Michael followed him, still with the slight limp from wounds he’d sustained several months before.
“You are doing well?” Robert asked as they entered his study, and he closed the door behind his friend.
“Much better, thank you. I no longer need the cane, at least.”
As Robert poured, offered a glass, then sat beside his friend, he felt Michael’s regard.
“When you planned to return home to help Audrey,” Michael mused, “none of us knew she was blind.”
Robert nodded, sipping, then feeling the heat of the brandy coat his stomach.
“And now you’re engaged. That seems … quick.”
“As quick as a proxy marriage?” Robert grinned.
Michael smiled back. “You have me there.” His smile faded. “Take it from a man who almost lost his wife because she was determined to annul our marriage?—”
“She had such a strong negative reaction once she met you?” Robert quipped.
“Just listen. I wasn’t honest with her at the beginning about our involvement in the death of her father—in the death of Audrey’s husband. Have you explained it all to her?”
Robert shook his head. “Not yet. I’ve been too busy trying to keep her from breaking the engagement.”
“That sounds familiar,” Michael said dryly. “But you should know that confessing our secret was not as bad as I thought, not when the woman is rational and understanding. Audrey seems that sort of woman.”
“I know. But we have other issues between us that are more important to me.”
“I won’t delve into your private affairs, but secrecy will just make everything worse.”
“I’ll take your advice under consideration. Now tell me, are you certain you want to take such a flower of England back to that hot hellhole where we’ve served?”
Michael laughed.
That evening,when neighbors arrived to join them for dinner, Audrey listened to the ease with which Robert moved between so many levels of Society, from the servants to his friendship with the absent duke. She heard the respect in the voices of the servants, and the relief of the neighbors as they got to know Robert. From everything she’d heard, his father was not a man people liked, even if they respected him. The neighbors seemed glad to know Robert was his own man in that regard.
Audrey knew how hard he’d been working to be a better man than his father, so that his neighbors could know to trust him, so that his servants could act on their own without fear.
She could not contain the depths of her admiration for him, and feeling scared and worried and excited, she knew she was coming closer and closer to accepting his marriage proposal.
To top everything off, he asked Blythe to perform for his guests after dinner, allowing her to shine, and making Audrey feel all choked with emotion at his very goodness.
To her surprise, Blythe asked her to join in, and the two sisters sang a duet while Audrey played. Audrey later wondered how she’d gotten through it without crying. With Robert’s help, she had her sister back again, and she was living the life she always wanted.
That’s when she knew she was happy, happier than she’d ever been in her life. And all because of Robert. She had fallen in love with him. How could she be afraid of that?
But … what if he didn’t have the same strong feelings?
After Blythe had retiredfor the night, Audrey wandered about the bedroom feeling restless, her thoughts churning. She counted paces between furnishings, wondering if that would at last tire her mind.
There was a faint knock on the door, and feeling relieved, she opened it. “Blythe, you couldn’t sleep either?”
“It’s me.”
Robert’s voice was quiet and deep, and she found herself clutching the door to keep from throwing herself into his arms.
“I—” she began, then had to moisten her lips. “I didn’t expect you.”
“I came to see if you enjoyed the day. Might I come in?”
