arm . “I seem to have lost my appetite.” 
    In silence they made their way outside and turned onto a pleasant lane, one that led toward an ornamental pond spanned by a wooden footbridge . It seemed a fine destination, away from prying eyes and sharp ears, both of which seemed to follow him at every turn these days.  
    “Oh, dear!” Jane cried, shaking her head . “I seem to have left behind my reticule. Go on ahead; I’ll catch up in a moment.”
    “Jane, wait.”  Colin released Brenna’s arm and took two strides after his sister, whose lemon-yellow gown fluttered in the breeze behind her as she hurried back to the shop without heeding his protests . “I’ll go for it,” he called out after her, just as she disappeared around the bend.
    “Well, then.”  He turned back toward Brenna, who was eyeing him with obvious curiosity . “I suppose I won’t.”  

     
    Chapter 5
     
    “Shall we follow her back inside?” Brenna asked.
    “No, of course not.”  With a tight smile, Colin offered her his arm. “She’ll catch up with us eventually . Stubborn girl.” 
    “Your sister is lovely, indeed, Mr. Rosemoor, just as ye said she was . I’m verra pleased to have made her acquaintance.”  Brenna placed her hand in the crook of his arm and gazed off toward the footbridge. “Shall we continue to stroll? ‘Tis a fine afternoon. Far better to be out enjoying the day than sitting inside.”  She looked over her shoulder, surprised to see a number of ladies milling about behind them, watching them, whispering amongst themselves. She distinctly heard Mr. Rosemoor’s name carried on the scented breeze. If he heard them, he gave no indication. Instead, he kept his gaze trained ahead, toward their destination, as they leisurely made their way toward the bridge.
    “I’m quite fond of outdoor pursuits myself,” he said . “I must say, I’m pleased to see you don’t seem to suffer any ill effects from my trouncing you in Lady Brandon’s garden.”
    “Nay, none at all . I’m a sturdy girl, Mr. Rosemoor.”
    He smiled down at her warmly as they stepped onto the bridge’s wide wooden planks . “‘Sturdy’ isn’t perhaps a word I’d choose to describe you. Makes you sound like a tree. A large tree. I’d rate you a sapling, at most.”
    “I’m liable to lose a few leaves, then, in this breeze.”  She paused to reach up and steady her bonnet as a particularly robust gust threatened its angle atop her head . Once the wind subsided, she released her bonnet and they continued on, cresting the bridge’s arch and moving toward the iron railing at its edge.
    Brenna removed her hand from his elbow and leaned against the scrolled ironwork, looking down at the lily pads that dotted the reflection pool