“What if you are right, Elara?” he asked. “What if my brother has gotten himself into something I cannot... or perhaps should not, protect him from?”
Elara studied him for a long moment, the act making him feel bare and small for the first time in his life. As if to her, he truly was just a man.
“I think,” Elara said, taking a step toward him. “That Augustus is a grown man. And a father. I think even without a title, he is required to take on a certain amount of responsibility of his own. Responsibilities that are not yours to take, Const...husband.”
His heart skipped a beat as she called him so. Husband. He liked that. Even if he could only bear the title for ten more days.
Elara took another step toward him and placed her hand on his chest, and without thought, he covered it with his own, keeping it there.
“I think that once we solve this mystery, you should try to make a change,” she said softly. “Not for his happiness, but for your own.”
“But if he needs protection...” he began to argue.
“If he needs protection, he is grown enough to protect himself,” Elara gently interrupted. “Furthermore, it seems it is time to ask yourself if it truly is protection, or if your interference is stalling him from just the consequences of his actions?”
Her words struck something deep within Constantine. He had never thought of that before. Yet here this woman was, speaking such wisdom as if these were life lessons she had known from the very beginning.
“You are smiling,” Elara pointed out, raising an amused brow. “Or smirking. I cannot tell. What are you thinking?”
Constantine’s grin widened as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.
“I am thinking that I never would have expected such sage advice to come from a woman who hates me so much,” he replied.
Elara tsked her tongue as a charming smile spread across her lips. She leaned into him, gazing up into his eyes with a mischievous sparkle.
“Perhaps I am starting to realize that I do not hate you as much as I thought I did,husband,”she said in a teasing tone.
Constantine chuckled as she let out a small giggle, feeling some of that long-standing weight lift from his shoulders; enough to cause him to bow his head toward her and softly kiss her lips.
This kiss, unlike the others, was not a struggle for power or fueled by overheated passion, but soft and tender. A sign that genuine care for each other was blossoming between them.
“Let us get home, shall we?” Constantine asked, stepping to her side so he could take her hand.
“Indeed,” Elara agreed, falling into step with him.
After only a couple of steps, Constantine could not help but look down at her, a soft smile on his face.
“I feel your eyes on me,”Elara said with a smirk, keeping her gaze straight on. “What is the matter?”
Constantine’s smile widened.
“I was only thinking,” he replied.
“Oh? Thinking what?” Elara asked.
“That perhaps one day I would not mind hearing my name so much,” he answered. “If you were the one saying it.”
Elara finally looked up at him with a smirk on her lips. She winked at him, and as they left the gardens, Constantine felt his heart beat faster again.
Chapter 23
“Are you well, Your Grace?”
Elara drew her eyes up to her vanity mirror. It was late, and for the second evening in a row, she had dined with Constantine. Their jabs toward one another had grown much less thorny, and their conversations now held more laughter than contempt.
She looked at herself. Looked at Ginny, who was brushing out her hair.
“I am... fine. Why do you ask?” she asked.
