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She could not think to answer the man for a moment and stared instead at the soft curve of his mouth. She was seated in front of the fire of the parlor with a stack of cards before her on a writing desk. Nick had pulled his own chair beside her to watch her pen the invitations, but she did not realize before how close he had pulled his chair to hers. She didn’t know what was keeping her from explaining what had caused her chill, for to say she was cold would be dishonest. The fire and the man beside her were sharing equal responsibility in keeping her warm and cozy, but to tell him that she was afraid seemed somehow wrong. Of course he was fully aware of the situation, and naturally he would not fault her fear, but something inside her gut was telling her not to make herself too vulnerable to him.
“I wonder if we should send an invitation to your family?” Giulia artfully redirected the conversation. “Lord Hart did not mention them, but I recall you telling me at one point that you have a sister?”
Nick reared back slightly and then a smile crept over his lips. Had she ever before noticed just how wide and perfect they were? Of course she had. He was very handsome.
“My sister would not appreciate an invitation. But thank you for thinking of her.”
“What is so funny?”
“Perhaps one day you will meet her, and then you will understand.”
Giulia eyed him a moment longer, the mirth dancing in his eyes betrayed a story somewhere in there, but she assumed he would share it if he wished. She turned her attention back to the tower of cards that had yet to be written on and resumed her duties.
“I would offer to help,” Nick said lazily as he leaned back in his chair, linking his fingers over his stomach, “but my handwriting is atrocious. I would only create more work for you in fixing or rewriting the ones I touch.”
Giulia shook her head, a small smile turning the corners of her mouth as she dipped her pen and started a new card. “Typical man.”
He shot up straight, giving her a wary look that she caught from the corner of her eye. “I beg your pardon?” he asked haughtily, his tone jesting. “I have been an invalid. Sick. Bedridden, for heaven’s sake! Now you claim I am lazy?” His mock anger would have been more humorous if there was not a load of truth to what he’d said.
“No, I’m merely noticing how very male you are being.”
He was quiet long enough that she shot a look in his direction followed quickly by a laugh at his very offended face. Giulia placed a hand on Nick’s arm and spoke calmly. “Do not be so offended; I only inferred that a man will not put forth more effort than he must.” She then gestured to Nick and the cards, holding her quill over the ink pot and smiling. She had spent her life in the company of Ames and her father, and neither of them would have lifted a finger to help her pen the invitations if they could help it.
“And a woman would?” he countered.
“Naturally.”
“So you are saying that men are lazy?”
“No, not lazy. Perhaps narrowminded is more accurate.” She smiled, and a moment passed before Nick scoffed.
“That is not true.”
Giulia’s raised eyebrow was enough of a challenge. Nick sat up straighter. “It is not true,” he repeated, this time with gusto.
“Very well, it is not true.” Giulia turned back toward the desk.
“It isn’t.”
“So you said.”
A frustrated grumble came from Nick, causing Giulia’s smile to widen. He put his hand over hers and stopped her in the middle of writing ‘in honor of’ causing a nice long line to streak the page and rendering that particular card useless. She turned toward Nick with infinite patience etched in her raised eyebrows and the tilt of her head. What was one more card when she had another forty to address, anyway?
Nick looked at her and squinted slightly, slowly tilting his head to match her own. “Perhaps you need a break.”
The suggestion was surprising. “I have only written out seven cards. I could not possibly stop now. They are last minute enough as it is.”
“Yes, but are there no other, more important things we should be doing?”
“More important than preparing for the ball at which we will find your wife?”
Nick’s face did not change, but the tick in his jaw betrayed a clenched muscle. “What do you say to taking a picnic? It is nearly time to eat, and we can soak in the beautiful sun.”
She froze. Any other day that suggestion would have filled her with excitement, but now she felt less than enthusiastic to be lounging out of doors. In clear view. After the earl had announced that everyone ought to remain indoors until Nick’s attacker had been caught.
“Oh forgive me, I did not consider…” Nick’s voice trailed off as his eyebrows pulled together. “On second thought, perhaps we ought to eat inside.” His eyes lit up instantly and he shot to his feet. “You continue here,” he said with a wave toward her writing desk, “and I will return for you shortly.” He was gone from the room at once and Giulia watched him leave, fixing her gaze on the empty doorway he exited.
The empty place within her heart where Ames’s desertion had left a gap was slowly being filled by the caring and attentive man who had just walked out that door. To say that she was falling in love with him would be just as true as it was terrifying. To explain why she felt the need to keep him distanced from her would be fruitless, for though she had come to the understanding that perhaps Ames did not intend to send for her after all—for how else could she explain his utter silence?—she could not release herself from her attachment to him until he’d written her back.
Regardless, she was wise to keep Halstead’s heir at bay. The man was Devon’s biggest flirt, according to the Swans, and Giulia was merely passing through anyway. That was how Giulia lived, always only passing through. She had only meant to stay at Halstead while she figured out her next step, her next phase in life—a life she expected to spend with Ames. Part of her felt like an imposter, staying in the castle, forming friendships and relationships with the people who lived in and around it, picturing a life there. Reality was always quick to smack her in the nose, reminding her that permanent was a foreign and unrealistic concept for her.
But aside from all of that, she had grown fond of her distant cousin. The man might not have any matrimonial designs on her, but his friendship was genuine.
Her reflections left her with two goals: first, to solve the mystery of her mother once and for all. Second, to enjoy every last moment with Nick before she would leave for good.
