Page 32 of The Secret Love of a Gentleman
Rob had been kicking his heels in the hall for nearly an hour, wondering if he ought to go up.
Then she appeared at the top of the stairs. He stopped himself from staring with his mouth open as she walked down. He had never seen her in a ball gown. She did not attend balls, so of course he had not.
He did not know if the dress was hers or borrowed from Mary but it suited her colouring to perfection. The teal colour of the silk set off her blonde hair, highlighting the variety of shades, like an artist’s stroke of a brush.
His gaze dropped to where the little amber cross nestled in the cleft between her breasts.
‘You look beautiful,’ he said. He would have offered his arm, but Drew offered his first.
Instead, Rob escorted Mary outside to the carriage.
Mary sat beside Rob in the carriage, and Caro next to Drew,facing Mary, who talked constantly, presumably to try and keep Caro calm.
The assembly room in Maidstone was above the coaching inn, and the area before it tonight was full of carriages.
Drew’s groom opened the carriage door. Drew climbed out first and offered his hand to help Mary down. Then helped Caro. Rob waited in the carriage behind her. Her shawl slipped from her shoulder as she took Drew’s hand. When Rob climbed from the carriage, as she lifted the shawl back into place, he noticed her hand trembling. She breathed deeply, in the way she did when she was trying to manage her nerves.
Throughout their journey, her bosom had lifted and lowered with her audibly measured breaths.
Her gaze darted about the carriages and people. Rob took her hand, set her palm on his bent arm, then pressed his hand over hers, holding her hand in place on his forearm. It gave him the opportunity to hold her hand without the action being noted as inappropriate.
‘We are beside you,’ Mary whispered.
Rob looked sideways as she rested her hand on Drew’s arm.
‘Caro,’ Drew said, encouraging them to walk ahead.
She shook her head. ‘No. You lead.’
‘Caro…?’ Drew’s voice expressed his concern.
‘Do not worry, we will follow you,’ Rob answered.
Drew had commented two days ago on how much Caro had changed, how relaxed she was in Rob’s company. Rob gave Drew the same explanation he gave Caro –‘It is probably because I have so many sisters.’
It said a great deal, though, that tonight she accepted his support – and she had only come because he had urged her. They were friends. He had almost achieved his vow; she laughed often these days and tonight he hoped they would dance. At the beginningof the summer, he wanted it to happen solely for her sake, now, he longed to dance with her because she was beautiful. The emotions clasping tight in his chest would revolt if she shared her first dance with anyone but him.
Drew walked ahead with Mary.
Caro’s fingers curved on his arm, grasping, as they stepped over the threshold of the inn.
‘Upstairs, my lord, my lady, sir, ma’am.’ The doorman directed them towards the stairs.
Caro’s breathing fractured into short sharp sounds.
Damn propriety. If others judged, they could go to hell.Rob let his arm fall and clasped her hand in his instead, willing her to be brave as they stepped on the first stair.
Drew glanced back, smiling at Caro. She was not looking, though, her gaze was fixed on the steps ahead of them.
At the top of the stairs a group of men laughed loudly.
Caro stopped on the second stair. ‘I cannot.’ She looked from Rob to Drew. ‘Take me home, please?’
Rob held her hand firmly. ‘You go in,’ he said to Drew. ‘I will take Caro back outside for a moment. If she still wishes to go home, I will take her and have the carriage sent back. You two enjoy yourselves.’
Drew looked at Caro, concern in his eyes.
‘I am happy to stay with Rob,’ she told him.
