between them, she reminded herself. So why was she feeling hurt?
She squared her shoulders, determined. He hadnât said anything that should occasion her tears. He simply had no idea how she dreamed about being in his arms, and he still hadnât entertained any thoughts about her. No matter how intimate things had seemed. Sheâd been in his bed. Likely, he hadnât even thought of her as a woman in his bed. To him, she was still Lady Alice, nuisance. Would she ever get anywhere with this man?
âAre you paying attention?â Halfway through rattling off the catalog of parts, he paused and looked at her.
She felt a hot tear sliding down her cheek, but she refused to acknowledge its presence. It was a reminder of her failure, and that was all. It certainly wasnât a sign of her emotional engagement. She refused to believe it. âIâm sorry. I find Iâm slightly distracted. Hunger, perhaps. All that talk of dinner. Could you start again?â
âOr maybe we should quit for the day. I donât want to overwhelm you. There is a lot to learn.â
âYes. Thatâs probably best,â she said quietly.
âIâll leave you with the most important lesson of all. Never point a rifle at anything you donât intend to shoot.â
Her heart dropped to her stomach. âYouâve already broken your own rule. You pointed a rifle at me earlier today.â
âBut the rifle wasnât loaded. I was sure of it. And you were invading my home. Had you been a robber, I might have intended to shoot you.â His lips were drawn to a flat line, no hint of a smile.
âYou might have shot me by mistake, and who would blame you?â
âI didnât shoot you, though, Lady Alice. And perhaps you should take it as a lesson not to go sneaking around where you donât belong.â
If his words hadnât already cut her, he certainly went in for the kill with that last bit. He might as well have shot her. His words blasted a hole right through her center, and she wasnât sure sheâd ever be the same. None of their day together had been a pleasure for him. He couldnât have made it clearer to her. His laughter, his hands on her, sharing details from his past. It was all necessity. Business. Sheâd become his responsibility for the day, and heâd followed through with what was required of him. Nothing more. She had no idea why it bothered her so. It was a setback, but not a personal affront.
âYouâre right, Mr. Winthrop,â she said, careful to keep her chin up and show no sign of weakness. âIâm learning. I wonât bother you again. Thank you for the lesson. Good night.â
With that, she turned and marched straight into the growing darkness, not stopping until she reached the Dower Houseâs gate. Then she leaned against one of the iron railings and let the tears fall until she was all cried out.
***
âCongratulations, old man. Youâve done it,â Logan said out loud to himself, standing in the dark as he watched Alice walk away.
He hadnât expected it to be so easy. Lively, buoyant Alice had proven to be more thin-skinned than he suspected. In his mind, heâd planned to be much more direct and cruel. In execution, he felt that heâd only managed to come off as a bit severe. And still, she could barely contain her emotions when she walked away. Once he saw the tears, it had almost been all over for him. The temptation to take her in his arms and comfort her, to tell her how heâd really begun to feel about her, had been almost overwhelming. Almost. But heâd managed to carry on and get it done, to prove to Alice once and for all that there was nothing but business between them. He was doing his duty, nothing more.
He didnât wake up every morning eager to see her smile. He never went out of his way hoping to bump into her. She wasnât on his mind unless she was directly in