Lista grinned at him. Then she reached up and pushed the hair away from his eyes again. “I think we can learn to do it,” she said quietly. “Because over the past day, you have learned to look me in the eyes. When I first met you, you would not do it. Therefore, if you have learned to look me in the eyes, I know you can learn to laugh, too.”
He was still smiling, but it was difficult. The mention of his eyes had him faltering. In fact, he immediately lowered his gaze but she grasped him by the chin and forced his head up.
“Look at me,” she said softly but firmly. He did, but it was guarded, and she smiled openly. “That’s better. You have the most beautiful eyes, Julian. I know you do not think so, but I do. The colors are magnificent.”
He sighed, a long and drawn-out sound. “You should know that it is not something I speak of,” he said. “No one does.”
“Why not?”
He searched for an answer. “Because we do not,” he said simply. “Ido not. All of my siblings have unusual eye color, just like my father did. We do not speak of the obvious.”
Lista leaned forward, getting closer to his face and looking at him dead-on in the eyes. “If you expect me to learn to laugh, then I expect you to learn to look me in the eyes, always,” she said. “If you do not wish to speak of it, then I will not, but know my expectations. And know I think your eyes are as beautiful as the rest of you, so you do not have to hide them from me. I will be disappointed if you do.”
With that, she dropped her hand and turned away, heading off into the vineyard and leaving Julian standing there with his heart in his throat.Thump, thump… thump, thump.He could hardly breathe because of her words.
Didn’t she realize how freakish he looked?
Didn’t she realize how odd he was?
Clearly, she didn’t care but he couldn’t figure out why a woman as magnificent as she was didn’t care. He was trying to think of an underlying motive, but he couldn’t. That only led him to the next conclusion.
That she was being truthful.
After all of these years, and the disappointments he had suffered, he could hardly believe it. With a smile on his lips,he followed her into the vineyard where Addington and Ashton had ended up throwing grapes at one another and having a marvelous time.
But Julian only had eyes for Lista.
CHAPTER EIGHT
“It is timefor sup, Mama,” Lista said from her position in the doorway of her mother’s tower chamber. “Pull yourself together and come down to the hall. The men will more than likely want to celebrate Amaury’s life and you should be part of it.”
The smoke in the chamber had cleared away for the most part, leaving a sickly sweet smell behind that permeated everything– the walls, clothing, the floor.Everything.It stank and Lista resisted the urge to sneeze as her aunt stirred on the floor and her mother sat up from the small bed she’d been lying on.
Lethargic and pale, they looked as if they’d been sleeping for fifty years.
“I think not, Lista dear,” Meadow said. “We are weary from our travel.”
Lista had no sympathy for either of them. “You mean you are full of that intoxicating smoke,” she snapped softly. “You are full of that horrible weed and anything else you have ingested. Well? What else have you eaten, sniffed, or inhaled since we came home?”
Her sharp tone had Flora stirring more than usual. “Shut up, Girl,” she said, throwing her arm over her eyes as she lay there. “Shut up and go away.”
Lista had never had much of a liking for her aunt, but that was never more evident than it was at this moment.
“I would watch myself if I were you,” she said slowly. “You have caused enough trouble.”
That brought Flora off the floor. “What trouble?” she demanded angrily.
Lista’s jaw ticked. “The death of a man who was far better than you could ever hope to be,” she said. When Flora opened her mouth to retort, Lista nearly shouted at her. “You heard me, Flora. You caused the death of a good man with your sickening behavior and if you do not watch yourself, I will have you thrown out of Felkington and you can fend for yourself.”
Flora’s face began to turn red. “How dare you speak to me like that?” she hissed. “Meadow? Are you going to allow her to speak to me that way?”
Meadow, the weak one, didn’t want to get between her loud-mouthed sister and her strong daughter. That was a situation she could not win, so she simply put her hand up in surrender and shook her head. Seeing that her mother wasn’t going to interfere pleased Lista immensely.
“Of course she is going to allow me to do as I please because whatever I say or do, you deserve it,” she said. “You are a worthless cow, Flora d’Orbec, and you have cost a good man his life and that is something I shall never forgive.”
“It was not my fault!”
“If I tell the men in the hall that you caused Amaury’s death, they will happily throw you out of Felkington,” Lista fired back. “In fact, you’ll be fortunate if that is all they do. Be thankful that I’ve not yet told them, but if you do not behave yourself, I shall show no such restraint.”
