Page 10 of Within the Hollow Heart

He winced. It was likely that Etta had not shared the name, not if she was fond of Jules. And she was fond of her, he realized, because Etta must have taken great care not to mention Jules by name in all of their conversations about her time at the chancery. It was almost offensive.

Nickolas inclined his head in his most gallant manner. “It is my pledge to you now, this day, beneath the sun of a fine Westrende sky, fair Jules who has yet to reveal to me her surname, that your given name, at least, will never fade from my memory, for I will etch it on the very walls of my heart.”

“Is your heart made from stone, Lord Brigham?”

He opened his mouth then pressed it shut. “You realize, my lady, that you’re meant to merely swoon, not examine the promises made by a suitor.”

“Even once we are betrothed?”

His expression went grave. “Especially then.”

“I’ll take it under consideration.”

“I think it’s in the vows.” He paused. “You should not examine those, either.”

“Sage advice. You realize I work in the chancery office? With records and contracts?”

“Mmm.”

“Indeed.”

“My lady.” He gave her a look. “Jules.” When her smile teasedyou remembered, he flashed a grin before letting it melt into something more solemn. “You haven’t asked.”

They reached the end of the garden, and she turned. Nickolas turned with her. Farther up the path from where they’d come, a dark-haired man sat in the dappled shade of a willow, his gaze on the nearest pond. “You made suit for Antonetta,” Jules said.

Nickolas let out a breath. “Not officially, no. But I did think we would suit.” They had been friends since they were children. He knew her. Trusted her. If anyone could have stood against his mother, it would have been Etta. But she wouldn’t have had to, because her family was among the highest of Westrende. “She would have done well in the position.”

“Done well?” Jules asked. “You sound as if you’re hiring staff.”

She wasn’t wrong. The qualification for the position wassatisfy Nickolas’s mother without being crushed by the force of it. He said, “Fortunately for us all, she held not a whit of interest in taking the post.” After a moment, he added fondly, “She always was a bit of a bully, so there’s that.”

“It seems as if you care for her a great deal.”

“I do. Antonetta is like the sister I never had.”

Jules’s brow crinkled. “I was under the impression you had four sisters.”

He made a sound of agreement in his throat. He tried not to speak poorly of his sisters, but the truth was they were more his mother’s daughters than anything else. They might be Nickolas’s blood, but they were certainly not of the same heart.

Nickolas and Jules were silent for a long while as they walked. They would soon be at the edge of the garden, where he would have to return her to the chancery. Voice low, he said, “My lady, you may ask me whatever it is outright.”

She glanced up at him.

“The thing that you wished to draw from me by inquiring of Lady Ostwind.”

Her expression fell a bit. “You have quite a reputation for trying for a bride, yet you remain unmarried. It is certainly not for lack of status or charm.” He pressed his lips, and she asked, “Have you never truly wanted any of them? For yourself?”

For yourself, she’d said. Because Jules understood the situation with Lady Carvell had been created by Nickolas’s mother. But she would not know the extent of it. Not even close.

He could not tell her that wanting someone, that caring for them at all, would be precisely the sort of reason that made it impossible to try. He could never tie a decent person to such an indecent situation. He could not allow someone he cared about to be used in his mother’s game.

He couldn’t make himself tell Jules that, so he asked, “Have you?”

A shadow crossed her expression, unfathomable in its depth. An instant later, the evidence of her grief was gone, but the memory of it remained with Nickolas. It had been like a knife to the heart.

Jules said, “I have great love for… my many…” She shook her head. “I cannot speak of it.” She offered him a shaky smile, her free hand lifting to press at what must have been a pendant hidden beneath the fabric of her gown, though he could see only its chain. “I’ve had too much love in my life. There isn’t room, I’m afraid, for more.”

They reached the end of the path. Nickolas faced her, laying his hand gently over hers where it rested on his arm. “Allow me to assure you, then, that there is no one you can trust more than I not to intrude on your too-generous heart.”

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