Page 64 of The Dove
“He did?” she managed.
“Yes,” Robert confirmed, reaching into his coat pocket and coming out with a small object. “He gave me this.”
She glanced down to find the sapphire engagement ring in the center of his palm, glistening accusingly at her in the light of the sun coming through the window. Closing her eyes, she released a pained sigh.
“Robert …”
“It’s all right,” he said, clenching his fingers around the ring and placing the other upon her knee. “Truly, I … the conversation we had was quite … well, it was enlightening, to say the least.”
“What did he say to you?” she asked, leaning forward, prepared to cling to every word, even if it came from someone else’s lips. She was truly a pitiful creature.
“That he no longer had any intention of interfering if I decided to continue pursuing you,” Robert answered. “He gave back the ring and told me that I should allow you some time… but that, if you would have me, I should try again to win your hand. He told me I’d be a fool if I didn’t at least try.”
That did not make her feel any better. In fact, it only made her feel worse. She shot to her feet, her palms going hot and her spine bristling as she paced away from the sofa.
“Howdarehe?” she spat. “As if I am his to give away like some … some trinket!”
Robert’s lips twitched as he stood, as well, inclining his head at her. “Actually, I found it all quite … romantic.”
She paused and swiveled to face him, her jaw dropping in disbelief. “Romantic?”
He shrugged. “Well, yes. Clearly, he loves you, Daphne. Why else would he try so ardently to mend what he destroyed?”
She opened her mouth to offer a rebuttal, but the words died on her lips as she considered Robert’s words. He had walked away and left her in tears; he had not told her he loved her back when she’d confessed her feelings, though he’d at least had the grace to say goodbye this time. Conversely, he had returned her family home, had stayed away during Bertram’s trial, and had not interfered in any way. And now this. He must know that marriage would be the best thing for her, even if she wed Robert. People would soon stop treating her like a spectacle if she married the Honourable Robert Stanley and settled down in the country. She would have the sort of life he would suppose she deserved.
Perhaps a kind gesture, but did it prove his love?
Coming forward to take her hands once again, Robert looked her in the eye. “Listen to me, Daff. I still love you … and I think a part of me always will. And if you say yes, I will marry you today, tomorrow … whenever you wish. I will do everything within my power to make you happy and give you whatever your heart desires. Even if it means sending my mother off to the Outer Hebrides.”
She laughed. “Robert!”
He shrugged. “The weather there will be good for her gout. I mean it, Daphne. I’ll be the best husband I can to you, I promise. But …”
She frowned. “But what?”
His smile caught her off guard, as did his sincerity when he spoke again.
“We both know it would never be enough. Not when Hartmoor holds your heart.”
Tears filled her eyes again, and she muttered an oath under her breath. She was sick to death of crying, of feeling this way.
“It hardly matters,” she protested weakly. “Not when he could so easily leave me behind.”
Robert shook his head. “I looked him in the eye and asked him why he was doing this … why he was giving you up. He said—with so much conviction—that he was doing it for you. His words, his demeanor, everything about him struck me as being in line with the actions of a man in love. A man so deeply in love that he is willing to give you whatever you need … even if that something is not him.”
A tear fell, and then another, and then she was sobbing and smiling at the same time like an idiot because she realized that he was right. Robert was right, and the truth had been in front of her the entire time.
Adam loved her.
It was why he’d left, why he’d set her free. He’d all but said the words that day, proclaiming his desire to keep her to be selfish. He’d done the one and only thing he could have done to prove his love by letting her go and walking away.
“Oh my God,” she whispered, covering her mouth with one hand. “I’ve been such a fool.”
Robert chuckled. “Perhaps not a fool. Just … confused. We men are not always adept at spelling out our feelings.”
She swiped at her tears and laughed, shaking her head. “You’ve never had any trouble with it.”
His expression shifted, his smile becoming sad as he reached out to touch her, his hand cupping her cheek. “It has only ever been easy when it comes to you … even now, when I can feel you slipping through my fingers yet again.”
