Read Online A Country Affair by Patricia Wynn - Free Book Online

"Got a visitor, have you?"
    Noting the name the man had used to address her—Payley again, and not Trevelyan—Richard made his bow while Selina performed her introductions.
    Mr. Fancible, it appeared, was heir to the neighboring farm, which explained Selina's casual way of greeting him. It was clear that the two had been acquainted since childhood, for Selina did not stand on any ceremony, but told him in no uncertain terms that she was occupied.
    This did not stop Mr. Fancible from dismounting from his horse. And, when he did, Richard experienced something that struck him in a most unpleasant way. At over six feet, he had always been taller than most of his acquaintance. He had become accustomed to the gentle feeling of superiority his height afforded him.
    But this young man loomed over him. So much so that Richard would have considered Mr. Fancible grossly misshapen, had his proportions not been so perfect. As it was, Richard could only stand in awe of the pair of shoulders that dwarfed his own not-inconsiderable pair. Mr. Fancible's wrists, which showed at the bottom of his cuffs, could each make two of most of the men's in London. Richard wondered just what the young man's mother had eaten to produce such a healthy specimen, one who reeked so strongly of masculinity as to make his own hackles rise.
    "Won't be no bother," Mr. Fancible said, ignoring Selina's broad hint. "Just come to see how pig of yours is getting on."
    "Nero is perfectly fine," Selina told him, forgetting somehow to mention the adventure of the morning. "You needn't worry about him so."
    A touch of exasperation tinged her voice. Richard wondered whether this was a ruse Mr. Fancible had used before to give himself a reason for coming by. If so, it was a very feeble one.
    "Has Nero been ill?" Richard inquired politely. "Is that the reason for your call?"
    "Eh?" Mr. Fancible turned towards him. Richard could see that the conversation had moved much too swiftly for his stunted brain.
    Selina answered in his stead, while a flush she could not hide struggled up her neck. "No, he has not been ill, but Mr. Fancible was kind enough to sell Nero to me. And he has been worried about the condition of that pen."
    Richard had no sooner nodded to indicate his understanding than Mr. Fancible said with the air of someone who had repeated himself a hundred times, "Time for you to let me fix that fence."
    Selina crossed her arms. "I told you that Lucas would soon get to it, and in fact, the fence has been repaired just this morning. So you can see that there is no reason for you to be concerned."  Her tone, when giving this speech was so firm, only a simpleton could ignore it.
    Richard did not miss the fact that she had made it sound as if Lucas, not he, had done the job. Did she fear the young man's jealousy? Or was she truly so intent upon selling him trees that she had no time to waste with explanations?
    In any event, her tone had no effect upon Mr. Fancible's sensibilities, for he ignored it entirely. "Fixed it, did he? Well, let's have a look."
    With a swinging movement, much like an elephant on parade, Richard imagined, Mr. Fancible lumbered towards the barn.
    Selina had had enough. Starting after him, her hands clenched tightly at her sides, she called out, "Romeo! I will not be accompanying you. Mr. Lint and I are conducting business."
    Romeo? At hearing his name, Richard suppressed a grin. The lad had certainly been well tagged. Many a Juliet would swoon over a man of his size and physique, not to mention his dark, curly hair and his well-featured countenance.
    Richard looked for signs of swooning in Selina and was rewarded by seeing none. He had hoped she would have better taste than to fall for this bumpkin. For it should not take anyone long to see that Romeo's virtues, though perhaps more than skin deep, certainly did not reach as far as his brain.
    The truth was, handsome or no, the man was an oaf and a bore.
    Selina turned back at that moment and must