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“Is there something I can do to help that process along?”

Even though he had asked in a perfectly polite manner, she still felt chivvied along, which did nothing to ease her annoyance.

“No,” she said sharply.

She sighed as she watched him rear back as though she had slapped him.

This was going to be a lot harder than I had imagined.

Changing out of his riding clothes, Robert huffed in frustration and felt increasingly certain that he needed some outside mediation to solve their dilemma.

Stanley entered the room, and Robert surrendered the rest of his ablutions to the valet, deciding that the time would be better spent calculating his next move.

Not being an unobservant fellow, he had studied her as she walked beside him. Her shoulders were hunched beneath her cape, and she sighed repeatedly as she tried to stammer out her jumbled thoughts. Robert felt a wave of sympathy for her obvious plight.

It became clear to him that she carried a burden that she could not yet share with him.

Since when was I interested in sharing her burdens?

Robert let out a sigh of his own.

“Is something the matter, Your Grace?” Stanley asked immediately.

“No…no. Everything is fine,” Robert replied ruefully.

“If I may, sir… you have been up since dawn…which is unlike you…and the duchess looks to be similarly afflicted. To my eyes, something remains unsettled between the two of you.”

Robert gave him a firm look. “Stanley, I may let you hold a blade to my throat each morning, but that does not entitle you to speak on my marriage.”

Stanley’s lips twitched with a knowing smile. “No offense meant, Your Grace, but it is difficult not to notice. One might even think you are avoiding the issue by keeping separate residences.”

Robert’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed. “Watch your step.”

“As you wish, Your Grace,” Stanley replied smoothly. “But if you are aiming to resolve matters, proximity might be the solution. Running off to Emberford will not bring you any closer.”

Robert allowed himself a chuckle, a glint of amusement lighting up his eyes. “So, that is your advice? Stay close to my wife?”

Stanley shrugged, still smiling. “Simple, but sound, if I may say so.”

“Sound, indeed,” Robert replied thoughtfully, the weight of his valet’s words settling over him. He straightened, his expression steely. “Then I shall stay. See where that leads.”

Stanley gave a satisfied nod and stepped back. “Breakfast awaits, Your Grace. Her Grace and Lady Daisy will be joining you.”

Robert smirked; one brow raised. “And I am expected to be… charming?”

“Mmmph,” Stanley muttered, turning away with an amused look as he tidied up.

With one last glance at his reflection in the looking glass, Robert straightened his coat, cleared his throat, and walked out of the room.

He was surprised to find that he was a bit nervous. At the wedding breakfast, he had hardly paid attention to anyone, and on the ride back from Gretna Green he had been focused on driving. This would be the first real conversation he would have with Georgiana’s sister.

Judging by how worried his wife had been, Robert knew her sister meant the world to her.

The question remained, did he want to make a good impression or not?

CHAPTER 12

“Good morning, Your Grace,” the butler said as Georgiana came into the dining room.