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Nick described the farm he was raised on and the games he would play with his sister, Lettie, but stopped when he found Giulia fishing for more information about her. The woman was sly.
“Oh, come!” Giulia said as she realized he had caught her intent. “You cannot speak of your sister in such a way and then not tell me why she would hate to be invited to a ball at a castle! Particularly when you know my curiosity and need for solving riddles.” She pouted, and a genuine grin spread over his mouth.
“I can, and I did.”
Giulia scoffed. “And here I thought you were a gentleman.” She raised her nose into the air and looked away.
“I am a gentleman of the highest order.”
She peeked at him and he did not see it coming when she fisted her untouched peas and launched them at his face. He was stunned momentarily, before fisting his own uneaten vegetables and launching them right back.
“Not a fan of peas?” She laughed as she dodged the attack. He eyed the bowl of remaining mushy peas at the same time as Giulia, and they lunged forward in sync.
Nick managed to get to the bowl first and raised it high above his head. Giulia leapt for the peas but came crashing on him instead, forcing him to drop the bowl and roll with the impact. He shot an arm around her waist to protect her from hitting the stone ground with too much force and then found himself over her, his hand securely holding her close to him. Their chests rose and fell in rhythm and their eyes locked. Gravity aided the magnetic pull that brought him down and before he realized what he was doing his lips connected with hers.
Nick had only ever heard talk of fireworks before, but never had he been witness to them until this moment. He rather expected that this is what they were talking about when the papers described explosions of lights and beauty, one right after the other. The warmth that spread from his lips to the rest of his body was nothing to the heat that clouded his vision when Giulia began to kiss him back. He tilted his head and leaned in further, soaking in the feel of her mouth on his and her hand on his neck, her fingers working through the back of his hair. He rolled onto his back, bringing her with him, and felt immediate regret when she went as still as a board.
They held the position for another five glorious seconds before Nick felt her fingers leave the back of his head and her arms push away from him. The pang in his chest betrayed him when he told himself he did not mind the separation.
He froze when a thought came to him and guilt suddenly washed through him. Ames, blast the man! How was Giulia going to react to his blatant breach in propriety? How should Nick react? He had been so diligent about respecting her space and the unknown man who had a claim on her. How had he slipped so easily?
Giulia pulled herself up and crossed to the wall as Nick began to gather the plates and place everything back into the basket. He could not help the smile that curved his lips when he leaned over to reach the bowl that previously held the peas and packed it away. He had thought it bizarre when Cook added that to their basket. It was a strange addition to a cold luncheon. But now he could not be more grateful.
He hazarded a glance in Giulia’s direction, but she had not moved from her perch at the tower’s edge. Once the remnants from their meal were packed away and the blanket folded and set on top of the basket, Nick stood and crossed to Giulia. He had been fighting within himself to figure out what best to say but came up empty.
“Listen, Jules,” he started. “I think—”
He was stopped by her stifled scream and her hand, which gripped his forearm so tightly he jerked back. He came forward and put his free hand on her arm. “What is it?”
* * *
Giulia felt the blood drain from her face. Cold swept over her body in much the same manner that warmth had filled it just minutes before. A hand came over her shoulder and she released Nick’s arm when she realized the intensity of her grip.
“You are frightening me.” Nick stepped closer, his eyes darting about rapidly as they swept her face. She tried not to notice the rise in her heart rate at his proximity, but that was near pointless after the moment they had just shared. She mentally shook it off. This was much more urgent.
“Behind those trees,” she whispered, pointing in the direction that she had seen the woman. “Do you see the brown coat?”
Nick turned toward the trees and she watched him squint until recognition dawned. “I see the woman.”
“That’s not just a woman.” She spoke so quietly, she wondered if Nick even heard her. “That must be my mother.”
Nick nodded. He looked determined. When he turned to go she stopped him with a grip on his sleeve and he flinched. Had she pulled on his injured arm? “Do not go after her,” she begged. “It is not wise. We do not know what she is capable of.”
She watched the muscle jump in his clenched jaw. “Nick, I mean it,” she pressed. “We must be smart about this. Besides,” she turned back to the woman hiding in the trees, “she is alone.”
“Then what do you propose we do about it?”
“We tell the earl,” she said. “We cannot keep this from him. Especially when his safety could be in jeopardy.”
She was right. And she could see that Nick agreed, whether he wanted to or not.
“Very well,” he said with an exasperated sigh. He leaned over the turrets and gazed at the trees and she followed suit. What was the woman doing? She was weaving in and out of visibility, watching the castle and then moving away before coming back. Giulia had the odd sensation her mother was scoping out Halstead, but why? Was she intending to come search for the key herself? Could she not simply knock on the door?
Nick broke the silence. “Listen, Jules.”
She brought up a hand to stop him without turning his way. Her voice soft, she felt the strain in her words as she spoke. “Let us not speak of it.”
He turned and looked at her, but she did not face him, instead keeping her gaze locked on the woman who had once been her mother. If only she could see her face…
