She flashed him a bright grin. “I was one of Pip's best pupils in revolutions and rambunctiousness.”
“It must frustrate you now being so constrained.”
Felicity's smile faded. She shook her head and took another sip, savoring the dry, nutty taste of the brew. “Not eating frustrates me far more.”
For a long moment, there was just silence punctuated by the soft murmurs from the other men, two rosy-cheeked grandfathers in tweed caps and hard boots.
“You truly never found out who your people were?” Flint asked, his gaze on his glass.
Felicity looked up, surprised. “No. Pip says I have a perverse streak. I have decided that if they do not wish to know me, I am happy to return the favor.”
He went very still. “What if they don't know you exist?”
She shrugged, trying to ignore the familiar ache in her chest. “Pip looked in the school records once. Said there was nothing there. I was actually a bit relieved. I cannot imagine how uncomfortable it would have been to show up on some toff's doorstep crying, 'Mother!'”
She knew she had disconcerted him. He went quiet, staring into his ale as if scrying his future. For the first time in a long while, Felicity felt uncomfortable herself about her situation. She shouldn't. It had never been a secret. Somehow, though, sitting in this homely little inn across from such a handsome man, she wanted to be more than she was. Actually worthy of his consideration instead of merely a chore.
A chore. She unconsciously shook her head. The story of her life.
“How many positionshaveyou had?” he asked, not looking up.
She looked at his hands—long, elegant fingers, strong wrists, with a scar or two marring the knuckles. Lovely hands. The hands of a gentleman who had known work.
“Three,” she said, turning back to her glass. “Two as governess and one at the school. That would be the one your father the duke undoubtedly destroyed for me.”
“Is marriage to me truly a worse prospect than teaching piano to snot-nosed little girls?”
She straightened, desperately trying to inject a bit of humor. “I will have you know that our little girls were all perfectly groomed and behaved...well, the last might be a bit of a stretch.”
His smile was quiet. “So am I. Am I so terrible a prospect?”
“You are an unknown prospect. Remember. I didn't know of you until four days ago.”
“Of course, you did,” he protested, tapping his chest. “I'm Igneous.”
“Igneous was a twelve-year old who played Knights of the Round Table and loved kippers. You are...” She gave him a quick, assessing look. “Not.”
This time his grin was brash. “I'm far better.”
“In what way? And please contain your answer to one that can be repeated in your aunt's parlor. The last I heard about you, you were leaving for the army in a magnificent red coat and shako, a lovely woman hanging off each arm.”
He surprised her. Instead of throwing off a blithe answer, he frowned. Suddenly his hands became restless, and he seemed fascinated by the handle of his mug.
“Bracken?” she asked quietly.
He gave her a quick, rueful smile. “I was quite the sight, if I do say so myself. It seems uniforms imbue one with a very inflated sense of one's self-worth. It was the career I was given as third son—certainly more fitting than vicar, which my older brother Ransom was given—and I was well pleased.”
“Has the romance of it paled?” she asked.
“Nothing so gentle. War is not all perfectly-tailored parade jackets and glossy boots. It is crashing boredom and flashes of abject terror. What surprised me was that I resented the boredom far worse than the terror.”
Suddenly he looked up, his eyes wide. Startled, as if he'd overheard his own words for the first time. Felicity didn't know what to do. She found herself wanting to reach out and hold him. At least to lay her hand over his so he wasn't alone with that admission.
He broke the mood with a laugh and a shake of his head. “Can you be too good at an occupation? God bless Grandmother for giving me a different direction for my talents.”
Felicity tilted her head. “How does a talent for mayhem help an estate?”
“A talent for organization and planning. I have many, many plans for the Haven.”
