“Gory, did you even know you had one?”
“No, not until my aunt passed that comment. Even then, I dismissed it and never bothered to follow up on it. Stupid of me, of course. But I assumed it was all tied up in complications and I had best not rely on receiving anything, assuming there was something left to receive by the time it was distributed to me. I thought my dowry was all I could rely upon, which was true because it turns out I was entitled to nothing more until my uncle passed away. The more important question to ask is whether Allendale was aware and courted me for this reason. Do you think he was?”
“I do not know yet. But it is something to be looked into.”
“What a fool I am,” she muttered.
“No, Gory. Never say this. You had no reason to be on your guard. In truth, you had every reason to believe his interest was sincere.”
“But I should have been more wary. Again, my fault for overlooking the obvious signs.”
“What signs?” Julius asked.
Gory felt her cheeks suffuse with heat. “His reluctance to kiss me.”
Julius inhaled sharply. “Has he never kissed you, Gory?”
“Oh, he has. Once or twice. He approached it with the same ardor as one might kiss one’s liverish grandmother. You know, that slight purse of the lips and holding one’s breath against the overpowering odor of rose water perfume.”
He chuckled. “Not possible. First of all, your scent is delightful. Light and sweet as roses on warm summer’s day. Second of all, you are too pretty. And your lips are…well, they are very nicely shaped. The sort of lips a man would not mind kissing.”
“Ha! That is a jolly jest. Have you ever thought to kiss me, Julius?”
A log suddenly fell off the burning wood piled in the fireplace, tumbling with a pop and sizzle that surprised them and distracted their attention.
He quickly rose to attend to the fire, making certain it did not burn too low. The wind was blowing harder outside. Gory could hear its steady howl and the pick-pock rustle of brittle leaves being tossed around with each gust.
There was more than a hint of winter in the air, but all felt warm and heavenly while in Julius’s company in his bedchamber.
Gory did not want him to ignore her question, so she asked it again when he returned to her side. “Was there ever a moment when you wanted to kiss me?”
He released a breath. “Yes, several of them.”
This surprised her and she leaned forward eagerly. “Really? When? And why did you not act on that wish?”
“Many reasons. For one, your friends are married to my brothers. Complicates things, doesn’t it?”
She nodded. “Yes, it would be awkward for us if we kissed and did not like it. Worse if one of us liked it and the other did not.”
He shook his head and chuckled again. “We both would have liked it, Gory. But I do have a code of honor and you are an innocent. Had I ever kissed you, I would have felt obliged to marry you.”
“Because my friends are married to your brothers?” She regarded him in disbelief. “And we shared a simple kiss? That is ridiculous. Why would we even tell them? No one would ever have to know.”
“Are you serious? You tell Adela, Syd, and Marigold everything. Even if you did not, there is always the risk of our being found out. It happens often enough. How common is it to pick up a gossip rag and read about some poor girl being caught with a gentleman in a compromising position? These stories appear almost daily. However, there are more reasons why I would not kiss you.”
“More?” Why was she subjecting herself to this humiliation?
“Besides being too close to my family, and also achingly and adorably innocent, you are far too curious.”
Weren’t all scientifically minded people curious? “Meaning?”
He cast her an appealing smile, one that ravaged her composure. “You would have wanted to explore the possibilities beyond a mere kiss.”
Yes, that was true.
“Can you blame me? Your musculature is quite fascinating.”
He laughed. “Gory, you cannot tell me such things. But does this not prove my point? You would have been undressing me, eager for a better look at my body, and I would not have stopped you.”
