“You’re different now.”
His brow furrowed slightly. “What do you mean?”
I hesitated, feeling my cheeks flush in response not only to how much I’d ended up telling him, but also with the thought of what I had to say to explain this bit. “I remember you being much more wild.”
His mouth curved into a soft smile. “You do, huh?”
“You were always a loud presence in a quiet room back when you visited here with Eugenie,” I said, just blurting it all out now. “I remember thinking that you were very aware of yourself. Full of yourself, even, and not afraid to admit it.”
He chuckled. “Apparently, there are two versions of me.”
I smiled. “Well, I like this one better if I’m being honest.”
The words slipped out easily, but for a split second, something flashed across his face. It was so quick that I almost missed it, but since I was looking right at him, I saw it even though it vanished in a flash, replaced once more by that effortless composure.
Curious, but deciding against asking him what was on his mind, I motioned toward the castle. The rain was letting up a little and the fog had begun to roll back across the fields, swallowing up only the distant trees now. “We should head back.”
Jesse glanced out at the mist and frowned slightly. “Why? Is the tour over?”
“For now,” I said. “My father has important guests tonight and I ought to be getting ready soon.”
He straightened, a slight frown marring his brow. “What’s so important about these guests?”
Holly and Maeve instantly sprang to their feet as I started down the path. “They’re the kind who expect announcements.”
He fell into step beside me, keeping stride as easily as before. “What announcement?”
I looked up at him, my heart clenching for both of us at the thought of what lay ahead. “Once I sign the contract, our engagement will go public. This is technically a royal wedding, remember?”
This was the part Winnie had been looking forward to. The part she would have been much better at.
Royal weddings came with a level of pomp and circumstance all their own, no matter how far removed from the crown the royal in question might be. Even if that royal was as far removed as me. I just didn’t think Jesse had quite realized that yet.
CHAPTER 13
WILL
By the time evening rolled around, I was showered, dried, and finally warm again. The morning rain had soaked straight through my clothes during that walk with Eliza and I’d spent all afternoon hunched over ledgers in James’s study, going over the estate’s books.
To his credit, he’d let me review everything I’d asked for, tax filings, land leases, restoration costs, and even operating expenses for the farms. As far as I could tell, nothing had been hidden and he hadn’t tried to soften the blow of finding out just how costly this operation was.
Instead, he’d readily supplied me with the information and left me to do the relentless math surrounding the maintenance on a place like this. The conclusion I’d come to was that castles were financial sinkholes.
Knowing what I did now, I was suddenly a lot less jealous of Sterling for having bought one. Ever since he’d broken the news to us, I’d sort of been toying with the idea of following in his footsteps at the back of my mind, but shit.
It was absolutely insane how much it cost keeping the lights on in a place like this, which meant Eliza hadn’t been exaggerating earlier. If anything, she’d been understating it.
Wanting to keep the castle because it was home was one thing, but purchasing one just for shits and giggles like my cousin had done seemed completely fucking crazy. If Eliza was going to be mine instead of Jesse’s, I would have been on the phone to Sterling already, finding out if he had any cost-cutting hints or tips for how to help her with this place.
Sterling was nothing if not focused and pragmatic. Not blinded by history or tradition as the Rodericks might be, it was possible he had figured out a better way of doing things by now, especially since he wasn’t known for wasting money. But she wasn’t going to be mine. All of that would be Jesse’s to figure out when he finally stepped in.
So I simply let Aaron help me into my tuxedo. He’d insisted. Personally, I felt like I was being dressed for a state function by an extremely cheerful valet.
“Left arm, sir.”
I lifted my arm and Aaron slid the jacket on with professional precision, stepping back to inspect his work once my arm was in. Once I’d gotten back from James’s study, he’d appeared in my room as suddenly as he had every morning.
It kind of made me wonder if they had some kind of bell on me, or an alarm that blared somewhere as soon as I walked into the room.
