Lily (Flower Trilogy) by Lauren Royal

mother’s creations is less than pleasing.”
    Very tactful wording for Rose, Lily thought admiringly. She really seemed to be watching herself in this quest to win Rand for a husband.
    He waved a hand, releasing another burst of cloying fragrance. “Oh, I’ve quite enjoyed the perfumes,” he assured them.
    Lily bit her lip to stifle the smile that threatened. “I expect you have.” ’Twas not a bad bottle, if she didn’t miss her guess, but rather an unfortunate mixture of several.
    “How many scents have you sampled?”
    “All of them,” he said blithely, rubbing his jaw, then sniffing his fingers. He stepped back, apparently realizing belatedly that he reeked. “I suppose that was not such a good idea?”
    “One doesn’t mix fragrances. That is the perfumer’s job,” Rose informed him, sounding both intelligent and instructor-like. Good, Lily thought. A professor should admire that tone.
    But he only shrugged. “I did it rather absently, I expect. My mind was elsewhere.” His eyes met Lily’s, implying exactly where his mind had been.
    “I . . . I must see to my animals before bed,” she stammered again, then blushed—and wondered if that was because of his hot gaze or her own mention of the word bed . She hoped he hadn’t noticed. And that Rose hadn’t, either. “Shall . . . shall I order you up a bath first?”
    Rand had noticed, if she could judge from the way his lips curved. Knowingly. “I expect that would be an excellent idea.”
    She looked to Rose.
    “Go ahead, Lily; your menagerie needs attending.”
    Rose waved a graceful arm. “I’ll wait here until the bath arrives, so I can see to Lord Randal’s comfort.”
    He looked amused at that, as though Rose was so transparent he could see right through her. “I can see to my own comfort,” he said dryly, then caught Lily’s gaze and grinned before shutting the door between them.

Chapter Six
    She’d overslept. She never overslept. Moving to the last animal’s bowl to fill it with fresh water, Lily yawned, still blinking away the cobwebs of a restless night—a night filled with dreams of silvery gray eyes and warm, bronzed skin.
    She looked around the barn, happy that her chores were finished. The enclosures were clean; all the creatures had been fed, splints checked, matted fur brushed out ’til it shone. In comparison, she imagined she looked like something the cat dragged in, but now that she was done, she would sneak back into the house through a servants’ entrance to make herself presentable.
    She set down the water pitcher and brushed straw off the plain green gown she’d thrown on upon awakening—
    then froze when she heard voices outside the barn.
    “The knot garden is over there,” Rose was saying, her tone honeyed and cajoling.
    “Ah, but your sister keeps her animals in here, does she not?” Rand countered. “I’d as soon take a peek at them.”
    And peek in on Lily, too, Lily fancied him adding silently—then bit her lip.
    Well, she couldn’t control her thoughts, could she? She couldn’t help the ideas that jumped into her head, no matter that she didn’t really want Rand to be thinking any such thing.
    Rose wanted him, and Lily had promised to keep her distance. Moreover, she wanted Rose to be happy. Life was so much more pleasant when the people around one were content.
    Light flooded the dim, cavernous building when the double doors opened. As Rand and Rose stepped inside, Lily shoved her unkempt hair farther under the hat she’d jammed on her head to cover it. She managed to resist pinching color into her cheeks.
    “Good morning,” she said brightly.
    Rand grinned. “Yes, it is.”
    Avoiding Rose’s scowl, Lily knelt beside one of the pens to pet a fox cub.
    “I’ve never seen one hold still before.” Rand’s footsteps crunched on the straw as he walked nearer and crouched close by. “They always run from people. They even run if they catch you watching them from a window.”
    “This one