Page 48 of Crash Landing
She hugged him fiercely. He was proving to be her anchor upon the uncertain sea of her life.
“It is too late to rescind Lady Frampton’s invitation to tea. But that’s all it will be. I will not steer the conversation to those letters or tempt her in any way to betray her husband. If you plan to return to London shortly, then may I impose on you to allow my aunt and me to stay with you at Gull Hall and return to London with you?”
“It is no imposition. Stay as long as you wish. You know my feelings on the matter.”
“I do.” She nodded. “I thought you were a man I could love from the moment I met you. Now, I know it for certain. All the more reason to get the Frampton matter behind me before I dare move forward. Once back in London, I’ll let the princess know the task was beyond my abilities and deal with the repercussions.”
“I’ll stand by you.”
“No. Please don’t. Let the brunt of her wrath fall upon me and only me. How angry can she be when I did not cause any of these problems? And what harm can she do to me when I have nothing to lose? No wealth of significance. No estates. Not even a parent or sibling who would ever stand up for me.”
“She might confiscate your father’s assets.”
“I doubt she would ever go that far and risk word getting out about what she was doing—and why. It is thewhyof it that she doesn’t dare reveal. Then everyone she was trying to save would be exposed. This might lead to Lord Frampton’s downfall, but it would also blemish her reputation, and wouldn’t this thrill the prince regent who already detests her? Imagine disliking your own wife to that extent.”
“Unfortunately, these royals have no choice in whom they marry. Perhaps we would all be better off if they did.”
“Or worse off, perhaps. People in love do foolish things. Look at the damage those love letters might do to Lady Simmons and her unknown admirer.”
Trajan took the handkerchief from her hands and gently dabbed at her tears. “Whatever happens, just know that I will be ready to catch you should you fall.”
She kissed him on the cheek, inhaling the scent of lather on his freshly shaved skin. “I hope never to put you through another crash landing,” she said with mirth.
She gave him another kiss on the cheek and rose to walk over to the window to peer out of it when she heard his cousins pounding down the stairs. After hastily drying her tears and hoping her eyes did not appear too watery, she turned to greet them.
They were a jovial threesome, and thankfully too hungry to do more than bid her and Trajan a good morning before grabbing their plates and noisily making their way from salver to salver, piling everything they saw onto them.
“Hey, leave a sausage for me,” Sebastian griped when his brothers determined they should serve themselves in age order and shunted him to the back of the line.
When Trajan’s cousins sat down and began to dig into their breakfasts, Florence returned to her seat and managed to eat a little more of her own. But the moment she set her fork down, Sebastian placed his over the remains on her plate. “You going to eat that sausage?”
She laughed. “No. Help yourself.”
The three of them ate like wolves and exercised no table manners whatsoever. This delighted Florence, for it meant they considered her a part of their family.
She smiled at Trajan. He winked back at her.
This would be her life if she accepted his proposal.
She adored it.
After breakfast, Trajan delayed his meeting with his cousins forthirty minutes in order to spend a little time with her. They merely took a stroll through the garden, but he took her hand in his as they walked along, the gesture more intimate than walking arm in arm, and more proprietary.
It was a quiet but unmistakable statement that she was meant to be his.
But he wasn’t demanding any decisions from her, merely showing her what they might have as husband and wife if she were to accept his proposal.
She would, in time.
Florence spent the rest of the morning in the ladies’ parlor with her aunt, who was now dressed and had come downstairs to continue her embroidery while Florence read a book.
After a light midday meal, they retired to their bedchambers to prepare for tea with Lady Frampton.
Jenny came in to assist Florence in donning the lavender gown and freshening her hairstyle. Looking at her reflection in the mirror afterward, she thought she looked very much as a new duchess ought to look.
Was this how Trajan saw her?
When she returned to the parlor, she saw that Mrs. Albright had set out their tea service beautifully. The best china and silverware were used for this occasion, and the table had a lovely lace tablecloth with matching lace table linens. Tarts, cakes, and buttered breads, some with cucumbers and some without, were just being brought in on tiered dishes that were also of the finest porcelain.
