Page 37 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

Their gazes met, and she could see the smile dancing in Robert’s, crinkles forming around his eyes and lips. Jo felt a smile form on her own lips, before Robert burst out laughing. Just one sharp grin and she could not contain her mirth either.

“Ancient Greece, of course,” he muttered before taking another bite of his sandwich.

Jo took this as a sign that this part of their conversation was over and she rose to retrieve a cup of coffee even though she did not particularly like it. She needed to add one third milk and one third sugar to be able to drink it. She liked how it made her feel more awake though. Robert had finished both his coffee and his sandwich by the time she returned to the table.

“Why didn’t you come last night?”

She had been so angry with him yesterday, but it was more difficult to direct that anger at him now as he was sitting beside her at the head of the table.

“Jo,” Robert exhaled her name.

“Don’t use my name as a plea,” she teased him gently in reference to Maggie.

He seemed to catch it, at least he smiled slightly, before he ran a hand through his auburn hair.

“It was very poorly done of me. Very poorly indeed.”

Jo could only nod. She remained quiet and hoped he would continue speaking on his own.

“I… I had too much to drink. I don’t usually imbibe much, but yesterday I just…” Robert sighed heavily as he leaned back in his chair and looked at the far wall of the room as if searching for an answer.

He was dressed in the clothes he had worn yesterday when he left the house. Not his evening attire that he had had his valet sent to Thornston’s townhouse. He had dark circles under his eyes and was unshaven. The last part was slightly enticing. Jo had never felt a man’s stubbles but wondered breathlessly what it would feel like against her palms. Prickly by the look of it. The idea made her palms heat, a warmth that spread to both the juncture of her thighs as well as her breasts before she looked away.

“I am sorry,” Robert told her and drew her attention back to him. Jo had been so caught up in studying him that she had forgotten he still owed her an explanation. “The past few days have been more stressful than I thought they would.”

Robert rubbed his forehead. Jo held her breath as she waited for him to speak.

“And I over-imbibed to relieve some of the… stress. I am sorry, Jo. I should have been there. It was my idea to attend the soirée. Can you forgive me?”

Jo frowned as she studied his sincere expression. She was certain he was telling the truth, just not all of it.

“Yes,” she said slowly as she was still trying to figure out why he was not telling her everything.

“Can you cancel your plans tomorrow? I should like for the two of us to spend time together. Not riding,” he told her with a smile.

Jo returned it and for the first time in days, she felt the connection that had been there when they first met. The certainty that a friendship might grow between them. Perhaps even a partnership in time.

“Where are we going?” Jo asked as she sat across from Robert in the carriage the next day.

“You will see,” Robert told her. The side of his mouth quivered as he was evidently trying to contain a smile.

They had been driving for longer than Jo had since arriving in London a week ago – heavens, had it been no more than a week? The houses outside the carriage window were changing from the lavish mansions of Mayfair to smaller ones and then farther between as well. They had already travelled past Hyde Park, which had been her initial guess as to where they were going.

“Are we leaving the city?” Jo finally had to ask as the scene outside became rural.

“Yes.”

“But… who lives here?” she asked.

“No one. Well, plenty of people,” he amended, “But we are not visiting anyone today.”

“What are we going to do then?”

He gave her a mischievous smile which Jo could not help but return. Matters between them had been easier since their conversation yesterday morning, even if they had not spent much time together. She had gone on a walk with Beatrice in the early afternoon, met with Helena, Maggie and Philomena for tea and biscuits at the Barforth townhouse, then they had gone to the ball together. Arriving together, leaving together. Robert had not strayed from her side. It had been a performance more than anything, and besides the brief chat in the carriage on the way there and home, it had offered them little time to talk.

They had both been exhausted when they had returned and simply bid each other goodnight before venturing into their separate bedrooms.

“Is this… Hampstead Heath?” Jo asked tentatively as her attention was snagged by the grassy slopes interspersed with a few trees and shrubbery.