“This isn’t a part I’m playing, Mrs. Blake,” he said, his voice a bit more serious. “I wanted to get to know you and your family. I’m doing so, am I not?”
“You are,” she admitted with obvious reluctance.
“Do I make you uncomfortable—or cause you problems with your family?” he added, more to the point.
“I am not uncomfortable—simply unused to being brought to people’s attention. There are some benefits to being invisible.”
“Invisible,” he mused, keeping his voice light although he felt a stir of anger on her behalf. “I often wished to be so when I served in the army. It makes one not a target.”
“Exactly. And now you’re home, taking up the responsibilities of the earldom, and I imagine you’re far more visible than you’re used to.”
“Perceptive, Mrs. Blake. Then we have something in common.” They strolled in silence for a moment as they entered one of the garden’s gravel paths. The last daisies were dying, and other shrubbery had already been cut back. “Mrs. Blake, I mean no offense, but your husband never once mentioned you were blind. And I can see now he must have thought you quite the normal woman, regardless of your?—”
“He was ashamed,” she interrupted, her voice matter-of-fact.
Not surprised, Robert said nothing, only gave her gloved hand a squeeze where it rested on his arm.
“You don’t need to show me sympathy, sir. I knew he did not love me. He only wanted my dowry.”
And he suspected she was eager enough to be away that she wasn’t too choosy.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
She tilted her head as if she were looking up at him. “I hope I am not disillusioning you about your friend.”
“I left England at a young age, and he was several years my junior. We only became more acquainted in the Eighth Dragoons.”
“And that was only possible because of my dowry. It is how he purchased his commission. I didn’t know his plans until he left England the day after our wedding.”
Robert frowned. “That is a tragedy. I regret you had to suffer it.”
“I would not normally confide such private sorrow in a stranger, my lord, but you need to understand my dilemma.”
“I am understanding more and more each hour.”
“Good. Then I will ask you not to repeat my past marital difficulties.”
“Of course not.”
“Even with my family. My father warned me about Mr. Blake’s intentions from the beginning, and I didn’t want to listen. Reminding him of it only makes him repeat his warnings all over again.”
“About men in general?”
“About my suitability to marry. And though my father doesn’t believe me, I have taken my hard-earned lessons to heart. I don’t plan to marry again, ever.”
She spoke so firmly, flatly, that he knew she believed it. And Robert couldn’t blame her. It must be difficult to make oneself vulnerable, and then be so cruelly rejected.
“We all must react to our own lessons, Mrs. Blake,” he finally said.
“Even an earl? I imagine you’re permitted—anything.”
She sounded a bit intrigued, but he wasn’t going to satisfy her curiosity.
“Even an earl.”
They walked on in silence, taking the winding trails ever closer to the house, passing a fountain that sprayed a cold mist in the air.
“My lord, do you still have dead birds on your person?”
