Matilda gave her an indulgent look. “Cordelia, behave.”
“Iambehaving! I am admiring the growth of character!”
Greyson cleared his throat, adjusting his posture to become even more correct. “I assure you, I am no more humorous than usual.”
“You are serious,” Cordelia declared with delight. “Remarkably so.”
Hazel bit back a smile. “Cordelia, you are going to frighten him off.”
“I do not frighten dukes,” Cordelia insisted. “I merely… startle them.”
Hazel guided her mare closer to Greyson’s, lowering her voice. “You may relax, you know.”
Greyson’s silver gaze flicked to her. “I am relaxed.”
He absolutely was not relaxed. His back was straight as an iron rod, and his gloved hands rested immaculately on the reins, as if he feared someone might judge him for holding them incorrectly.
Hazel softened. “They are not judging you.”
“I did not assume they were,” Greyson said at once.
Hazel arched a brow.
Greyson looked forward again. “I simply wish to show proper respect.”
“Youarerespectful,” Hazel murmured. “All I’m saying is that here, you don’t have to be a duke.”
Cordelia, overhearing, threw her arm out dramatically. “Yes, Your Grace, you may pretend we are not duchesses if it makes you more comfortable!”
Greyson gave her a look of muted horror.
Evelyn chimed in amusedly. “Truly, Your Grace, we have known Jasper too long. Nothing startles us now.”
“Exactly,” Matilda said serenely. “If we survived Cordelia’s wedding planning, we can survive anything.”
“I am right here, you know,” Cordelia reminded them, but all she managed to do was cause an explosion of giggles.
Greyson exhaled through his nose. Hazel couldn’t quite tell if he was annoyed or amused. But the stiffness in his shoulders eased by a fraction.
Hazel moved her mare even closer. “They seeyou, Greyson, not just the title you wear.” She smiled at him.
He almost smiled back. “Very well. I shall… attempt to appear less like a marble statue.”
Cordelia cheered as though he had announced a national holiday. “Progress!”
Evelyn added, laughing. “Next, we make him smile.”
Greyson narrowed his eyes. “Do not be absurd.”
Hazel laughed, feeling genuinely delighted. They were teasing him in a kind manner, but not dismissing him. They were not shrinking beneath his rank, nor using titles as shields. That was exactly what Hazel had wanted him to see.
About fifteen minutes later, they stopped by the Serpentine, where the sunlight flashed like scattered coins across the water. Cordelia was the first to hop down from her mare, nearly tripping over her own enthusiasm.
“Let us stretch our legs before I wither away entirely,” she declared.
Matilda laughed. “You rode for fifteen minutes.”
“That is quite long enough,” Cordelia insisted.
