“He is the heir, and I am but a spare.”
Ah yes, whoever married Pierce would also gain a title. “It is such a silly reason to marry, for titles and whatnot.”
“I agree and why I am glad that I am not the heir.”
“But you will marry a witch.” She said that almost as a reminder to herself. They were friends and she should wish him happiness, yet there was the slightest twinge of pain that she was not a witch and could never be any more to him.
“We shall see.” He stood. “Would you care to dance?”
Heat spread to her face, another unexpected response. “No, I do not think so.” She laughed and spun away.
It would be lovely to dance with Orion, but they had no music, and she didn’t think it would be wise to be so close to him.
“Maybe one day,” he offered, his brown eyes warm.
She shouldn’t feel shy, but all of a sudden, she was and found her face heating further as she glanced away.
“What else did you read that you found interesting?” he asked.
“Well, I hadn’t realized that we were at war with America again.”
“Yes, well, it started up again when America declared war over territorial expansion,” Orion explained.
“The British seem to be fighting everywhere,” Nina observed. “It sometimes feels like that.” She wandered over and settled on the steps again. “As you are not military, what do you do, Orion.”
Eleven
That was a very good question, for which Orion had no answer.
“As a younger son, should you not have a profession?” Nina asked.
“I have considered many,” he answered. “My mother didn’t wish for me to go to war, so the military was out.”
“I recall seeing one of your cousins in uniform once, but it was a long time ago.”
Orion frowned. “That would have been my cousin, Cadmus Norcott. He was lost to war.”
“Against Napoleon?” she asked quietly.
“Yes.”
“Do you hate the French?” Nina winced as if the question pained her, or perhaps she feared his answer.
“No. They have little choice,” he offered, having not really given the question much thought previously. Then he realized what she had said. “When did you see Cadmus in uniform?”
Nina looked away as her cheeks brightened.
“Have you been spying on my family?” he teased.
Orion had never seen a face so red in his life, and delighted in her embarrassment, though he probably shouldn’t.
“Once I learned to hide in the trees, I would stand in the ones by the cove and watch your family.”
This should bother him, being spied on, but it did not. He may have done the same if he had been isolated from the rest of the world.
“I knew everyone’s name because Cassian would mention them, but I never knew who was who.”
“Why did you not ask?”
