The warning was clear. Henry held his gaze for a moment longer, as though ensuring the meaning in his words had settled, before turning toward the door. He paused briefly, his hand resting against it.
"Do not be careless with her," he said.
Then he left. The door closed behind him, leaving the room in silence once more. Julian did not move immediately. His thoughts, for once, did not arrange themselves into anything clear.
He had done the right thing, had he not? A lady required a husband, and so he took her as his wife. She had expectations, as did he, and they came to an agreement. It was perfectly sensible, he reasoned, so why was he being looked at as though he were a villain?
Why did he feel like one?
Dinner had passed without incident, the conversation light, the company small enough that nothing felt forced. Afterwards, they drifted into the drawing room, the atmosphere relaxed. It was the kind of evening that required little from anyone, and Julian observed more than he participated. It was a habit, one that he did not intend to break.
Anne stood near the window, her attention half on Eleanor, half on something beyond the glass, though that shifted when Henry approached. The movement was unremarkable at first, a simple crossing of the room, but it did not remain so.
"You seem to have claimed the best position here," Henry said.
Anne turned slightly.
"I was not aware it had been required."
"It has not," he replied. "Though I might argue that it ought to have been discussed."
Anne considered him briefly.
"You would have lost."
"That is a bold assumption."
"A reasonable one. I rather enjoy proving a point, as well as finding a quiet corner where I shall not be disturbed."
Henry smiled faintly.
"You know, I am not accustomed to being dismissed so easily."
"Then you should consider this an educational experience."
Julian’s attention lingered. It was not the conversation itself that drew it, but the ease of it. There was no hesitation in either of them, no careful positioning of words, no attempt to manage the impression being made. It unfolded naturally, without calculation.
"You wound me," Henry said, with a chuckle. "And unnecessarily so."
"I do not think so," Anne replied. "You began it."
"I may regret that."
"I doubt it."
"No," he said after a moment, "you are probably correct."
There was a brief pause, though not an awkward one. Anne held his gaze for a moment longer than necessary, then glanced away, though not before the meaning had settled.
"You must find all of this quite strange," she said
"I do. I knew that my sister would one day settle, but not so suddenly. I am pleased for her, of course, we all are."
Julian rather thought that he was not a man that a lady would settle for, but then he considered that he came with more baggage than most gentlemen. He brought a little girl with him, one that might as well have been his own daughter. Not every lady would be pleased about that.
But Eleanor was.
He looked around and found her across the room, watching them with quiet amusement. It was as though she had seen it all before, and that she rather enjoyed watching it happen. At that moment, Anne and Henry seemed to notice too.