Before long he was settling into the carriage, the Duke's letter on his knee, and he felt the first flicker of excitement low in his stomach. He hoped that this went well; not just for Aurora, but for himself too.
He finally felt like a real botanist, and it was the most wonderful feeling in the world.
Chapter 12
Aurora Washam
“I do believe that Elmore has taken a liking to you.”
Aurora's eyes darted up from her book, her brows raised. Already, she felt the beginnings of a frown.
"Why would you say that?" she asked with a huff.
Father had been perched on the armchair across from her, reading through his old notes. He liked to do that sometimes to refresh his memory, but now his attention was solely on Aurora.
"Don't give me that look," she insisted, rolling her eyes at the way Father studied her. "Lord Winters is interested in my idea about the greenhouse, I doubt he has any interest in me personally."
Is that true?a voice inside her head asked,after all, he was trying to impress you at the meeting.
It made her stomach stir, and not entirely in frustration. Shoving those thoughts aside, Aurora turned back to her book; AGardener's Guide to European Plants.
Yet she still felt Father's eyes on her, boring a hole into her back as she shifted away. She just knew that he was smiling.
"What?" she asked, not unkindly.
"I simply don't understand why you won't admit how much he likes you." He set down his tea, the china clinking as cup met saucer. Then continued, "he's a good man, Aurora. I've never met somebody who loves nature as much as he does, except perhaps for you."
She shrugged. "Like I said, he shares my interest in botany. It doesn't mean that he likes me as a person."
Especially considering that she didn't likehim,but she declined to say so out loud. Father had been his mentor, and she didn't wish to offend her beloved father by voicing her dislike for Lord Winters.
Still, she hadn't made an effort toconcealher dislike, either.
Yet Father's expression was sympathetic, a smile curling at the corner of his lips. "You two are a lot alike," he said after a moment, "even if you don't think so."
She could have scoffed, but held her tongue. Her and Lord Winters, alike?
Aurora couldn't stop herself from asking, "how so?"
"You both learned your love of plants from me, and I taught you both the same respect and admiration for nature. I think that makes you similar in many ways."
Father’s smile was kind. Genuine. Yet Aurora sensed there was more he had refrained from saying.
Fine. Aurora could agree that theydidshare a similar story, in that Father had connected them in their love of botany. Even so, she struggled to understand how that made them at all comparable; in any other aspect, they were opposites.
As if Father had somehow heard her inner thoughts, he offered a smile. "You still don't see it, do you?"
She only shook her head.
Father's smile was kind. Gentle. He reached out to flick a loose curl from Aurora's face, where it had come loose from her long braid.
"You're a sweet girl, Aurora. Intelligent. Yet sometimes I wonder if you can't see what's right in front of you. Or is it denial that’s making you so stubborn?"
She parted her lips to argue but found she didn't quite know what to say.
"I think you two should try to be friends," Father added, as he picked up his teacup again and took a sip.
Aurora glanced down at her own tea. It had a little bergamot in it; not enough to make it sour, but enough to put her off wanting to drink it. In recent years the cough had lessened, perhaps in part due to making the tea part of her everyday routine, but it had never quite disappeared entirely.