He held out his hand to Florence, only afterward realizing how natural this intimate gesture felt to him. But it must have felt right to Florence as well, for she did not hesitate before entwining her fingers in his.
Well, they were into this betrothal ruse up to their eyeballs. Why not go along with it?
He kept Florence’s hand in his as they walked out to greet his cousins, who were soaked to the teeth, but at least their boots were not muddied, although wet leather was never comfortable. He should have ordered them to enter through the kitchen, but their boots were merely wet and not filthy, so they were not going to track mud through the house.
Yes, he was getting to be an old curmudgeon, and he wasn’t even nearing forty yet.
But Gull Hall was a magnificent house that his granduncle had left in pristine condition. He hated to be the doltish duke who ruined it.
While Timmons efficiently had his footmen bring in the bags and tote them up to the rooms that had been readied, Trajan introduced Florence to his cousins, who were rudely staring at her. “Lady Florence and I are recently betrothed. Her aunt is with us, too. But yesterday was a bit harrowing for them, and her aunt is still abed.”
“Betrothed!” the eldest, Andrew, exclaimed. “I thought you would never…” He swallowed his next words, which were probably going to be a remark about his unrequited love for Eden and how, in a fit of idiocy induced by too much brandy, Trajan had once proclaimed he would never get over his love for her.
He felt rather foolish about it now. Especially since he had met Florence shortly after that drunken jag, and she had been the lady on his mind from then on.
That was last year, and he hadn’t thought about Eden all that much since. Which proved he had nottrulybeen in love with her.
Not that he loved Florence or had been besotted and swooning over her, either. But she had lingered in his thoughts, constantly popping up like a persistent little gnat.
Perhaps this was why their betrothal did not feel fake, nor did it alarm him that it might have to become real in order to protect Florence’s reputation.
“Well, you’ve chosen the loveliest bride,” Sebastian remarked. He bowed over Florence’s hand. “A pleasure to meet the woman who has captured Trajan’s heart.”
“Finally,” Nathan muttered, next to bow over her hand. “Are you by any chance the fake bird watcher?”
Florence gasped and turned to Trajan. “This is how you described me to your cousins?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Aren’t you surprised I talked about you at all?”
She gave it a moment’s thought and her eyes widened. “Oh, you talked about me to your family? What exactly did you tell them, otherthan convince them I know nothing about birds?”
“Mostly nice things.Lotsof nice things,” he said, managing a grin. “You know I liked you from the first.”
Which was true, although she had tried hard to avoid him back then.
“Florence, you’ve been in my thoughts ever since we met last year.”
She cast him a surprisingly vulnerable smile that touched his heart.
For a young woman with family, she seemed incredibly alone in the world. Well, hers must have lost patience with her because she was headstrong and would not bend to their will. But had they made it a habit of withholding affection throughout her life? Even as a little girl?
Perhaps they had. Why else would she be so reluctant to talk about them?
“Now I see why he was so swept away with you,” Andrew said, bowing over her hand as his brothers had done once Trajan introduced him.
“I’m delighted to meet you all,” Florence responded with genuine warmth. “Are you hungry?”
Andrew laughed. “Always.”
Florence offered to have the salvers restocked while Trajan took his cousins up to their rooms so they could change out of their wet clothes.
She tugged gently on his arm as he was about to lead them upstairs. “Would you rather the four of you were left alone to chat? I do not need to be in the dining room with you. I can see to my aunt in the meanwhile.”
“No, Florence. You are welcome to join us. We won’t be speaking of anything confidential.”
“Not even… Er, surely they must be surprised by our betrothal.”
Her expression said it all. He had made an idiot of himself overEden, and now Florence thought his cousins were going to ask about her and wonder whether he was settling for her as second best because his supposed true love was now married to the Duke of Lynton and out of his reach. “Check on your aunt, if you wish. But come down and join us afterward.”
