Aurora looked as if she wanted to slap him, fuming silently in her chair. Her blonde hair hung limply in her eyes, and she brushed it away with one annoyed hand.
During the lull in the argument, Mr. Washam took his chance to interject. Clearing his throat, he announced, "I will accept the duty of the initial planting of the Angel's trumpet; it's important that we get this first step right. I won't be able to sponsor it, however; it will be far too costly, and I have a home to take care of."
Something flickered in Aurora's eyes. Anger dimming, it was replaced by intrigue at her father's words.
Well, so long as she wasn't still trying to fight with Elmore, he didn't mind the sudden change in topic. He turned to Mr. Washam too, eyes wide with interest.
"What do you suppose our first steps should be, then?"
Now that they weren't fighting any more, Mr. Washam sat once again. He perched on the edge of his armchair, as if he were ready to jump back up at any minute.
"Once the plants are delivered, we should begin planting right away. Truthfully, I had hoped that the Duke would pay for more than the first samples, but we can work with what we have. If our project is useful, and we can show him evidence of our efforts, he may still pay for future samples and our greenhouse." Mr. Washam's eyes darted between Aurora and Elmore as he spoke. "But as for everything else; materials and plant feed, it will all be up to us."
Elmore found himself twisting uncomfortably in his seat. He, too, had wished that the Duke would offer more; but perhaps it was also selfish of them to expect him to do so much. It wastheirproject after all.
"Give me some time to work out my finances," Elmore said, "and perhaps I can help some. Together, I'm sure that the three of us can come to a conclusion."
Mr. Washam nodded. "Meanwhile, we should prepare to build our greenhouse, and plant some angel's trumpet. We can grow our initial samples outside while the weather is good, and move them into indoor pots once the greenhouse is ready."
The entire time, Aurora had been listening with her head bowed. She was staring at her hands now, glaring as if they had done something to personally offend her. It appeared, at least to Elmore, that she wished to be anywhere but here.
It was probably because of him, a thought that settled heavily in his stomach. He didn'tlikebeing the antagonist; but it wasn't his fault that she failed to see his side. More than the anger though, more than the frustration, was the disappointing sensation that theystillweren't friends.
He liked Aurora, truly, she just didn't feel the same way.
Biting down on the inside of his lip, Elmore announced, "we can discuss this tomorrow, or another day. It will be a while still until our samples arrive and we have time to prepare."
Aurora's eyes darted up to him. They were such a rich and beautiful green, like leaves blowing in the wind. Even when those eyes were narrowed in disgust, Aurora was lovely.
Her voice, however, wasn't as she said, "yes, I think it would be best if you returned home for the evening."
Elmore and Mr. Washam shared a look, but Elmore didn't try to argue. Rather, he took the less than subtle hint to leave. He stood, and Mr. Washam stood too.
"I will walk you to the door."
He didn't need walked to the door; he knew exactly where it was, considering this house wasn't particularly large. Yet, he realized a moment later why Mr. Washam had come with him into the hall.
"I apologize for Aurora's behavior," he murmured, low enough that Aurora wouldn't hear. "She isn't usually so...I suppose you would say argumentative. Strong-headed, yes, but not so outright hostile."
Elmore managed a shrug. Truthfully, he had become somewhat used to it over the weeks he'd been here. Sometimes, he thought that Aurora was beginning to like him; then days like this blew up in his face to prove him wrong.
"She has a right to be angry," Elmore said cautiously. He glanced towards the sitting room, but the door was still firmly shut. Good. "The Duke of Stonehull paid her no mind when she was talking about her greatest passion; anyone would be hurt after such a thing."
"Yes, but she doesn't need to take it out on you."
Perhaps that was true; God knew that Elmore didn'tthinkhe deserved it, and he'd defend himself to the death if it were brought up again; but he understood why Aurora was frustrated.
"She was hurt once before," Mr. Washam said softly, "by a man she liked. Loved, perhaps. He is out of our lives now and won't come back, but he humiliated her greatly. I think, perhaps, she worries that you will do exactly what he did."
Elmore's stomach twisted now, as a cruel sort of understanding fell across him. He should have known that there was more to her reaction, something that he wasn't seeing.
Oh, Aurora...
"But please don't make her aware that I told you this. She doesn't like to talk about it, nor does she want others to know."
Elmore nodded solemnly. He wouldn't breathe a word; not only for Mr. Washam's sake, but also because he knew that his relationship with Aurora was already rocky at best. She didn't need another reason to dislike him.
Eventually, he heaved out a sigh and turned to the door. Although the Washam's home had a little entrance hall of sorts, the sitting room led right to the front door. He didn't want Aurora to overhear, so he opened the door and stepped out into the fresh evening breeze.