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“Yes, but I know but you were being kind,” she said, and bit down on her lip slightly as she contemplated on what to say next, “This matters very much to me, Gregory. I cannot expect you to simply understand that. It is asking a great deal, of you, of the house, and you could very easily have said no. I would have understood if you had. I would not have blamed you in the least.”

He set down his glass. “You should not have understood.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“If I had said no, you should not have understood. If anything, you should have been angry.” He held her eyes as he said the words, and it sent a shiver down her spine. There was just something very intense about him, and he knew how to wield it at the right time. “I would have to be blind not to see what this means to you. It is written all over you, and it has been since you walked into my study looking as though you had run there. To deny you something so easily done, something that costs me a little money I have no other use for and a little inconvenience I would not notice, would be cruelty. And you should not be understanding of cruelty, Phillipa.”

For a moment, she did not say anything at all.

“Unless you believe me to be capable of such cruelty…”

“Oh, no,” she flushed. “Really. I never implied anything of the sort.”

“Then why must you act as though you’re asking me some great service?” he said.

It took her a moment to reply, and she composed herself before doing so.

“Well, I suppose I hadn’t thought about how it must appear for you. I.. well…”

I am pleasantly surprised, she wished to say. “Thank you,” she said at last, very quietly.

He smiled. “Enough of that.” He reached for the decanter and topped up her glass, which she had not touched, and his own, which he had. “Would the ball have a theme? I do love a good theme.”

The change in her was immediate. Her shoulders came down.

“Oh, yes. I’ve thought about it,” she let out a laugh. “Silver and white, representing winter. I want them to remember, all evening, what winter is for a child who has no coat.”

“You mean to make three hundred people feel guilty in a ballroom?”

“I mean to make them feel generous and I suppose guilt is only the way in.” She grinned suddenly, “It would help the cause, you know, and they might be inclined to donate more.”

Gregory laughed aloud. “Ruthless. I had no idea I had married a general.”

“You had no idea you had married anyone at all,” she teased.

“I suppose I made the right choice?” he offered, and heat crept up on her cheeks.

“You shall have ample time to find out,” she smiled back. “A lifetime of it, really.”

She surprised herself with her own words. Dear Lord, if she didn’t know any better, she might think that she’s flirting with him.

Flirting. With Gregory. Oh, what a thought. Her blush deepened.

They talked about it for the better part of an hour after that. It pleased her that he seemed quite interested in whatever she had to say about the ball.

“Are you usually this… engaged about everything you set out to do?” he asked after a while. He was watching her intently as he said the words.

“Engaged?”

“You know…” he trailed off, still looking at her in the same way. “Passionate, I guess.”

“Oh,” a blush formed on her cheeks once again and she broke away from his gaze. Suddenly, she was quite interested in whatever was on her plate instead. “Well, I don’t know. I’ve never thought so much on how to describe myself.”

“But you must have an idea,” he shrugged. “We know ourselves better than anyone else in the world.”

“Well, if it this the case then I shall not like to say it myself,” she said when she finally settled on an answer.

“It’s a good thing to be passionate,” he offered and suddenly his voice sounded as though it was coming from a distant place. “Most people lose that spark as they come into.. adulthood. They walk around with dead eyes, and there’s not much that can make them excited.”