She agreed though, which surprised him, and shuffled further into the corner to let him sit. Of course, Aurora still kept a respectable distance between them.
Elmore perched on the edge, long legs tucked underneath him. The bench was too low to be comfortable, and the wood dug into his thighs, but he didn't really care about the seat itself; Aurora had let him sit beside her. It was a small thing, but felt like such progress nonetheless.
They lapsed into silence for a while. Aurora sipped her tea and Elmore stared across the garden, and neither of them spoke. He had expected it to feel awkward. Cloying, even. Instead, a sense of calm washed over him as the breeze ruffled through his hair.
Finally, Aurora took the last sip of tea and stood. "We should return to discussions," she said abruptly, "there is a lot that we still need to iron out."
Elmore nodded in agreement. "Yes, I suppose so. Lead the way, then."
They returned to Mr. Washam's study. The window was still open, and it helped to air out the hot interior; although it was a large room, it was crowded with so many books that it always felt too stuffy, as if the fresh air couldn't reach them through so much paper.
Aurora took her place behind the desk again, pulling her notebook close.
Usually, Elmore would have taken his place by the window, on the little wooden seat next to the table. This time though, he hovered by the bookcases overflowing with books. When Aurora rose a brow, he said, "I need to stretch my legs. Sitting for so long has made me stiff."
She scoffed. "You sound like my father."
"None of us are getting any younger, you know."
Aurora almost smiled.Almost."Now you definitely sound like him." She didn't say if that was a good thing, or not.
They settled back into silence again, as Aurora began to draw. She didn't have any pencils or charcoal, and was instead using a thin quill to etch out thin lines. It was an odd way to work, but the scratchiness had a certain charm.
Elmore was the first one to speak. The words sort of just came out, leaving him stunned.
"I hope you know that I don't mean to underestimate you," he blurted suddenly. Once he'd said that, there was no sense in not continuing. "When we met, I had no idea how much you knew about botany. How could I? We didn't know each other."
She glanced up from her notebook for long enough to shoot him a glare. "We should be discussing our plan."
"Yes, but please allow me to finish."
Her glare narrowed, and yet she said nothing.
"Thank you. As I said, we didn't know each other, and I had no reason to believe you were as knowledgeable as I was. You assume that my ignorance stems from not trusting you as a woman, but that is a harsh misjudgment — one I must refute."
Aurora stiffened. She was impossible to figure out sometimes; her features became indecipherable save for her frown, and he couldn't even hope to imagine what she was thinking.
When she spoke, there was a hitch in her voicethat suggested an oncoming cough. "You speak as if we know each other much better now, but we are still strangers to each other."
"I was hoping that would change as we work together."
Loose locks of hair had spilled from Aurora's braid, and Elmore found himself resisting the urge to brush them from her face. How did her hair feel? Was it silky or coarse; would his fingers become tangled in the density of her curls?
Aurora tucked the hair behind her ear, only for it to spill back over a moment later. She huffed, but allowed the hair to stay. When she caught Elmore staring — and he honestly hadn't been aware that hewas,she frowned.
"If I've misjudged so you harshly, don't you think you've done the same to me?"
The quip left him speechless. Aurora had a unique way of turning this all on him, when all he had done was try to be honest. Perhaps it wasn't the dramatic apology she had hoped for, but Elmore had been trying to shed light on the situation!
As if that wasn't enough, she kept going. "I judge you on your behavior, Lord Winters, and so far it hasn't been reassuring. You talked to me as if I knew nothing, even upon realizing who I was. Then, at the meeting, you tried to impress me with your show on poisonous plants. I saw you looking my way several times, don't deny it. Now, instead of accepting responsibility, you accuse me of misjudging! Well, so far you've given me no reason to think any differently."
Elmore was staring hard now, he couldn't help it. Brows furrowed, hands stiff in his lap, Elmore couldn't force himself to relax.
Ithurt,to know that Aurora thought this way about him. he hadn't meant to make excuses; his intentions had been to explain why she was wrong. Although, in hindsight, perhaps that was the very problem. All she wanted was an apology, it seemed, and instead he had jumped to defend himself.
He sighed, sinking low into the chair. There were a hundred things he wanted to say, apologies and explanations and, yes, perhaps a few excuses for his behavior. Was it horrid of him, to not even have realized how deeply he had offended Aurora?
She wasn't waiting for him to reply. Of course she wasn't; she had turned back to her notebook now, turned to a fresh page. Delicate hands smoothed out the paper, careful not to leave a single crease.