The Lass Who Kissed a Frog by Lee, Caroline (big ebook reader .TXT) 📗

to remember but couldn’t. Remembering how irritated he’d been yesterday morning when she’d asked, she kept her question tucked behind her teeth.

“Good morning, milady,” he murmured when he reached her side.

His voice sent little shivers down her spine, and she tamped down on the urge to blush and stammer, remembering the direction of her thoughts last night.

He’s just a man. One ye’ve trusted to get ye this far, but there can be nothing between ye.

Her destiny was…

What?

To return to The Oliphant Inn and allow Mother to make an advantageous marriage for her? To a wealthy man? A man who wasn’t Froggie?

Hmm.

“The lads in the stables have already hitched up the curricle for ye, miss. The cook sent out packed meals for yer outing.”

Nodding vaguely in thanks, Vanessa stooped to pick up her bag, but wasn’t entirely surprised to learn Froggie had gotten there first. Her hand closed around his on the handle, and the sensation reminded her of how it had felt to twine her fingers through his yesterday afternoon.

He glanced up as he straightened and sent her an easy smile behind that beard. “Thank ye for arranging transport, sister,” he teased.

Swallowing, she tucked her hand through his offered arm and allowed him to lead her to the yard, where a man was preparing their curricle. Was it her imagination, or did Froggie’s hands linger on her waist as he lifted her in?

She settled down and reached for the reins, just as he swung first her bag, then himself, into the small conveyance. It rocked on its two big wheels, and she was glad it would be easy to handle. She’d never before driven a vehicle and had been nervous about the thought of a larger carriage, but to her surprise, he took the reins from her hands. When she startled and tightened her grip on them, it resulted in a small tug of war.

“Did ye want to drive?” he drawled.

“I— What? I assumed…”

“That I dinnae ken how to?”

Well, why would someone like him know how to handle a curricle any better than she did?

Perhaps he saw the question in her face because his easy-going grin faded. “Perhaps I’ve worked as a groom, or spent time as a horse thief,” he said lightly, as he turned forward once more. When he flicked the reins, the horse sprang into motion, and he settled his elbows on his bare knees.

She resisted the urge to look at those knees.

“I— I doubt ye’re a horse thief.”

A green flash under his lashes told her he’d glanced her way, and one corner of his lips curled slightly. “I suppose I should be flattered.”

“Aye.” It was a gorgeous day—warm and sunny, and just the perfect amount of a gentle breeze blowing—and she tilted her head back with a smile, not caring what Mother would say about freckles or sun damage. “At least, I dinnae think ye a horse thief.”

It was said so drily, she wasn’t surprised by his snort of laughter, which made her grin as well.

Or perhaps she was grinning because the morning was beautiful, she was on her way to find the golden sphere for her sister, and she was with…him.

Fangfoss Manor was less than an hour from York, and the roads were perfect. Or perhaps it was just because Vanessa was feeling so excited. Their conversation was easy, pointing out landmarks and nature, and sharing stories about other trips to York—she was surprised to learn he’d been this far south before.

But all too soon, they reached their destination.

“Nay, dinnae go up the main drive,” she cautioned him, pointed off into the distance. “We need to go there, over that hill, away from the house.”

He frowned, even as he followed her directions. “I dinnae understand. Are these people no’ yer relatives?”

The current earl would be her father’s cousin, but Vanessa wasn’t interested in seeing him again, not today. “We cannae, no’ if we’re to fetch the artifact and return home in time.”

“The artifact, eh?” He didn’t say anything further but followed her directions as she led them unerringly to the location where she’d remembered the Roman archaeological dig. But when they reached the spot, the feeling of accomplishment—who knew she had such a good sense of direction—didn’t help the hollow feeling in her stomach.

“Stop here,” she whispered, looking around the small clearing, which didn’t look anything like it had the last time she’d been there.

The pile of dirt behind which she’d found the sphaera would have been over there, with the dig stretching to the north. But now that she sat in the middle of it, she could tell the excavations had continued long after she’d left. There were still trenches dug into the ground, and some stretched to cover the area she’d been so certain would’ve remained untouched.

Had the golden ball already been dug up?

Beside her, he was wrapping the reins properly. “If I’m no’ mistaken, this looks like an archaeological excavation.”

Dully, she nodded. “It is. It was.”

“And we’ve come all this way…for what? For something which was found in the dig?”

“Nay.” On her lap, her fingers twisted together in worry. “To dig something up ourselves,” she whispered.

When his warm hand covered hers, she startled, but immediately relaxed and latched onto him gratefully. “What’s wrong, Vanessa?”

She swallowed. “When I was here as a girl, I saw it.”

“The thing ye want to dig out of the ground?”

Nodding, she glanced around the clearing. “Aye, but now I’m afraid…”

His fingers tightened around hers. “Of what?”

“It was over there.” She nodded to the south. “I remember those trees being behind me when I discovered it. But the excavation extends that far now.”

Briefly, he squeezed her hand, then cleared his throat and began to swing himself out of the curricle. “Well, let us begin our search. I’ll see to the horse while ye find us some digging implements or…”

He was still speaking as he reached up and wrapped his hands around her waist, lifting her out of the vehicle. And when her feet touched the ground, he didn’t release