"The Finch homestead has mentioned that there will be a need to expand the barn as the pigs have…"
The words trailed off as he stopped listening to the report Roberts was regaling him with and tried to listen for Alice and her parents. He wondered if perhaps now her parents would treat her better than how she had fulfilled their wishes by marrying.
"Your Grace?" he heard Roberts call.
"Yes?" he asked.
"You do not seem satisfied with my reports," the man commented.
"Why do you presume so, Roberts?" he asked.
"Because you have barely listened in the past hour."
Victor raised a brow at the man's boldness and knew he could only be speaking so simply to show his disapproval.
"I have been listening," he answered.
"Very well," the man answered. "May I continue?"
He nodded and picked up his quill, noting things when he needed to and crossing off numbers he had already written until they finally reached the end of the report.
"In the absence of any activities relating to the running of the duchy, Your Grace, might I suggest you join the duchess?"
Victor could barely hide his surprise that it had taken Roberts longer than usual to voice his thoughts in the snide manner he usually did.
"Do you presume to tell me what to do, Roberts?" he asked, frowning at him.
"I would never, Your Grace," the man answered, his voice dripping with sarcasm despite his annoyingly placid expression.
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I barely know them, yet I cannot stomach the thought of being around them," he admitted finally.
"Think of Her Grace who you’ve left alone with them," Roberts replied.
Shite.He hadn’t thought of that.
Alice had told him the kind of man her father was, and considering how many letters he had received from members of thetoninquiring as to her well-being, he hadn’t even received one from either of her parents in the two years she had shunned society.
The look in her eye as she regaled him with her childhood haunted him now as he knew deep down that she would still be a little girl vying for the affections of people hell-bent on misunderstanding her.
He could relate strongly to her situation as he had been in a similar state, and now, not just the physical but mental scars haunted him.
"I had better make myself presentable," he remarked, casting a glance at the creased shirt and breeches he donned.
Unable to contain his satisfaction, Roberts smiled and all but skipped behind him as he went to change into more appropriate attire. He hoped they hadn’t already berated Alice for his lateness, or it would doubtless be added to his already long list of offenses.
He had still yet to come up with a way to broach the topic of the kiss between them, and it worried him endlessly how her disappointment in him had bothered him so.
"When do you think the duke will be joining us?" he heard the viscountess ask as he drew near to the drawing room where they had adjourned their discourse.
"He should be here…" Alice started to answer, but on seeing him, her eyes went wide, gratitude shining in their depths before she buried it under a mask of indifference.
The viscount and viscountess rose when they noticed him, grinning so brightly he was all at once uncomfortable.
"Your Grace," they greeted. "Thank you for having us in your home."
"I can assure you the pleasure is all mine," he said smoothly. "It has been long overdue. I must ask that you forgive my absence in welcoming you earlier. I was caught up in matters of utmost importance. I trust your daughter has been an excellent host?"
