Page 60 of Wedding the Widow

“Good evening, my lord.” Colin continued to stare at the stranger, suspicion in his drawn brows and puckered mouth.

“Good evening, children.” Lord Robert’s voice had changed.

Startled by the deeper tone, Elizabeth glanced at him to find his hands clasped behind his back, almost defensively. His tall frame seemed to lengthen until he towered over Colin.

Colin in turn stretched upward, trying his best to be as tall as possible. “You don’t scare me, Lord Robert.” He puffed his chest out, for all the world like an admiral on the bridge of his ship staring down a French captain trying to board her. “And I can take care of my mother all by myself.”

“Colin.” Elizabeth leaned down to peer into his belligerent face. “You must not be disrespectful to Lord Robert. He is here tonight as a particular friend of mine.”

“I don’t care. I don’t want him to take you away.” Colin flung his arms around her.

“Why do you think Lord Robert would take me away?” She pried him loose from her and stared into his blue eyes. Dickon’s eyes.

“Because Nurse said so.” He sniffed and wiped his nose on the sleeve of his nightshirt. “I overheard her talking to Meg, the housemaid. That you would be marrying Lord Robert if you knew what was good for you, and going away.” Tears threatened to spill from his glistening eyes.

She really must speak to her mother about Nurse.

“But my loves,” Elizabeth said, gathering them into her arms, “it would not be just me. You would come with me. Lord Robert would take us all to live with him in his home.”

“And leave Grandmama and Grandpapa?” Kate clutched her tighter.

Casting an apologetic look at Lord Robert, Elizabeth discovered empty air where his lordship had stood but a moment ago.

“Don’t marry the stiff man, Mama.” Colin squeezed her tighter. “I don’t like him. Why can’t we stay here always?”

If not for her folly, they could have remained with her parents until the children were older. Until she and Jemmy could marry properly. Now she would never know the joy of playing together with her children and Jemmy. He would have been a wonderful father to all her children. Lord Robert, she feared, would never be a favorite in the nursery. She would have to make it up to the children as best she could. “When a lady marries, she must go live with her husband. I, for one, believe we will all come to like Lord Robert very much as time goes by.”

Pray God she spoke the truth. “We shall give him a chance and see if things don’t turn out just fine.” Elizabeth smiled brightly and took the two children by the hand to deliver them to their beds. She wasn’t sure which of the three of them needed the most convincing.

Chapter 22

“So you have never married, Lord Robert?” Elizabeth sipped her fortifying wine, a delicious Bordeaux now. The white they’d had with the fish was her favorite, but at the moment she wasn’t about to be choosy. The Bordeaux went down smoothly and kept her pleasantly numbed to Lord Robert’s revelations. More and more information had come to light with each course, so she’d found herself imbibing much more frequently than usual during dinner.

“No, Mrs. Easton, I never did.” Lord Robert ate robustly, but politely paused to answer her.

Did he have regular meals when he was at home? The man ate like there was no tomorrow. Neither was he a large individual. Where on earth was he putting it all?

“Are you fond of children? You have nieces and nephews, perhaps?” Hopefully, the man had had some contact with children.

“Well, I do have many nieces and nephews. My parents had twelve children, and as they got married, of course, they produced ample progeny. However”—their guest paused to savor one of cook’s potatoes a la russe—“I was away at school when most of the girls married and moved to their husband’s houses. My eldest brother, then Lord Sedgewick, married when I was a mere child, so I grew up with his sons. More of a friend to them than an uncle. Two other brothers married but had no issue.”

Elizabeth shot a glance at her parents, who pretended not to see it.

“The book you are currently working on, Robert, how is that going?” Her father jumped into the conversation, changing the subject with all the grace of a goose landing on ice.

“I’ve worked on it for the better part of this year, Wentworth. It’s been slow going, I’m afraid. Too many distractions.” He shook his head sadly as he popped creamed carrots into his mouth.

Leaning toward him, Elizabeth furrowed her brows into a grim frown. At least, she hoped it was grim. “I wonder if you will be able to work properly with a new family underfoot, my lord.” If she could convince him they would be a noisy bunch, perhaps she could get him to reconsider the marriage. Although she couldn’t begin to imagine what else she would do if she didn’t marry Lord Robert, it was becoming rapidly apparent to her that she truly did not wish to marry him. Perhaps she could retire to one of her father’s country estates.

“I have given that very question considerable thought, Mrs. Easton.” Lifting his wineglass, Lord Robert nodded gravely at her. “I cannot work unless I have most of the day to myself in the library so I may write and conduct research at will.”

“You are very dedicated, my lord.” Glee bubbled up within Elizabeth. Her children, while tolerably well behaved, were still children. She opened her eyes wide and innocent, just as she’d watched Georgie do. “Do you not fear my children and myself might distract you from your studies?”

“That was the question, Mrs. Easton, the very question I had to ask myself when Wentworth here approached me about this business.” Lord Robert smiled at Papa.

“What conclusion did you arrive at, Lord Robert?” Elizabeth gritted her teeth but smiled anyway.

“Of course, since I am here, Mrs. Easton, I assumed you understood that I am willing to go through with the marriage.” Startled eyebrows raised first at her, then at her father, Lord Robert leaned over to her father. “Did you not inform her of this, Wentworth?”