Despite nearly finding herself entirely enveloped by the words that were written into the pages of that hardcover book, the dark-haired woman found those sage eyes of her flitting up to admire the ripple of those muscles with every swing of that hammer or the way that his bare arms seemed to gleam with the dampness of sweat that surely covered most of his defined torso. How she felt herself growing ever curious on just how long it might be before the man took that increasingly soaked dark grey shirt to reveal what lay beneath, and the sheer imaginings of such a thing only causes that coy smile that found her lips each time she snuck a small glance his way to flicker across her feminine features. It almost surprised her how he almost seemed determined not to move those hunter green eyes of his to her, but in the same moment she found his determination to focus solely on the task at hand that mi?how more admirable. No matter how little he believed in himself, Adelaide believed that he was far more capable than he seemed to give himself credit for. Any woman that could appreciate him for that warm smile and playful grin would be lucky to have Taylor in their life, and in truth she found herself wondering if perhaps he might already have someone special in his life. She'd almost been so caught up in her own thoughts of what the crossing and intertwining of their paths would come to mean that she hasn't truly stopped to consider who else might be tied to the man that worked on the lattice fencing that had certainly seen better days before she and Townsend had purchased it. Something unknown dated to suggest to the French woman that if he'd only just moved here to this city himself, surely that meant that there wasn't already a woman that he pined for? And what of the warmth in his gaze when he'd this taken her hands in his own as she had to stop herself from allowing those emotions she fiercely kept bottled up in the darkest recesses of her beating heart to coke rushing forth unbidden and unwanted, the way that his gaze had softened when they met those glittering sage depths of the young woman when he'd asked her for help finding what it was that he had things give? She was hardly sure what it was that seemed to whisper to her that he had no one just as she did not, but she forces herself to be mindful of the ever so slight but still possible notion that just maybe she'd read into those flickering emotions of the man wrong... The last thing she wanted was to come between him and another that already had his heart. Not only because of his honor that she found herself ready to defend as he had her own, but also for the sake of her own heart. Life thus far had proven to show her that heartbreak and deceit was always lurking in every shadow if she did not guard herself against it, and she was far from ready to allow those demons to follow her here to the one place she hoped that make a new beginning.

Letting Taylor into her life and into her heart, having placed in those strong hands the whole of her trust so easily, the young woman was entirely aware that she was taking a risk. Before Sacrosanct, before Taylor, the Adelaide bound behind those iron gates of that impeccably groomed estate on the outskirts of Paris would have never taken such a gamble. For her, it was almost like a game of Russian Roulette, the stakes so much higher than all the money or riches to be found in all the world both discovered and yet to be touched by the hands of mankind. Then, Adelaide would have been quick to shy away from the possibility that someone might see her as more than what she was worth, and even quicker to maintain that guarded and almost cold nature she'd defended those very walls to her heart with. She'd felt like a creature backed into a corner almost every moment of her young adult life under the thumb of her wretched father, ready to bite any hand that might dare to try and reach for her. Those fierce sage eyes had held the flames of distrust and wariness for any that would approach her, that mind of hers instantly beginning to seek out even the smallest hints of ill intent, working with the same shift precision she'd used to dice those vegetables to try and figure out exactly what it was that they would want from her because that had been all she'd ever known the people around her, around her parents to ever come to her with. There had been undeniable greed and hunger in the eyes of those that thought themselves so clever that they were able to hide behind warm smiles and words like honey dripping from their lips. The French woman had been able to see through each and every one for them and if anything, their attempts to hide their true selves only infuriated her further. Anyone who dared to hide their true selves behind some shallow mask was not worth her time or interest when all she'd find is everything she hated about the life she led as the only daughter of the French nobleman. And so, yes she was very much aware of that hesitancy that still brushed ever so lightly against the back of her mind as it warned her against everything she would lose if Taylor broke her trust. She was almost all too aware that in placing so much trust in him, in allowing herself to feel for him as that sensation in her heart that whispered of what might grow there, she was opening that door she'd been fiercely determined to close behind her when she'd boarded that plane in France. Yet, for the very first time since that snake of a man named Julien, she was willing to take that chance at devastation once more. She couldn't explain what it was about Taylor, but even with that voice for caution trying to warn her away from him, there was something stronger that refused to listen to those doubts. She was determined to give him that which she had once been so adamant on hiding from the world, but only he would be the one that decide if he would take it.

Not even bothering to try and hide the amusement as she watched and listened to Townsend and Taylor, the Englishman showing his stubborn refusal to just up and give the hard-working man a word of praise at how he'd repaired the lattice in those places that had once been broken or cracked while Taylor would simply give a shrug of those broad shoulders accompanied by a smirk, seeming hardly phased by the prediction of equally testing tasks for tomorrow morning, Adelaide allows for her sage eyes to return back to those pages again, feeling Rose shift slightly beneath her hand, following the harlequin beauceron's gaze to Reginald as he rolling about like a pup in the grass before rising to those paws and giving himself a satisfied shake. He stands there for a moment and regards Rose and Adelaide before abruptly turning to look for his newest human companion and when Taylor begins to throw those long branches into a pile, the black and tan male makes his way over to that growing mound and pulls from in the stick of his choice. He sits there near Taylor patiently, almost expectantly and it has Adelaide ushering a lilted and quiet note of laughter at the dog's alert position. When Taylor turns to Reginald, it was as though the black and tan male understood exactly what he'd been asked and moves closer to place that stick on the man's hand, tail raised with cropped ears perked and eyes trained upon the branch. He hurdles quickly after it when Taylor throws the stick, and for a moment to the young woman was certain that Rose would take after it as well but she remains steadfast in her cautious distance and instead simply moves to lay beside Adelaide's chair. Sage eyes softening with affection as she sees that glow in Taylor's face that quickly vanished when the Englishman shot him. warning glance from across the yard before turning his back again as he he could hardly be bothered with such things. Reginald returns the stick to Taylor with tongue lulled to the side of his parted jaws, standing there in clear readiness to give chase once more. Adelaide finds the hard to believe in this moment that the canine was a trained and intimidating guard dog as he appeared all too eager to play. There was certainly something about a man and a dog that could compare to so little, something simple and yet so full of that warm happiness that she found herself too distracted with that easy bond between Reginald and Taylor, decidedly placing that book on the table to watch for a moment longer before she decided that the men were deserving of some refreshments with their ever diligent work.

When she appears from the kitchen with that silver tray and three crystal glasses as Townsend is preparing to assign more tasks to Taylor, she does not miss that gleam in his handsome features before he turns back to the hedges. She is equally surprised as the man seemed to be when Townsend gives him praise, Taylor's reply almost making it hard for Adelaide not to chuckle gently, especially when the Englishman shot Taylor a look."Hardly, sir", came the refined yet clearly dismissing reply to the suggestion that Taylor was regarded as little more than his newest responsibility he hadn't wanted to begin with. When Taylor turns to smile softly at Adelaide, she returns it with her own gentle smile."Nonsense. I wouldn't want you working yourself too hard that you collapse or anything, though I doubt you would. It'd be a shame if I had to revive you", she remarks teasingly, suggestively even in accented and silken words, sage eyes glittering boldly up at Taylor despite hearing Townsend nearly choke on his drink at her words. She gives the Englishman an innocent glance in that moment, fluttering those lashes like she'd said nothing of the sort."Are you alright, Townsend?", she asks in a honey sweet voice that only earns her a stern glance in response."That is a job emergency responders, Miss LaBelle", he states pointedly and it takes all that the French woman has not to laugh openly at his reaction in that moment."I'm sure that I could manage much faster. I doubt you need to worry about such a thing happening though, wouldn't you agree?", she counters impishly before taking her own glass and taking a drink herself, not realizing how thirsty she'd been herself."Indeed", the Englishman says dryly before returning the empty glass to that tray she held. When Taylor returns his own and offers to clean them, Adelaide eyes him for a moment though there is a teasing touch to them as she regards the man."I can manage perfectly fine myself, Monsieur", she answers with a playful yet assuring smile on her lips and allows for those sage eyes to regard him from head to toe for a moment before she turns and moves away from the pair and places the tray on the table beside her to take her seat once more, picking up that book to resume where she'd left off. She would clean them after a while. She hears Taylor speaking to Townsend once more though this time she does not look away from those pages."You can burn them in the fire pit by the seating area", he answers as he points to the small fire pit made of stone just on the other side of the covered seating area where Adelaide lingers with her sage eyes caressing the words of her book."And while you're at it, the yard could use some raking to rid it of those last fallen leaves. After that, I believe there should be a bag of bark mulch you can spread at the base of the trees and those hedges", Townsend instructs and hardly gives Taylor to ask any questions before moving over to the greenhouse and retrieving the watering pale, pausing only for a fleeting moment to eye Adelaide and Rose before opening the door and disappearing inside.