“I’ll have to be sure Diana brings her paints,” he murmured.
“Paints?”Vittoria repeated.
He nodded.“In addition to her avocation of archaeology, Lady Forster is quite a talented painter.”
Vittoria furrowed a brow.“You do not seem...botheredthat she has an avocation.”
“Because I am not.She’s rather clever.Remembers everything she has ever read, seen, or heard, which makes her an excellent resource should I have a question about something from the past,” he said, grinning.
Vittoria narrowed her eyes, her suspicion evident.“Why is ityoudid not marry her?”
David was stunned by the query.“Uh...I suppose because I am not attracted to her in a manner befitting marriage,” he replied.“Whereas Randy was quite smitten with her from the moment he first saw her.”
“Smitten,” Vittoria repeated quietly.“I do not know this word.”
His eyes widening, David considered how to provide a definition.“Uh...almost love at first sight.Interested in a romantic sense.Attraction to another, I suppose.”Angling his head to one side, he asked, “Have you ever been smitten?”
Vittoria shook her head.
“Liar,” he accused, but he was grinning as he said it.
“Have you?”she countered defensively.
“Of course.Probably...a half-dozen times,” he admitted, his grin widening when he saw her reaction of shock.“The last time was with a young lady with whom I was betrothed.”
Her dark brows furrowing in confusion, Vittoria asked, “Did you...didyoubreak it off?”
David inhaled softly and let the breath out in awhoosh.“It was a mutual decision which allowed her to accept an offer of marriage from another.From Diana’s brother, in fact.They are married now, and quite well suited for one another.”He struggled to swallow the lump that threatened to close off his throat.Not having thought about Lady Jane Fitzsimmons for some time, he was surprised by his reaction.
“You loved her,” Vittoria stated in a hoarse whisper, leaning forward to study his face.
Blinking several times, David nodded.“I suppose I did,” he said.
“Were you a rogue with her?”
“No!”he replied, perhaps a bit too forcibly.
“Is that why you were betrothed?”
“No.Not at all.In fact, I offered a betrothal as a means of protection.So she would have an excuse to put off unwanted suitors,” he explained.“I even gave her a ring, which...”He attempted to clear his throat.“She still wears to this day.As her wedding ring.”He took an unsteady breath before looking up to discover Vittoria staring at him.“I gave it to Marcus since he didn’t have one, and she adored the one I had given her.”
“A family jewel?”she asked in awe.
He shook his head and waved a hand dismissively.“No.I had bought it in a jewelry shop in London.Which reminds me, I probably should be on the hunt for a replacement.Might you know of a jeweler where I could obtain another?”
It was Vittoria’s turn to blink.“There are many here in Roma,” she replied.
“Good.Perhaps you can help me choose one,” he suggested, anxious to see how she would respond.For the first time that afternoon, she seemed to have forgiven him for the events of the night before.“It would be good to have the opinion of someone of your sex,” he said.“Of your age.”
“Perhaps,” she replied haughtily.“Or, far better, you can simply take the next woman with whom you aresmittenand ask her opinion,” she said before rolling her eyes and directing her gaze beyond his shoulder.
David allowed a long sigh and decided he best keep quiet for the rest of the ride back to Villa Montblanc.
