Veronica barely heard a word Grandpapa said. He’d been speaking to her for several minutes about the gift he’d made for Grandmama for Christmas, but Veronica’s thoughts were too preoccupied with what had happened with Sebastian last night. He’d been angry when he’d left the bedchamber. And he was probably even more angry now that he’d no doubt awoken and read her note. She’d been angry too when she’d written it. Angry that he’d been able to break down her defenses in so short a time and make her wild with wanting him again.

The man was a liar and a cheater. Was she such a wanton that she couldn’t control herself around him for one day? Yes, she’d agreed to share his bed, but she hadn’t agreed to enjoy it so thoroughly. She already regretted the harsh words she’d written, but it was too late to sneak back into the room and retrieve them. She heard his voice in the next room speaking to Mama. Sebastian was awake and having breakfast. That meant he’d already read her note.

Veronica had awoken early and met Grandpapa in the conservatory for a stroll through the lilies before he got tired and asked to go sit in the drawing room, which is where they were now. She intended to spend as much time as possible with her grandfather. After all, that’s why she’d dragged Sebastian here. It was why they were playacting to begin with, to make Grandpapa’s last holiday a special one. She shouldn’t have spent so much time with Sebastian yesterday. Especially not in bed. It only confused things.

She shook her head to clear it of thoughts of her husband and returned her attention fully to her beloved grandfather. “I’m certain Grandmama will love it,” she said, smiling at the thought of her grandmother being gifted a wooden box with mementos from the summer she met Grandpapa stashed inside. He had explained that he’d been going through an old box of things and found a handkerchief she’d given him with a sprig of lavender embroidered on it, a small lock of her dark hair, and a thin gold chain she’d worn around her neck the night they met.

“When you get older,” Grandpapa continued, “you find you want more things that really matter and fewer things just for the sake of having things. That’s why I never buy your grandmother jewelry. She told me many years ago she didn’t want it.”

Veronica laughed. “That sounds like Grandmama.”

“And here I thought she loved all those gaudy expensive baubles I’d been buying her.” He shook his head. “You know what she told me?”

“What?” Veronica asked, leaning forward in her seat to watch her grandfather’s animated face. He looked so happy and…fit.

“She said she’d give them all back and then some for more years with me.” He shook his head and smiled.

A sharp pain tugged at Veronica’s heart and unwanted tears welled in her eyes. Before she could stop herself or grab her handkerchief, the blasted tears began streaming down her face.