“I was raised in York by my father,” he answered from a few paces behind her. This story was already ironed out by him and his handler before they both assumed the name Rochford. “My mother died when I was two. My father remarried, but his second wife, together with my younger sister, left us for another man. So to answer your question, I do have a mother and a sibling somewhere in this world.” 

Beyond the windows was the garden, which was being restored to what he imagined was its previous glorious state. He had no idea who originally owned the house or how long had it been vacant, but from the looks of it, restorations were indeed being made. And now that the existence of the property was already disclosed to him, he was fairly certain that Mr. Bennett would want Nick to take care of the remaining work to be done to the house. As if his current workload was not enough.

[i]”Nick.”[/i]

He looked away from the ivy crawling up one of the benches in the garden then to Claire. She was holding out her hand. Without thinking, he took it in his and gently tugged her closer to him. The pair stood at the far end of the ballroom, with the orangey glow of the afternoon sunlight penetrated through the windows to light up the room. Their shadows were cast long on the floor at their feet – a man and a woman staring into each other’s eyes. 

[i]“You said you always wanted a simple life. Why are you pushing for this grand, overdone wedding, then?”[/i] She asked. There were women who looked more beautiful in the dark, but he thought Claire was a more pleasing specimen to observe in the brightness of the day, when all her features came together like a painting commissioned to a master.

It was his turn to sigh. “I have a reputation to build, Ms. Abbott. I already told you the reason I am interested in marrying you. It’s not for love,” he smiled at her. “At least not yet. My father wanted to show how deep our pockets are, and if he had to spend half the family’s fortune to make our wedding day the most talked about event for the rest of the year then he would empty our treasury. It has to do with publicity, and publicly attaching my family name to yours.”

She seemed to have bought it, because Claire let the issue go and started with another one. [i] “When Father says everyone will be there, does he mean all those fancy men in uniforms, too? The higher-ups doing all that work and planning to defend our country and honor in this war? If we must have this wedding, if we can’t just run off and have the ceremony ourselves, then I do wish to meet all of them. I have so much respect for anyone willing to put their lives on the line for this country, don’t you?”[/i]

“I suppose most of them will be present.” Especially those who were given title and land by the crown. These were the important people of London and one of these men was the key to tear down the enemy’s information network. Lives of the brave soldiers of England were at stake. Many already fell, and more would follow, perhaps even his own brother, if the leak in information was not stopped.

[i]“Perhaps after meeting them we could have them over for one of our ballroom parties. Perhaps after meeting them we could have them over for one of our ballroom parties,”[/i] she added as she freed her hand from his and transferred it to his chest.

“Now, my dear Ms. Abbott,” he objected. “Such statements make me jealous. Do you wish to inform me that you prefer the company of men in uniform more than mine?”

Nick took her hand from his chest and placed it on his arm. They had been gone for hours and the duke might be worried about his daughter. Besides, spending the afternoon with Claire had been entertaining, too entertaining for his taste. She was not like how he imagined her to be, certainly not like the stiff lady he met at the dinner party a few nights back.

“I have something for you,” remembered, feeling the box poke at his chest again. It was a three by five inch box that he stuffed in his breast pocket. Nick retrieved the package and opened it to show a row of garnet in a silver chain. The stones varied in size, the smallest were the ones at each end, it increased in size until the diamond-bordered centerpiece of the jewelry.