“I don’t care. I like to see you pour it with your lovely hands.”
She spread her hands out on the shining mahogany of the tea-table. “Are they lovely? Nobody ever told me.”
His hand went over hers. “The loveliest in the world.”
She sat there in a moment’s breathless silence. Then she drew her hands away. Touched a little bell. “I’ll have Sophy bring us some hot water.”
Sophy came and went. Jane poured hot tea with flushed cheeks.
He took the cup when she handed it to him. “Dear child, you’re not offended?”
“I’m not a child, Mr. Towne.” Her lashes were lowered, her cheeks flushed.
He put his cup down and leaned towards her. “You are more than a child to me—a beloved woman. Jane, you needn’t be afraid of me.... I want you for my wife!”
Her astonished eyes met his. “But we haven’t known each other a week.”
“I couldn’t love you more if I had known you a thousand years.”