“You think I smirk too much?”
“Nottoomuch,” Violet said though her tone betrayed her amusement. “Just enough to be infuriating.”
“Well, I’m glad to know I’ve perfected the balance. I’d hate to think I was falling short.”
Violet couldn’t help but laugh.God.He seemed to have perfected the balance between being infuriating and charming as well.
“Is that such a bad thing?”
“What?” He looked at her with curiosity. “Falling short you mean?”
“Yes, I mean, it is only human, don’t you think?”
For a second, his expression morphed into one that she had never seen before from him. When he spoke, there was a lingering seriousness in his tone.
“Not for me.”
Violet wondered what he meant by that, but he did not let the seriousness tinge the conversation for too long.
“But I scarcely think that applies here. At least I’ve managed to make breakfast entertaining.”
She glanced at him then, her smile lingering as she wondered once again what to make of him. There was something about Nicholas—he seemed to harbour a part of himself that rarely came out. His presence unsettled her in ways she didn’t entirely dislike.
“You’re right about one thing,” she said finally, her tone quieter now. “I don’t know you at all. You surprise me, Nicholas.”
Nicholas’ lips curved into a faint smile. “Good. I’d hate to think I’ve become predictable.”
As he rose from his seat, he glanced at her once more, his expression unreadable. “We’ll leave when you’re ready for your family’s house.”
“I am glad that you have decided to come along with me.”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Nicholas replied, leaning forward slightly. “Did you think I’d send you alone?”
“No, of course not,” she said quickly though the truth was she wasn’t sure what to expect from him. He was a man of habits and contradictions, both of which she was struggling to figure out.
“Good,” he said.
With that, he turned and left the room, his departure as unhurried as his arrival. It was not lost on her that he had not touched his food the entire time he was here.
Had he come tojustsee her then?
Violet sat back in her chair, her thoughts swirling as her own plate of food lay untouched. Nicholas had a way of leaving her with more questions than answers.
Perhaps, she thought, they were both full of surprises.
The carriage rolled to a halt in front of the Kingsman family estate.
Nicholas stepped out first. Violet followed, her posture more rigid than usual. Nicholas noted the way her fingers fidgeted with the folds of her gown.
“Why do you seem nervous?” His question was blunt. It was something that he had noticed all the way over to her family home. She had scarcely uttered a single word. “We are only meeting your family. You have known them all your life.”
Violet shot him a glare, as if annoyed by his pointing out of the obvious.
“Yes, thank you. I am aware of that. This is my first visit as a married woman, however. It is only natural to feel some nerves.”
His lips quirked. It was an endearing sentiment.
“So, pray tell, what happens when you are married, then? Do you magically transform? Do you become a different person, entirely divorced from what your life was like before?”
