Louis held up a hand. “I am not offended, I assure you,” he said. “But it seems to me that she is trying to find you a husband. Or maybe a candidate or two?”
Lista could only shrug. “With Flora, one never knows,” she said. “You should know that my aunt is a drunkard and so is my mother, so all is not as it seems here. It is a paradise to look at, but beneath the surface, we have our share of problems, just like everyone else. If my aunt ever says anything odd or offensive to you again, now you know why.”
He shrugged, fidgeting with the mud beneath his feet. “As I said, I was not offended,” he said. “May I say something else?”
“Speak freely, my lord.”
He held up a hand. “First of all, call me Louis,” he said. “I do not like being addressed formally. What I was going to say is that if you were not already spoken for, I might return to Felkington sooner than you think.”
Lista smiled modestly. “That is flattering, thank you,” she said. “Although I’m not spoken for I hope to be soon.”
“I suspect you do not mean me.”
Her grin broadened. “Nay.”
“Then you clearly must mean de Velt.”
“I do, indeed.”
Louis’ dark eyes twinkled. “That is what I need to hear,” he said. “I will not interfere.”
She smiled. “Thank you,” she said. “You are a man of honor.”
He grunted, looking up at the castle, the sky, the land. “Honor, aye,” he said. “But unlucky in this case. Julian is a fortunate man.”
“I feel as if I am the fortunate one.”
He snorted. “Heis the fortunate one,” he insisted. “If anything happens and he runs away with a Scottish princess or a pirate queen, you will let me know, won’t you?”
Lista laughed softly. “I will let you know so that you can defend my honor.”
“That isnotwhat I meant.”
They both started laughing. “I know what you meant,” Lista said. “As I said, I am deeply honored, but my heart is no longer mine to give. It belongs to another.”
He shrugged. “For your sake, I am glad,” he said. “Every young woman– and man– should give their heart away at some point. I’ve yet to have the privilege.”
“You will someday, I am certain.”
“Mayhap,” he said. His gaze lingered on her for a moment longer before he gestured at the castle. “I really must go. Was there something you wanted?”
Lista cocked her head curiously. “Wanted?”
“Your aunt said you wished to speak to me. To bid me farewell, I assume.”
Lista was greatly puzzled, but when it came to Flora, nothing was a mistake. She wasn’t sure what was going on, or why her aunt had told Louis that she wanted to see him, but she suspected it was some kind of tactic to throw them together. She tried not to let her frustration show.
“Aye,” she said, trying to maintain her smile. “I wanted to bid you a farewell and thank you for what you did last night. I shall walk back to the castle with you.”
“I would be honored.”
Greatly annoyed at Flora, Lista came around the grapevines but the moment she did so, she put her foot in a patch of slick mud and ended up falling heavily on her right hip. Louis wasn’t close enough to grab her but as she sat up in the mud, he bent over her with great concern.
“Did you hurt yourself?” he asked.
Lista rubbed her sore hip. “Other than my pride, I do not think so,” she said. “I am usually much more graceful than that.”
“I believe you,” Louis said, reaching down with both hands. “Let me help you.”
