Page 38 of Surrender to the Earl (Brides of Redemption #2)
T hat evening as they sat in the drawing room doing their needlework, Audrey told Blythe about Robert’s invitation.
“Invited to Knightsbridge Hall?” Blythe said, excitement laced through her voice. “My friends have described it, and it sounds practically royal in size and decor.”
Audrey didn’t like the uneasiness that rattled her.
She had faced and overcome so many challenges in her life.
She concentrated on the fact that Robert wanted her to meet one of his closest friends.
She shouldn’t feel such a softening in her heart over this.
But she couldn’t help thinking that he was a man who was never embarrassed about her, not since the beginning.
And he’d continued to prove it over and over, escorting her to her new village, to a stranger’s house for dinner, and now to his own ancestral home.
And each day they were separated, she yearned to be with him and only felt truly happy when she could hear his voice, consult him about her estate—her very life.
Was she making a mistake by denying him?
Had she been so focused on her past, and on what one shallow man had done to her, that she couldn’t be open-minded, openhearted, about Robert?
Just the thought that she was willing to entertain these ideas showed her he meant more to her than she’d ever planned.
She wouldn’t have Blythe forever, nor even Molly, who seemed more and more in love with her footman as he helped her back to health.
But she could have Robert—and perhaps a family.
The thought seemed to paralyze her with fear, and something must have shown on her face.
“Audrey, is something wrong?” Blythe asked. “You look … I don’t know how you look. Oh, dear, I’ve been so selfish once again. You don’t want to visit Robert’s home, do you?”
Audrey licked her suddenly dry lips. “I admit I have my concerns, but I wouldn’t have mentioned it if I hadn’t already decided to accept the invitation.”
“You like being with him, don’t you?”
“He is a nice man.”
Blythe actually laughed, and Audrey tossed a skein of yarn at her.
“Nice man?” Blythe repeated, still giggling. “Oh, Audrey, you are falling in love with him. Why is that so terrible? He is nothing like your first husband.”
Falling in love with him? She wouldn’t even consider such a weakness, such an open avenue to heartache.
“I know he’s not Martin. But this is in my home, where he’s a guest. Perhaps … perhaps I want to see what he’s like in his own home, with his friends.”
“Ah, because you’re finally giving some real thought to becoming his wife.”
And that was true. And frightening. And—she didn’t know what. It was as if now that she’d come to terms with Martin and what he’d done to her, she was able to put it behind her, to see a future uncluttered by betrayal. Could she find love—real love—with Robert?
When Audrey and Blythe arrived at Knightsbridge Hall early the next afternoon, Audrey had already listened impassively to Blythe’s glowing description of the castle exterior, the oldest wings to the newest, and her imagination wasn’t able to produce an image in her head.
It all felt … unreal. When they arrived in the entrance hall, she could hear their footsteps echo away into vastness.
Blythe gave an awestruck gasp. It was all Audrey needed to know about the impressiveness of Robert’s country seat.
“Good morning, Audrey.”
Robert’s voice rang with pleasure, and she wasn’t certain it was because of her, or because at last she’d come to see what she’d give up if she didn’t marry him.
Did he not realize his large household might be an impediment to a blind woman?
Not that she planned to make any decisions because of a house, but she found herself uneasy.
There were so many steps to the nearest drawing room, and she’d heard Robert tell his butler to use the Blue Drawing Room, as if there were so many rooms they had to separate them by color.
As they walked, Robert took her arm and said quietly, “I’m so glad you came.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t?”
“No, you’re a woman of your word. I just wanted you to know that I’m simply glad to see you here.”
She lowered her voice. “Here in this home you think I can be a part of.”
“Think? You would have this place in tip-top shape in no time. My butler is badly overtaxed, as is my housekeeper, since they only have me to consult—and didn’t even have me for so many years.”
Audrey said nothing, trying to imagine herself here, where the furnishings were probably so far apart she’d have trouble counting steps between. It was a little intimidating—and challenging. She’d begun to realize in the last few weeks that she liked a challenge.
“We’ve entered the drawing room,” he said in her ear. “Blackthorne and his wife are seated on the sofa facing us as we approach. Blackthorne is a soldier, one of those dark, brooding types who never planned to be anything but a soldier. No ambition in life.”
“I heard that,” said the man himself, his tone dry and amused.
“Then I shall be forced to introduce him,” Robert continued. “Viscount Blackthorne, may I present my fiancée, Mrs. Audrey Blake, and her sister, Miss Blythe Collins.”
“It is a pleasure to meet the woman who has tamed such a headstrong rogue,” Lord Blackthorne said.
“Tamed?” Audrey echoed. “I am not certain that is the correct term. I believe he has quite trampled all over my intentions.”
“I am not so headstrong as all that,” Robert said. “Audrey, Blythe, meet Lady Blackthorne, once Lady Cecilia Mallory, daughter of our late commander, the Earl of Appertan.”
“Ah,” Audrey said, “so you met each other through the military. It sounds very romantic.”
She heard Lord Blackthorne chuckle quietly, while his wife laughed aloud.
“Mrs. Blake,” Lady Blackthorne said, “there was nothing romantic about it. I quite believe I was desperate for a husband.”
Blythe spoke up. “And Audrey was desperate for a fiancé. You all have much in common.”
Audrey winced at her sister’s indelicacy. Perhaps Robert had wanted nothing mentioned about how they’d come to be together.
But Robert only laughed and said, “Let us sit down and exchange stories. There’s a tea tray we may share until luncheon is ready.”
A servant took their cloaks, and Audrey asked if she could serve the tea. Perhaps Robert would wish to show that she was almost just like any other young lady.
When they were sipping tea, Blythe was the first one who returned to the topic of marriage. “Lady Blackthorne, do forgive my curiosity, but how can a military marriage not be romantic?”
The woman sighed, yet her voice was amused as she said, “Due to many reasons, I needed access to my inheritance, and the only way I could have that, was to marry. I had been corresponding with Michael for months after my father’s death, and thought he’d be able to help me.”
“Corresponding?” Audrey said. “He was still in India?”
“I attended the wedding,” Robert said. “In India. Without a bride.”
“You married by proxy,” Blythe breathed, sounding awed. “Surely you had met him before.”
“No, I hadn’t,” Lady Blackthorne answered. “I thought he was a man my father’s age.”
“She thought I’d keel over rather quickly,” Lord Blackthorne explained. “Imagine her surprise when I showed up at her door a month ago.”
Lady Blackthorne chuckled. “And he thought I was desperate to marry because I was a plain spinster.”
“They make a very handsome couple,” Blythe told Audrey. “And they seem very much in love.”
Audrey winced. “Blythe, perhaps they don’t want their personal business discussed so openly.”
“Oh, no,” Lady Blackthorne said, “Miss Collins is correct.”
“We make a handsome couple,” Lord Blackthorne said somberly.
Everyone laughed.
“But in truth,” he continued, “we were very lucky to fall in love.”
“I do believe it was destiny,” his wife responded softly, “since I had had no intention of ever even meeting Michael, or having a proper marriage.”
Audrey could hear the emotion in their voices, imagined them looking into each other’s eyes, and felt her own heart constrict.
She’d been telling herself all along she’d never marry, just like Lady Blackthorne, but since she’d met Robert, one by one her defenses were falling apart, until she was left vulnerable to him.
She hated feeling needy, but did every woman feel that way when confronted with the enormity of her growing emotional attachment to a man?
“And she must be in love with me,” Lord Blackthorne said, “because I’ll be remaining with the army, and she’ll be living at least half of each year in India with me.”
“Didn’t you spend much of your childhood there, Lady Blackthorne?” Robert asked. “I remember your father speaking of you often and fondly.”
“Thank you for telling me, Lord Knightsbridge,” she said. “Not all of my memories of India are good ones, yet I will have much to occupy myself when we live there.”
“It seems she has a better head for estate management than I do,” Lord Blackthorne said. “My brother used to oversee my estate, but Cecilia will be taking over.”
Surprised, Audrey added another intriguing layer to the puzzle of Robert’s friends.
“Brilliant,” Robert said, clapping his hands together. “Lady Blackthorne and Audrey should have much to discuss. Audrey inherited Blake’s estate and has been in charge for several weeks now. It’s going very well.”
“You’ve been of much help, Robert,” Audrey insisted, feeling her cheeks heat.
“Won’t you all call me Cecilia?” she said. “We have so many interesting conversations ahead of us.”
They all went into luncheon together, and Audrey thought about these two military men, each involved with unconventional women, and not threatened by it. How many other men could be like them? Could she risk letting Robert go, all because she was afraid?
And did she want to be alone? When she’d sent him away, she’d been so sad and lonely at the prospect of a day without a visit from him.