“She’s suffered some in her life,” Rosalinde continued, moving a bit closer and repeating what Danford had implied earlier. “If you make her suffer more, even a fraction more, it will bemeyou must contend with. You’llwishit were Gray.”
He held her stare evenly and nodded. “I understand you perfectly, Mrs. Danford. And I hope I will never deserve your wrath.”
“So do I.” She stepped away and smiled again. This time it was a warmer expression, as if he had passed a test and now she approved of him more fully. “Ah, and here is Celia.”
He turned to watch Celia exit the house, a light shawl now wrapped around her shoulders. Once again she smiled at him and his world lit up like she was the sun through rainclouds.
“You two enjoy yourselves,” Mrs. Danford said.
She entered the house and Celia edged closer to him. “If you don’t want to walk in the garden—”
“No, I do, I most definitely do,” he said, holding out an arm for her. She took it, sending lightning through his body. “Show me the best path.”
Celia and Aiden walked through the winding paths of her sister’s garden at a leisurely pace and yet she didn’t feel very at ease. After all, she was alone with Aiden. Aiden, who awoke such feelings in her.
Aiden, who had been remarkably quiet in the ten minutes they had been strolling the small grounds. He smiled, of course. He asked a question if she stopped to show him a flower or point out a bird taking wing. But he wasn’t engaging with her the way he normally did and that made her nervous.
She sighed. It had never been in her nature to take a risk. That was Rosalinde’s way. Her sister had always flown headlong into life and love. She’d been hurt very badly by her openhearted nature. But she had also been receptive to the happiness she now had with Gray.
Celia had always watched Rosalinde’s wild flights in both wonder and horror. What if she got hurt? What if she said the wrong thing? What if she fell instead of flew?
She could almost hear Rosalinde laugh at her internal monologue. Her sister would say she’d never know unless she tried. Her sister would tell her she would survive the fall, but standing on the edge was a slow death of regret.
Damned Rosalinde.
Celia shot a glance at Aiden again. He was watching her from the corner of his eye, interested, but withdrawn. And in that moment, she realized she didn’t want to hide from the dangers he represented. Not if facing the unknown, potentially making a mistake, meant she could also find happiness. One was worth the other, it seemed, just as Rosalinde had always claimed.
So she took a deep breath and turned to face him. “You have been very quiet since we started our walk, Aiden. Is there something I have done to offend you?”
His eyes went wide. “Offend me? Lord, no. You could never offend me, Celia. Even if you tried, I don’t think you could.”
She tilted her head. “Then do you mind if I ask why you are so withdrawn?”
He smiled and reached for her hand. She wasn’t wearing gloves, even if she knew she should be, and his rough thumb stroked the sensitive flesh, sending ripples of sensation up her arm that made her dizzy.
“I have been told in no uncertain terms that I’m not to hurt you, Celia Fitzgilbert. It’s a bit intimidating.”
Heat flooded Celia’s cheeks as she realized what he meant. Rosalinde had sent her off to find her shawl so she could harangue the poor man.
“Oh, Rosalinde,” Celia sighed. She could barely meet his eyes out of humiliation. “I’m so sorry, Aiden. She is protective and often direct, though I suppose you guessed that after talking to her.”
Aiden laughed, and the sound warmed her. “I guessed,” he verified. “But I don’t judge youorher for it. It’s nice that you have someone on your side.”
“Do you have siblings?” she asked.
She watched his face tense, and it took him a moment to respond. “No,” he said at last. “I was an only child.”
She sucked in a breath at the raw emotion on his face. He’d always masked his reactions very well, only letting her see what he wanted her to see. Now she felt pain radiate from him.
“Was it…difficult?” she whispered.
He jerked out a nod. “Yes.”
She wanted to reach for him in that moment, to comfort him in his pain. But she wasn’t certain he’d want that. And if he rejected her, that would be terrible. It seemed she wasn’t yet ready to fully lead with her heart after all.
“I’m sorry,” she said instead. “I understanddifficult. I had Rosalinde, of course, but I wouldn’t call our childhood a happy one.”
He leaned in. “Both Danford and your sister implied the same. Why is that?”
