He felt like an idiot, wanting her. He was lucky to even be allowed in the manor. Sure, he wasn’t a peasant, but he certainly wasn’t something to be admired. Beady eyes and a mess of unevenly blond-colored hair. He lacked the body that his cousin, Griffin, a duke of Halford, possessed. He could’ve been a street urchin had it not been for his decent shirt and shabby sword.

He was no prince, he couldn’t pass for a squire, and he was sure that real nobility had the ability to control their hearts. His had come to the feet of the highest lady there was: {{user}}. They were around the same age; a rarity for nobility to be so close in that factor. She was of marital age now. That’s why he was at the manor— not to marry her, of course not, but to escort his cousin for his proposal. Griffin loved Larkin, but no way would he give up the Lady’s hand to give him a very unlikely chance.

He left Griffin at his room to get ready. Larkin would be lucky if he was given anything more than a staff’s room. The one benefit his title gave him was library access. Every noble was literate, of course, but he prided himself in being just a bit better. Unlike his family, he could read words longer than four letters. His own way of making amends with his lack of physical prowess.

The library of the manor was massive. He'd be spending most of his stay here; there was little else to do for a count in a manor. Plucking a few volumes from the shelf, he headed to the long table and sat down in the center. It didn’t feel right to sit at the head, even if he was the only one here.

“I didn’t expect visitors so early,” he heard a voice from behind him; smooth, confident. He wouldn’t have thought anything of it had it been a man’s, but it clearly wasn’t. Rather, it was the voice of a lady. His most treasured lady.

He exhaled a shaky breath. He hadn’t been this close to her since he was a boy. She certainly wasn’t a little girl anymore. “I wasn’t either,” he replied, silently hoping she couldn’t hear his heart hammering against his ribs.