“It would require a good location,” Juliette said, “and that will not come cheap.”
“No, but I can afford to make such an investment now and I think it might be worth it.” Florian’s eyes shone with excitement. “The Swedes have recently developed a system of basic hand strokes intended to soothe the muscles and the Chinese have been applying finger pressure to relieve aching body parts for centuries. It’s not entirely dissimilar from what you... um”—he caught Juliette’s gaze—“suggested I try on that patient of mine with the pain in his shoulders...” He coughed, broke eye contact while Juliette’s cheeks ignited, and quickly said, “We could also offer private saunas for the gentlemen and facial scrubs for the ladies.”
“Why can’t the ladies have saunas as well?” Gabriella asked.
Florian blinked. “Well, I suppose they can. The possibilities are endless really.”
“There could even be a shop offering scented oils and soaps,” Juliette suggested.
“Certainly,” Florian said. “Ah! I believe that is our set starting.” He offered Juliette his arm. “Shall we?”
Excusing herself to Raphe and Gabriella, Juliette allowed Florian to escort her out onto the dance floor where they took up positions across from each other. His eyes met hers, the blueness of his gaze reminiscent of a cloudless sky on a hot summer’s day.
The music started and he pulled her into his arms. Her hand found his on a rush of wild embers, reminding her of the intimacy of his touch. It stole her breath, his fingers sliding gently across her back in ways that could not be accidental or innocent. And it occurred to her then that he craved the same closeness as she, even as he fought to prevent it.
“You are dancing a great deal these days, for a man who insists on disliking the activity,” she managed to say after growing accustomed to the feeling of a thousand feathers tickling her insides. Something had to be said if she was to maintain her sanity.
“Only with you, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
Of course she had and of course the notion delighted her to no end, even though it would lead them nowhere. “Others might as well. If you are not careful, my brother might expect you to offer for my hand.”
“You forget that I am a duke as well now. Your brother cannot insist on such a thing unless I were to compromise you. In which case I would naturally do the honorable thing.”
He spun her around in a wide circle and Juliette tried not to let his words hurt her. But it wasn’t easy when he’d all but told her he’d only ever consider marrying her if circumstance forced him to do so. She would become his obligation, which was hardly something to aspire toward. So she raised her gaze to his and said, “You need not worry about such a thing occurring, Florian, for I shall do my utmost to prevent it.”
Had she not spent as much time in his company as she had in recent weeks, she would most likely have missed his response to that statement. It was subtle, but it was there, the slightest tic at the edge of his mouth accompanied by the momentary tightening of his fingers against her hand.
Well good! It was high time the man felt a bit of the frustration shadowing her these days. She would have welcomed a courtship from him before they started working together. Now, after getting to know him better, nothing in the world would thrill her more than the prospect of one day marrying this man. He was clever and honorable. He knew what his priorities were and which of his duties came first. He would not permit any person to perish if he stood a chance of saving their lives. But beyond that, he was a serious man, alienated by his profession and confined to what Juliette suspected must be a lonely existence with only his work as his constant companion.
She wondered if he even realized what he was missing. It wasn’t so different from what she’d been missing herself for most of her life. She’d had her siblings just as Florian had his family and colleagues, but she’d never felt as though she belonged with someone the way she knew she belonged with him or as though her heart might break if he chose to marry someone else. It was as if he’d reached inside her chest and jolted her heart into motion. And if he feared the increased closeness between them as much as he’d suggested, then it could only mean that he felt precisely the same. Which made his standoffishness all the more curious.
“Would you like a refreshment?”
The dance had apparently ended without her noticing, she’d been so caught up in her ponderings. “No.” She glanced around at the thronging crowd. “I would rather get some fresh air.”
“Then allow me to escort you.” He led her toward a set of doors that opened onto a terrace. As they went, whispered words and stares followed, alerting Juliette to Florian’s increased eligibility. He was a duke now, the only one available for marriage, and there was no shortage of women making him the subject of their assessment.
What a fine-looking man.
Have you ever seen such remarkable hair?
There is nothing more intriguing than a surgeon turned duke.
He has the handsomest bearing to grace the English isles in decades.
Juliette stifled the laughter that threatened to bubble up into a sputtering outburst. Handsome bearing? Such imaginative use of adjectives could only be attributed to his recent rise in aristocratic power.
Glancing up at the man in question as he guided her away from the whispered appraisals, she caught a troubled look in the corner of his eyes. “What is it?” she asked while a breeze licked a cool path around her shoulders.
“Hmm?” He did not stop his progress as she had expected but kept on walking, taking her past the people who hovered in clusters and onward toward a fountain in the center of the garden.
“You looked worried just now.” Instinctively, she glanced over her shoulder to see how many people had noticed he was taking her off to a private location. For a man who’d just told her he had no intention of compromising her reputation, he certainly had a funny way of showing it.
“It is nothing.”
She blew out a breath and decided she wouldn’t accept that answer. “I disagree. Not when you are trying to flee the ballroom as fast as possible.”
“You are the one who requested fresh air.”
