What happened then was something Eden had never thought to witness. One moment the ewe was heaving and struggling, and the next she had delivered a tiny, wet miniature of herself. Jeb took the new lamb into his arms and began to clean off the delicate nose.
Another lamb followed swiftly. Hartley’s concentration was still fixed on the ewe. Without thinking, Eden scooted down to the second newborn and gathered it into her arms. She mimicked Jeb’s actions and cleaned the lamb with her skirts. It bleated daintily. She could feel the patter of its heartbeat through her bodice.
All at once Eden felt close, not only to the lamb but to the earth on which she sat and the grass and the wood and the two people who shared this strangely moving experience.
A shadow fell across her. Hartley stood with the ewe in his arms, Jeb at his side with the other lamb.
“You have ruined your gown,” Hartley said.
“So I have.” She scrambled awkwardly to her feet, hugging the lamb to her breast. “Should a gown matter more to me than a living creature?”
He smiled. It was greater praise than any words could have been. “You learn well, Eden Fleming.”
Three months ago she would have taken offense. The way he addressed her, looked at her, could only put unfortunate ideas in young Jeb Topping’s head. But Jeb murmured endearments to the lamb, unaware of the provocative undercurrents.
“The ewe must rest,” Hartley said. “Have you shelter for her, Jeb?”
“Aye. Is she truly healed?”
“If you care for her well, she’ll be walking in a week.”
Jeb gazed up at Hartley with the same adoration Eden had so often seen in Donal. “Are you an animal doctor, sir?”
“Let us say that the animals and I understand one another.” He met Eden’s eyes, as if asking whether such understanding could ever exist between them. “I can carry the lamb as well as the ewe, your ladyship.”
“No.” She nuzzled the down-soft wool, not even minding the odors of recent birth. “I wish to keep it.”
“Very well. Lead us to your home, Jeb.”
The three of them descended the fell, Hartley remaining close to Eden as she picked her way down the steep slope. At the bottom, another boy, several years older than Jeb, was waiting for them.
The two boys were alike enough to be brothers, and soon proved their kinship with an excited exchange of questions and explanations about the prized ewe and the newborn lambs. The elder boy ran off down the road to the nearby farmhouse.
When Eden, Hartley, and Jeb arrived, they were greeted at the doorway by an older woman—Jeb’s mother, Eden guessed—and two girls of indeterminate age, along with Jeb’s elder brother. The three females stared at Eden in dismay.
Reminded of her soiled skirts, Eden set the lamb down and determined to muddle through this untimely meeting.
“Good day,” she said. “These are, I believe, your sheep.”
Mrs. Topping shuffled a sort of curtsy. “M’lady. My boy told me what you done, saving one of our best ewes and her lambs. We’re grateful.”
“I cannot take the credit,” Eden said. “Mr. Shaw and Jeb did most of the work.”
“An’ Mr. Shaw healed Josephine!” Jeb put in.
One of the Topping girls tittered, and Mrs. Topping quieted her. “Your pardon, m’lady. Mr. Topping is up on the fells, or he’d thank you himself. Will you come in for a cup of tea?”
Eden got the distinct impression that Mrs. Topping wished her at the devil rather than in her modest home. She was quite certain that she smelled quite odious, and Mrs. Topping was unprepared for her landlady’s visit, especially when she had ignored Eden’s invitation to Hartsmere.
“Thank you,” Eden said, “but I am not dressed for calling, and my own guests are waiting at Hartsmere.”
“Lady Eden refers to the people of this dale, whom she invited to dine and make merry at her expense,” Hartley said. “The majority seem to be late.”
Every gaze turned to him. The Topping girls’ eyes grew very big. Even Mrs. Topping appeared to be smitten.
For the first time, Eden saw Hartley through female eyes other than her own. She had never stopped to think how the maids at Hartsmere regarded him, and Mrs. Byrne was too elderly to consider. But the Toppings’ reactions made clear just how attractive other women might find him.