“Very well,” Evander said, dabbing the corners of his mouth with a napkin. “Shall we take a turn about your gardens?”
Olivia pushed back her chair. “We may, but I should warn you that the birds may not prove welcoming.”
“Oh?”
“I threw a pillow at one of them this morning,” she shared. “The wretched creature insisted upon serenading me from my windowsill at an unholy hour.”
“I think I can withstand a few disgruntled birds.”
“You should not be so cavalier,” Olivia replied. “If they were ever to rise up in revolt, we would surely be outnumbered.”
Rising to stand, Evander extended his hand towards her. “Then I shall take my chances… though I can say I wouldn’t mind defending you from a flock of murderous sparrows.”
Her lips curved as she allowed him to assist her to her feet. “My knight in shining?—”
“But no armor,” he said. “I have a nickel allergy. I get a terrible rash, and it is rather unsightly.”
She laughed. “No armor, then.”
As they started to leave the dining room, Richard’s voice called after them. “Dosia and I will be watching you from the drawing room window.”
“Why?” Olivia asked.
“To ensure you are properly chaperoned,” came his reply.
“Very wise,” Olivia said with a wry smile, slipping her hand into the crook of Evander’s arm. “That way I shall not be tempted to run off to Gretna Green.” She flashed a grin over her shoulder. “Oh, wait—I already did that.”
Richard gave her a disapproving look. “We are joking about that now?”
“Iam,” Olivia responded. “You are still recovering.” Then, with a conspiratorial glance at Evander, she added, “Come along. Let’s do something scandalous.”
“Olivia…” Richard growled a warning.
Once they passed beyond the threshold of the dining room, Olivia leaned towards him. “It is such fun to provoke my brother,” she confessed with a mischievous smile. “But do not worry, your virtue is perfectly safe with me.”
Yet Evander did not return her playfulness. She felt the subtle tension in his frame beneath her fingers as they strolled towards the gardens’ doors.
Sensing the shift in mood, Olivia glanced up at him. “You are unusually stiff at the moment,” she remarked. “Is something troubling you?”
“Nothing is wrong,” he said, too quickly.
“You just seem… rather tense.”
“I am not tense.”
She decided to try another approach. “How is your mother faring?”
At that, his expression faltered, revealing the weary strain beneath. “As well as can be expected, given the circumstances.”
“And how are you?”
A footman, discreet and silent, opened the back door leading to the veranda and followed at a respectful distance as they stepped into the cool night air. The faint scent of jasmine drifted on the breeze. They moved down a gravel path edged with clipped box hedges and summer blooms.
They walked in silence until Evander spoke. “I am afraid of letting everyone down.”
Olivia’s heart clenched. She halted, gently tugging his arm until he stopped and faced her. His features were shadowed in the moonlight, but the vulnerability in his gaze was plain.
“That isn’t possible,” she said, but he shook his head.
