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yards at most. Up to there, perhaps.” He pointed to the beginning of a slope ahead.
    She nodded, relishing the fresh air. Canterbury had been so…stuffy. “Home.”
    “I beg your pardon?”
    “I do feel at home here already. Strangely so.” She smiled, swallowing hard as he covered her gloved hand with his.
    “Yes, this land pulls you in, doesn’t it? I never much liked the seaside in Kent where my mother resides. It’s too…” He cocked his head.
    “Civilized?” Minnie smirked when he laughed.
    “Yes, I guess you’re right. We appear to share a sense of adventure, don’t we?” His gaze met hers, full of mischief and…something she couldn’t determine.
    “We may,” she whispered, suddenly hot beneath her skin.
    They stopped at the slope. The view ahead was dizzying. Only a short distance away, the land crumbled steeply into the sea. Minnie could only guess how high up these cliffs were. To her left, a mile or two away, the shoreline dipped gently downward to a beach.
    “Henrietta.”
    Minnie startled. What made her say that?
    Lord Drake eyed her quizzically. “Mr. Walker’s murdered wife?”
    “Yes.” Dread settled in her stomach. “I was just thinking how she…died.” A sense of flying gripped her. Black spots blurred her vision. “The cliffs. I…”
    “Miss Goodridge…Minerva?”
    Strong arms encircled her, and the spell of giddiness passed as his warmth seeped into her. Minnie blinked.
    “Here, look this way.” He steered her away from the abyss, toward the manor barely half a mile away.
    She blinked again, then straightened. “Thank you. I don’t know what came over me.”
    Lord Drake didn’t loosen his hold. “Don’t worry, these heights often have that effect.”
    “I never feel faint, Lord–” Her breathing stilled as his gaze–only inches away–captured hers. She licked her suddenly dry lips.
    “Gideon,” he groaned, then his mouth was on hers, fierce at first, then tender, softening.
    Minnie’s eyes closed as a tingling sensation surged through her. His arms pulled her close; a hand caressed her exposed neck. Delicious shivers ran over her skin and she forgot to breathe. His tongue nudged her lips, the playful invitation almost too much to bear. As her body molded against his, she returned his exquisite exploration with an eagerness unbeknown to her.
    Men and their motives.
    Minnie stilled, her father’s admonishing voice in her ears. He’d warned her of men and their habitual seduction of innocent girls like her. Placing her hands firmly against Lord Drake’s chest, she pushed away from him. When he released her, she almost fell, having leaned into him so much.
    “Here, here.” His deep voice comforting, he steadied her until she felt safe on her feet.
    Embarrassed, her cheeks burning, she turned away, but her shawl caught in the breeze, drifting toward the cliff edge. “Oh no!”
    He reached out to catch it but the soft woolen fabric floated over the edge, and disappeared into the mist. Halting too close to the sheer drop, he stopped short. “I’m sorry, Minerva.”
    Minnie froze as memory flooded back. Henrietta Walker’s shawl had been found washed onto a beach nearby.
    “Step away from the edge,” she shouted, her heart contracting in fear. For him? Or for Henrietta? Staring at the spot where only moments ago her shawl had lingered in the wind, Minnie shuddered.
    Perhaps Henrietta hadn’t been murdered after all.
    Perhaps it had been an accident.
    ***
    Gideon glanced at Minnie’s tense profile as she rode back to the manor, head held high, her back stiff. They were cantering along the open fields, heading to a side gate into the grounds he’d pointed out.
    How soon until she realized he knew more about Trekellis than he’d admitted?
    But watching her, he might rather be concerned about her changed attitude toward him. Following the kiss, her demeanor was cool, almost dismissive, despite her cry for him to remove himself from the cliff’s edge. She