Page 38 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

“Indeed.”

“And what are we going to do here?” Jo frowned. Mostly because of his happiness in being here.

“Walk,” Robert told her. “You prefer to walk, no? The beach is too far away so this was the best that I could do within the span of a day.”

Jo was so surprised that she did not know what to say. He had organized the day based on what she preferred. He had to have put little pieces of information together, since she had never outright stated that she liked to walk on the beach. It warmed her greatly that he was gathering details of her in the same way she was of him. Jo gulped as she recognized the significance of this.

“Thank you,” she told him emphatically and reached across the carriage to squeeze his hand once. They were both wearing gloves, and it was much briefer than the day before, but she was still able to feel how he squeezed back for a second.

“You are welcome,” Robert told her quietly with a slight smile.

“Would you prefer to eat or to walk first?” Robert asked as he helped her out of the carriage.

Jo was busy studying the landscape around them. The gentle hills were covered in knee-high grass that almost glowed in the sunshine. It was a perfect summer day with a bright blue sky and scattered stark white clouds.

There was a slight breeze, and Jo inhaled the fresh air deeply. It was heavenly being away from the stench of London after having been trapped there for a week. Beatrice had told her that she had come at a particularly bad time, since the summer made the city stink. Jo was not certain that she would ever be a city dweller no matter the season.

“Walk, definitely,” she told him.

Robert offered her his arm, and she hesitantly laced her own through his. Robert instructed the footmen to set up luncheon while they walked, and they headed off down a path that was only just wide enough for the two of them to walk beside each other.

“You prefer to walk alone, don’t you?” Robert asked.

Jo nodded.

“It is what I am used to yes. But it is also a great way to collect my thoughts, I find.”

“I prefer riding, I have to admit,” Robert told her, then added: “I don’t feel comfortable with you walking alone here, but I can walk behind you or in front of you, whichever you prefer. Or we can walk beside each other in silence.”

Jo sent him a surprised look. It was extremely considerate of him. She was met with the steady confidence she had seen the first evening. The one that told her that he took her seriously.

“If you would walk ahead of me for a bit,” Jo said hesitantly. It seemed strange, but he had offered it himself. “We will talk over luncheon, then?”

“Of course,” Robert assured her and walked in front of her without a moment’s hesitation.

They continued like that for a couple of hours. Robert would turn every so often to make certain that Jo was still there. Each time their eyes met, they would send each other a reassuring smile, before Robert turned around and continued walking. Each time Jo felt a little more certain that she was in fact befriending her husband.

18

“Favorite season,” Robert asked as he picked up a grape, threw it into the air and caught it with his mouth, hoping – and succeeding – in making Jo laugh.

And not caring why at the moment.

“Be careful you don’t choke on it,” she said with a smile as she shook her head. “Late spring,” she then answered. “But since I now have to spend that in the city, perhaps early autumn.”

“I like the early autumn as well.” Robert smiled. “Although spring in the city is lovelier than this oppressive heat.”

“And the smell,” Jo added in a whisper, which made him grin.

He plucked another grape from the cluster and ate it.

The footmen had laid out a large blanket on a hill overlooking a meadow below with London just visible in the distance. He and Jo had munched on the food Mrs. Miller had prepared for them and gone through the long list of questions he had prepared the night before. He had deliberately made them light. Silly questions like favorite colors and animals and slightly more sincere ones like favorite books and painters. They were now taking turns making up their own questions.

The sun was shining brightly above them, and he wished they were in the park at Riddlesmarsh Hall and he could remove his jacket. That Jo would take off her bonnet and walking boots and wriggle her silk-clad toes.

“Do you mind if I ask you something more serious?” Jo said after a moment’s thought and luckily pried his attention away before he was able to undress her further in his mind.

“I don’t mind you asking, but I am not sure how I feel about answering,” Robert teased her. They had been lightly bantering and jesting with each other, bordering on flirting, at least for him, and Jo did not seem to mind. Robert had decided to turn off any fear that she might think more of it than it was.