"Can't an aunt simply want to spend time with her nephew?" she asked, her voice carrying just the right note of innocence. "Especially one who has returned after so long and shown such… remarkable growth."
Her fingers trailed lightly down his arm as the words hung in the air between them.
"Besides," she continued, her voice dropping just a touch lower, "with the King's visit delayed, the castle feels different. Tense. Everyone is watching everyone else and waiting for something to shift. I thought perhaps we could talk. Just the two of us. Away from prying eyes and political noise."
She looked up at him again. Her eyes met his directly and the invitation was there, clear and unmistakable to anyone with the eyes to read it.
She was offering him her attention, her company, and perhaps far more than that, all wrapped carefully in the guise of familial concern.
Julian smiled at that.
