He had nothing to say, so he remained silent, focusing on a stray thread at the wrist of his jacket rather than her stare. That didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of it, though. Nor of her true and very sweet concern.
When he didn’t reply, she sighed. “Oh Aaron, Noah would not want this for you. I know he wouldn’t.”
“I suppose he would not,” Aaron agreed softly. “But it is not as easy for men like me.”
“I realize that,” she whispered.
He lifted his gaze to her, and this time he knew his smile had a touch of condescension. He couldn’t help it when she spoke of things she couldn’t possibly know.
“Youthinkyou do,” he said. “What I do, what I am…it isn’t something I can change. It has hurt, it has destroyed. You were a casualty of it. I could be, as well, thanks to the laws of our land. So even if I could meet someone, why would Ieverrisk doing that again?”
“Couldn’t it be different this time?”
Once again, Aaron’s thoughts shifted to Griffin. He doubted Letty knew about her younger brother’s predilections. If she did…well, even as accepting as she was, he knew it would hurt her. As would Aaron’s giving in to his desires. It would be another betrayal of Letty. His best friend.
And he wouldn’t do that.
“No,” he said, rising. “It wouldn’t. Now please, don’t worry yourself about this. Why don’t we join the others at the main house? I promise I will not bring the party down with my brooding.”
“That wasn’t my concern,” Letty said, rising. “And you know it.”
He leaned in to buss her cheek and smiled. “Of course it wasn’t, my dearest Letty. Now come on, I could use a walk to clear my head.”
She smiled as she took the arm he offered, but he felt her tension as they left the parlor and headed for the front door. Worse, he felt his own. Coming here when he knew Griffin would be in attendance had been a mistake.
And all he could do was try to avoid making even more of them.
Chapter Two
Griffin shifted in discomfort as he looked around the ballroom. It was packed with guests, both family and others. Normally these types of gatherings were boring and stuffy, but with all the Woodleys, Flynns and Blackwoods in attendance, there was a much more relaxed environment. Pairs of them spun by, laughing in each other’s arms. All the married couples looked blissfully happy.
Griffin’s neck itched at the sight of it. He felt so outside of it all.
“You are scowling,” Mrs. Merrick said as she sidled up to him with her former sister-in-law—the once Lady Woodley, but now Mrs. Gray—at her side.
“Hello, Mama,” Griffin said, bending to kiss first her cheek, then turning to his aunt. “Aunt Susanna.”
“You are handsome as ever, darling,” his aunt said, squeezing of his hand. “Serious scowl or not.”
“I’m sorry if I appear out of sorts,” he said, trying to force something resembling a smile on his face.
It was almost impossible to do. Everyone else in the room was practically radiating their deep and abiding love for their spouses, and he could see the sparkle in his mother’s eyes that said she was about to push him toward dancing. God, how he hated dancing. Thanks to the overcrowded room and the circumstances, he was hot and uncomfortable and ill-tempered in every way.
And, of course, none of those things were the real reason for his discomfort. Aaron Condit had been avoiding him for twenty-four hours. He exited rooms when Griffin entered. He stepped away if he saw Griffin coming. He didn’t sit beside him at supper, nor did he come near him if they were in a room with the others.
Griffin had no idea why. No one in the household knew of their shared…issues, so they would never be suspected of anything if they spent time together. But perhaps Aaron didn’t like him. Griffin had often thought he did. Sometimes he caught Aaron watching him in clubs, and he’d thought when they spoke down by the lake the previous day that there had been some kind of spark between them.
But it seemed that wasn’t true, and he was beginning to feel frustrated and foolish about it.
“Look, there is Lady—” his mother began.
Griffin leaned in to grab her hand, and squeezed gently. “You know, Mama, my head is spinning in this crush. Why don’t you let me take a turn on the terrace to clear it, and then I promise I will come inside and dance twice tonight.”
His mother’s eyes narrowed. “Three times.”
He sighed as he turned away to make his escape. “Of course, three times.”
“With different partners, and your cousins and your sister don’t count,” she called after him.
