Of Heirs and Havoc ✔️ | Of Crimes and Crowns Book 2

thirty-eight : of secrets and savings

The sun shone high ahead, confirming the climate patterns that Francisco had drolly informed her of in a succinct manner ("there are only two seasons here: hot, and hotter.") Birds chirped and thick swaths of tropical jungle spread out before them, a green canopy speckled with glimpses of ocean and sand. Not bothering with servants, Blake and Francisco lugged a picnic basket between them, while Victoria lagged an uneasy distance behind and Celeste took the lead.

"Very hot out here, isn't it?" Blake commiserated with her, throwing an affectionate, brotherly glance over his shoulder before ducking his head to avoid a tree branch. "The only heat comparable would have been our summers in Ruida."

"In Ruida, at least it wasn't this humid," Victoria countered, grateful that she had brought along her ladylike accoutrements of a parasol and a lacy fan with which to somewhat cool herself. "Are we there yet?"

Coldness seemed a thousand miles away as she watched Francisco carry the basket with practiced ease and smooth grace as if he spent all of his time lugging things around. Sweat beaded beneath her collar, open as it was, and similarly formed along his neck. She could see the outline of his torso beneath the slightly damp material of his linen shirt and forced herself to look away for fear that she might combust and go up in flames.

"'Tis only a little further," Celeste called back. The other girl was aggravatingly cool and composed in the jungle heat, with her dark hair combed into a chignon, sunlight passing over her delicate features and golden skin.

Outside of the dense vegetation and shadowy trees was a clear, pristine pool, complete with a waterfall and the sound of trickling water to accompany them on their lunch. A gentle breeze stirred the pool's surface, and sunlight glinted off the rocks in the water. Rest and relaxation should have been her first response to such a picturesque scene. After all, she was with her brother and her beloved, even if a rather suspect girl had to join them. Instead, fear and panic stabbed through her, anxiety tightening her lungs for no reason at all. 

A gentle look that probed her features, her wide green eyes and tense mouth, was all it took for Francisco to drop his end of the basket and pull her away into a secluded area, trees shading them. "Whatever is the matter, Tori?"

She tried to smile as he used her nickname. "It's nothing for you to worry about. I have no need of your fussing, concerned palaver."

The insult bounced off of him; he had a rake's armour, but a gentleman's heart. "In that case, I suppose speaking further is out of the question."

He bent down, lips meeting hers softly, and she twined her fingers behind his neck on instinct--

"Hey!" Blake's voice cut through the kiss as easily as a hot knife through butter. "I would see the two of you five feet apart at all times, ring or no ring!"

Victoria's heart jumped in her chest at the mention of a ring--at the mention of matrimony, betrothals--and they both sheepishly sat down on the blanket and joined their siblings. Well, Victoria was sheepish. Francisco seemed to have no such sense of shame. 

"A ring, brother?" Celeste cast an unreadable look between the two of them. "I had not realized your relationship was so very... intimate."

There was a seductress's emphasis that she put on that final word, one that Victoria disliked. What was the other girl implying? For all her adventurous ways, she would not let it be said that she was a wanton, improper, and overtly lustful type of woman. 

"That is because it is none of your business," Francisco interjected,  placing a protective hand on her forearm. The gesture warmed her pleasantly.

"Shall we eat?" Blake interrupted, clearly trying to break the tension. So they did eat, but all the while, Victoria could not help her the heavy thoughts that shadowed her mind and her heart.