“People have always wanted to consider me an invalid, and I have done my best to show otherwise. I won’t forget the debts Mr. Blake owes to Arthur. I will continue to help provide his care, and if you’d like, you are welcome to move back here with your family.”
Robert would have thought that Louisa would be overjoyed.
There was a hesitation in her manner as she said, “You—you would not mind, ma’am?”
“Not at all. I imagine you’ve been lonely.”
New tears slid down the girl’s cheeks as she nodded, but she didn’t smile at the prospect of being reunited with her family.
“Audrey, I’d like to speak with you,” Robert said at last.
Mrs. Sanford and her daughter flinched at the sound of his voice, and the little boy craned his neck around with curiosity. Only Audrey seemed unsurprised as she nodded and followed him back to the drawing room.
He shut the door after her entrance. “Audrey, I understand your compassion for this young girl having been taken advantage of?—”
“Taken advantage of by my own husband,” she interrupted.
“True, but that was not your fault, nor do you owe her anything beyond support from Blake’s estate. But offering a home? That is a terrible idea.”
“Why? Her only family is here, and she’s living alone somewhere, ostracized. I’ve been told that most villagers know she is not a widow, so her last attempt at respectability is gone. This is Martin’s fault, Robert.”
“But not yours. And you knew I’d disagree with how you’re handling this—why else keep me in the dark about the child?”
“Perhaps because you have no say in my decisions,” she said pointedly. “We are not engaged.”
“Regardless, this decision is bad foryou,Audrey. You’ll be living with a constant reminder of your husband’s infidelity.”
“You act as if I need reminders of what he did?” she asked in disbelief. “He took my money and he left me trapped with my father—I’m not likely to forget that.”
“And so you think you can never trust a man again,” he said sadly.
She seemed to hesitate, which gave him hope.
“You have to accept my decisions, Robert. I won’t marry you.”
“I can’t accept that,” he said.
And as he looked at Audrey, unbowed by the terrible pain inflicted upon her, he realized that her pain was his. He didn’t know what that meant, only that he wanted to make the worst of it go away, to see her truly happy. And he was starting to wonder if she was as against marriage to him as she claimed.
“Audrey!”
They both heard Blythe’s excited voice from the entrance hall, and then she came rushing in, a squirming bundle of furry black and white puppy in her arms.
Blythe smiled at him but went directly to her sister. “I have a gift for you. Hold out your arms.”
Frowning, Audrey did so, and then her eyes went wide as the puppy snuggled against her.
“Isn’t he adorable?” Blythe asked. “He’s finally old enough to leave his mother back in the barn. I think you should have him.”
The puppy started licking Audrey’s face, and soon she was laughing. “Oh, I don’t know if I’m capable of such a responsibility, Blythe.”
“Of course you are. Play with him for a while. There’s even a rope to use as a leash should you need to take him outside. Molly and I can share the responsibility with you. But right now I cannot. Mr. Yardley is waiting to take me for a carriage ride.”
“He is Miss Yardley’s brother,” Audrey said. “You met him at the Flitcroft dinner?”
“I did. He is a kind man, too old and somber for me, but I could not refuse a simple ride. I’ll be back soon!”
Smiling, Blythe tossed the rope to Robert, then caught up her shawl and hurried out the front door.
