Page 21 of The Secret Love of a Gentleman
It was going to be hard to become her friend if he never saw her. He had not seen her since their brief conversation in the garden.
‘You are a little late, Robbie. Did George tire you out?’ Drew walked forward. ‘Dinner is ready to be served, shall we go through?’ He raised a hand, encouraging Rob to lead them to the dining room.
‘Did Drew tell you, Mary, your son is a natural with a bat? He quite surprised me. By the end of the afternoon, he hit nearly every ball.’
‘When I am sure they were carefully thrown to hit his bat.’ Mary smiled, glancing at the bowler, Drew.
He shrugged. ‘Perhaps.’
The two of them walked beside Rob as they crossed the hall.
‘Hello, Caro. I did not think you were coming down,’ Drew said.
‘I changed my mind.’
Rob looked up. She was walking down the stairs in a shimmering amber silk evening dress. Its style was simple, but the fabric was stunning. The colour highlighted the many hues of her dark-blonde hair, in the same way it did with her hazel eyes. Nothing about her was one shade. A small amber cross pendant, on a silver chain, rested in her cleavage.
He swallowed against the dryness in his mouth. He was thirsty tonight. ‘Caroline.’ He walked to the bottom stair, his arm rising, offering it to her.
She smiled but reached for Drew’s arm.
There was not enough room for four to walk alongside each other, so Rob held back and Mary walked with him.
How many times had Mary given up her husband for Caroline’s sake? It seemed an odd situation. Surely Caroline did not enjoy being a constant third in their couple.
In the dining room, Drew pulled out a chair for Caroline.
The footman pulled Mary’s chair out, Rob walked about the table and sat opposite Caroline. Mary sat at the opposite end of the table to Drew, and in their small manor house the dining table’s arrangement meant they were all only a yard or so away from one another.
The footman reached past Rob to fill his glass with wine. Across the table, the maid served Caroline with muscles, which had already been teased from their shells, in a cream sauce. Caroline’s hands trembled as she picked up a spoon and fork.
Rob lifted his glass and took a sip as Mary, then Drew, were served. He leaned to the side as the maid served him, the glass still in his hand.
It was hard to avoid looking at Caroline, especially when he was so pleased she had come downstairs. Yet he did not want todo anything that might dissuade her from coming down again, and she had asked him not to stare.
When the maid finished dishing up the mussels, Rob looked up and caught Caroline watching him. She looked down at her meal, her cheeks colouring.
He had an urge to laugh.
Friends.
Just now he thought it impossible, but no, he was determined and she was not against the idea.
His gaze watched her spoon and fork work, as she did not want him to look at her face.
He had thought her frail, but she must be stronger than she looked if she bore beatings.Had she suffered broken bones?He would not ask that.
He looked at Drew. How much did Drew know about Caroline’s past?
‘We will leave after breakfast tomorrow,’ Drew said, then went on to talk through the people they would visit.
‘I shall ask Cook to make some jam tarts,’ Mary said. ‘You can take them with you to give to the children.’
Did Caroline confide in Mary?
When everyone had finished their muscles and the footman removed his bowl, Rob’s gaze accidentally caught on Caroline’s. He swallowed against the dryness in his throat once more, took a sip of wine to clear it then smiled. Her lips lifted at the edges, in a shallow smile too and her head bowed, just a touch, saying something he did not follow.
Drew talked about how excited George was to be joining them, making Rob suspect Drew was keener on showing off his son than showing his brother-in-law his estate.
