Blake shook his head. "Sarah is a compassionate young woman, but no virgin gives herself away out of pity. They have an enduring and extremely devoted marriage, I'm sure of it."
"Well, only time will tell."
"Time will prove me right about you too. So come now, we need to draw up a plan. Baths twice each day, and mud rubs, massages, and some of that seaweed I have heard so much about. And walking, no matter how difficult it is."
"You're a hard man," Michael said with a shake of his head.
"Aye, but it's just what you need to get you out of your slough of despond."
Blake and Michael went to the Baths first thing each morning, and Michael would soak and try to move his legs. They would go a second time in the afternnon before dinner, and Arabella often went with them to help.
She would sit on a small bench and read them the paper or some poetry. Occasionally she even soaked herself, and they would take the waters in the Pump Room.
Adam and Oliver were frequently present at the Pump Room, and would take her off to Sally Lunn's for the giant teacakes they served there. Since they were her cousins, she did not strictly require a chaperone, though Vanessa Stone did try to keep a look out for her when she came up to visit at the end of the first week with her whole family.
She was bloomingly pregnant again with their third child, and Arabella could not help feel a twinge of envy for the exceedingly happy auburn-haired woman.
Still, since Blake was so busy with Michael, and Vanessa and Charlotte with their small children, Arabella had a great deal more freedom than she ever had before. If she was not permitted to think of Blake or Philip as her husband, then one of her cousins seemed a safe option. The more frequent caresses and light kisses Arabella shared with both brothers went unchecked because Blake was afraid he would be perceived as being jealous.
Philip could see the impasse the stubborn couple had created for themselves, and was ever vigilant.
So vigilant that Blake began to fear he would offer for Arabella himself after all. Then what would he do? He did not dare investigate his background lest it made his fears reality. That she had fallen in love with another man.
Yet he could not help notice her warm fondness for her two handsome cousins.
Arabella knew she was playing with fire allowing Adam and Oliver a couple of kisses, but in some senses that was exactly what she wanted. She wanted to know where the fire came from. If it was Blake only who could make her feel that heady soaring of the senses, or whether it was inside her.
She needed to find out if she responded to all men the way she had to Blake, or if he was indeed, as she was coming to suspect more and more with every passing day that she tried to avoid him, that he was truly special.
One evening when the Elthams had invited a large group of guests for cards and a small dance, Philip looked at her directly at her and asked, "Would you like me to contribute to your education as well?"
"Pardon?"
She had just come from a short private conversation with Adam, which had included a kiss on her cheek.
He shook his head. "I can see what you're doing. Experimenting. Satisfying your curiosity. There's no harm in it if you're careful. But not all men are as decent and gentle with women as Blake. Or as I would be with you."
She snapped her fan open and began to flutter it. "Please, sir, I don't know what you're-"
"You're trying to find out why no man seems to match up to Blake. It's because you love him." He ignored her look of outraged indignation and continued, "I know it's hard for women, unfair too. Men are allowed to sow their wild oats, so to speak, but women are expected to be chaste. There's no reason not to try to find out more about your body, your desires, in a safe context. I'm said to be a good kisser. Would you like to try?"
She glared at him. "I cannot believe you're being so impertinent! Blake warned me-"
"Yet you have kissed Adam and Oliver, have you not?"
"How dare you!"
"I shall take that as yes, then."
"You are impossible, sir," she hissed, trying to move away from him.
He took her arm in a firm grip and led her toward the French windows at the back of the house, which opened onto a small terrace.
"What's impossible is loving someone as much as you do Blake, and being too frightened to just admit it. He loves you too, Arabella."
Her lashed flew upwards. "Why, did he tell you this?" she asked in astonishment. She did not even care that her broad smile had given away her true feelings of delight should it prove to be true.
"No. He's still being stubborn. But perhaps we can bring hom forward a bit more, whilst still expanding your education."