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CHAPTERELEVEN
The next morning, Clara bundled herself up and met her brother by the doors of the kitchen. She’d worn her sturdiest shoes and her warmest bonnet.
After last night, she needed to speak with him, and he was on his way into the village. She’d decided to join him on the walk. He often preferred the exercise over the carriage ride and it would give them plenty of time to speak.
About Kinross, certainly. But about Ralph too. The man was taking up an increasing amount of her thoughts and she needed to know what her brother thought of all her feelings.
Marcus stood by the door waiting for her. “Ready?”
With a nod, she threaded her hand into her brother’s arm, and wordlessly, they started down the drive toward the path that led to the village.
Clara settled into the walk, easily matching pace with her sibling as the gravel crunched beneath their shoes.
“Clara,” her brother said, finally breaking the silence. “About Aslin.”
“Kinross,” she corrected.
He let out a breath. “Right. Kinross.”
Clara gave a small smile. “The new title seems very important to him.”
Marcus shook his head. “When I was a boy I was very awed by Kinross’s charisma and charm. He has this presence…”
“I understand,” she added, looking at her brother.
“Do you?”
“I do.”
Her brother stopped on the road, turning toward her. “As I’ve grown older, I’ve realized that Kinross doesn’t really want friends, he actually just wishes for…” He paused.
“Worshippers,” she supplied, wincing at the reference. But it was the only one that she could come up with.
Marcus’s eyes widened. “You do understand.”
“I do.” She squeezed her brother’s arm. “Which is why when he asked for my hand yesterday, I refused.”
Marcus’s shoulders slumped with relief. “Thank the saints.”
She smiled at that. “I am also grown up and I’ve realized that I want a man who cares for me as much as I do him.”
Marcus nodded as he began walking once again. “That is very smart of you, little sister.”
“Thank you.” She drew in a breath.
“I only worried, I suppose, because you came all this way. With mother’s condition, I thought you’d stay home.”
A shiver ran through her. “I thought about it. But as much as I wanted to be home with her, she also seems frantic for me to find my future.”
Marcus faltered in his step. “You were considering Aslin.”
“Only for her,” she answered softly. “And despite your assertion of my intelligence, I might have actually gone through with it before I realized the mistake if not for…” She hesitated, unsure if she should continue.
“If not for what?”
She looked over at her brother, nipping at her own lip. What would he think if he knew she’d developed feelings for a man with no position, title, or wealth? “Do you promise not to judge too harshly?”
His gaze snapped to hers. “Clara?”
