“Lord Collins, may I have a word?” Robert called, rising to his feet. He noticed Mrs. Blake stiffen.
Her father came to a stop near the door. “Say it quickly.”
“Will Mrs. Blake be able to take her gelding?”
Mrs. Blake tilted her head toward him but said nothing.
“No, it’s my horse,” the baron said darkly.
“Erebus has been trained to carry me, Father,” Mrs. Blake pointed out. “To train another horse could take years.”
“I’ll purchase it from you,” Robert said flatly, “as my engagement gift to Mrs. Blake.”
“Father,” Mr. Collins began.
“Fine! Take it!” Lord Collins said harshly and stormed out into the hall.
Mr. Collins gave Robert an apologetic glance. “I’ll speak to him.” To Mrs. Blake, he said, “Shall I leave you alone with Lord Knightsbridge?”
“Yes, thank you.”
Mr. Collins eyed Robert speculatively, then closed the door. Robert sat back down on the sofa beside Mrs. Blake.
“Thank you for thinking of my horse, my lord,” she said quietly. “In all the confusion of packing up my room, I never thought of the animal.”
“You deserve to have it, for all the reasons you stated. I want you to be comfortable in your new home.”
“My new home,” she echoed wistfully.
They both heard footsteps in the entrance hall again. Robert had a flash of Mr. Collins’s speculation, and suddenly he realized he had to make this look good. He pulled off his gloves, and then cupped Mrs. Blake’s face in his hands, leaning close.
She gasped and whispered, “What are you doing?”
He felt the warmth of her breath on his mouth and was startled by how distracting such a simple thing was. “Your brother looked suspicious,” he said. “I believe he means to test us.”
“But—”
“Stop talking, or I’ll have to kiss you to keep you quiet.”
Her eyes went round, her moist lips parted, and suddenly, hewantedto kiss her. She smelled of rose water, and he inhaled as if he could fill his entire being with it. But he held back, knowing he had no plans to marry her, however soft and warm her cheeks felt in his hands, however prettily she blushed.
“You have the most beautiful eyes,” he murmured, even as he vaguely heard the door open.
Mrs. Blake jumped back.
He dropped his hands and glanced to see Mr. Collins enter hesitantly.
“Forgot my book,” the other man said, reddening. “Forgive me.”
“Nothing to forgive,” Robert said cheerfully, and waited until the other man took a book from a shelf and left the room. He let out his breath.
“A book?” Mrs. Blake said dubiously. “Edwin hasn’t read a book since university.”
“It was a deception to see what we were doing.”
“I don’t understand …”
Robert smiled at her, but she gave no answering response. He’d never considered how much human interaction had to do with reading the signals from another person’s expression and body. “Your brother—or perhaps your father put him up to it—wonders if something else is going on. Mr. Collins wanted to see if we had any passion when we were alone.”
