Page 63 of A Remarkable Rogue

That unsure greeting caused her breathing to come so fast and shallow that Nate worried she might faint.

Then his big, blue eyes flicked to Nate. His blossoming grin clearly declared that he found Nate’s soldier’s bearing far more interesting than some strange lady. “Who areyou?”

“Robbie.” Miss Jenner shushed him with a gentle hand on his shoulder. “Gentlemen are never rude to their guests. Introductions before questions, please.”

He heaved a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes in boyhood exaggeration. “Very well.”

He approached Nate first, and his gaze swept curiously over him. Sydney’s own eyes were glued to the boy and every move the towheaded youngster made.

“Welcome to Oakwood Manor, sir.” He gave a well-practiced nod of his head to match his well-practiced speech. “I am Robert Michael Rowland, and I live here. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Nate suppressed the amused twitching of his lips at the boy’s precociousness and returned his nod. “And mine to meet you, sir.” He gave the lad a smart salute. “I am Captain Nate Reed of His Majesty’s Horse Guards.”

“Truly?” The boy’s eyes widened like saucers, and his voice filled with awe. “A Horse Guard?”

“Truly,” Nate confirmed confidentially. Then, before the boy’s excitement could burst loose and have him bouncing around the room again, Nate gestured toward Sydney and gave her a proper bow from the waist as an example for Robert to do the same. “And may I introduce you to Lady Rowland? My lady,” he said in a low but reassuring voice, “this is Robert Rowland.”

“RobertMichaelRowland,” the boy corrected and shot an irritated scowl at Nate. Apparently, his awe for soldiers only went so far. Then he stared up at Sydney and scrunched his nose as he studied her. “Are you really a lady?”

Sydney drew a deep breath, her eyes glistening, and nodded as she choked out, “Yes.”

“Oh,” the boy whispered. This time, his voice didn’t hold the same awe he’d shown toward Nate but raw curiosity. Then he held out his hand for her in greeting. She hesitated, then gingerly slipped her fingers into his, and he made great show of giving a sweeping bow over her hand. He was a miniature gentleman in the making. “My lady, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

Robert took a quick glance toward Miss Jenner to check if he’d made the introductions properly, and at a nod of approval by his governess, he beamed proudly and released Sydney’s hand. It happened only for a heartbeat, but Nate would have sworn he saw Sydney’s fingers tighten around the boy’s to keep his hand in hers for just a moment longer.

Then she pulled away and wrapped her empty hand in her skirt.

“Lady Rowland and Captain Reed are traveling from London,” Miss Jenner explained to Robert. “They will be our guests at Oakwood for the next week, and you will be their host.”

“Good,” he confirmed. “I should like to have guests.” The boy looked up at Sydney as if intuitively knowing that the baroness was the most important person in the room and outranked a captain. Then he gave her a puzzled frown as if also intuiting more between them than mere host and guest. “Have you been here before?”

“No,” she whispered.

“You seem familiar…but I don’t remember you.” He gave another curious tilt of his head and deepening of his puzzled frown. “Have we met before?”

“Once.” She blinked rapidly and knelt down to bring her face level with his. “A very long time ago when you were just a baby.”

He stuck out his chest with boyish pride. “I’m six years old.”

“I know.” She gave him an uncertain smile. “You’ll be all grown up soon.”

“Iamgrown up,” he protested with a touch of pique and jutted his chin into the air.

Nate stared at the boy, and his gut tightened. Despite the dark blond hair and blue eyes, with his chin angled upward like that… Dear Lord, he looked just like Sydney.

“I study lessons now upstairs in the nursery,reallessons with books and blackboards. I can count to one hundred, and I know all my letters and numbers. And”—Robert leaned toward her as if sharing a deep secret—“Miss Jenner is teaching me to speak French!”

“Is she?” Sydney’s voice hitched.

He nodded with excitement. “So we’ll be able to talk in secret, and Mrs. Larkin and Mr. Beasley won’t be able to understand us!”

“My, that’s a fine thing for a gentleman to know.” Sydney leaned closer as if sharing a secret of her own, and she reached up tentatively to brush at his blond hair as it lay against his temple. “I know French, too.”

Robert looked at her warily, suspicious that anyone else might be able to share in the secret he kept with Miss Jenner. “Well, we don’t actuallyspeakFrench yet.”

Then he stepped back out of her reach, and her hand fell empty to her side.

Something inside Nate’s chest shattered as the boy turned away from her and approached him instead. He watched Sydney’s reaction, and his heart burned with sympathy and concern for her.