Page 11 of The Secret Love of a Gentleman (The Marlow Family Secrets #3)

The day after Rob’s arrival, Caroline was unexpectedly at the breakfast table.

Yesterday, he experienced an odd sense of déjà vu, when she offered him a biscuit, while George’s arm and hand had clung at his neck. Then, she seemed comfortable, but she disappeared into hiding after pouring their tea and did not come down for dinner.

He seated himself opposite her. ‘Good morning, all.’

‘Good morning.’

‘Good morning.’

Mary and Drew greeted him.

He smiled, and let his eyes linger on Caroline until her eyes raised. He expected her to mumble, but she said, ‘Good morning,’ in a sharp tone of annoyance. The note of it made him want to laugh.

While he ate, he could not stop himself from watching her. He found her fascinating.

Mary spoke about a book she had read, probably trying to ease Caroline’s discomfort through conversation.

Flashes of expressions passed across Caroline’s face, but they never fully formed.

She hid her emotions as she hid herself.

Her smile was tempered and frowns fleeting.

He realised that in all the years Caroline had lived with Mary, he had not once heard her laugh.

Caro’s gaze lifted, looking at him. The morning sunlight spilling through the windows glittered in her irises, turning the hazel to the remarkable gold he had seen in her eyes the other night.

He wished he could persuade her that at least with him she might be herself.

Drew said something that turned her attention to her brother.

What would Caro look like if she were to laugh, with those eyes, cast in gold, sparkling? A strong desire to make her laugh pulled at him. Philanthropist that he was, he did not like seeing anyone unhappy.

I will have her laughing and dancing by the end of the summer , he vowed.

A sound of humour slipped from his throat.

While he worked out how to win himself an elected seat and change the world for the better for the masses, his aim would be to bring Caro out of her shell. There, now he had a short-term as well as a long-term purpose to keep him busy.

He looked at Drew, who had the newspaper open in front of him. ‘Is there any interesting news?’

‘Not really.’ Drew folded the newspaper and tossed it in front of Rob. ‘It is all insinuation or speculation. What are we doing today? I could show you all of the estate. You have never ridden the boundary. Then you will know the paths and roads if you fancy riding alone.’

‘Your son has a prior claim on me. I promised to teach him how to bat alone, and you will need to help me with that.’

Drew smiled. ‘Then I’ll defer to my son. We can ride the boundary tomorrow and I will take George with us on my saddle. He will?—’

‘Not be going,’ Mary interrupted. ‘That is too much for him.’

‘Nonsense, he loves sitting on my saddle. He likes watching everything and he loves the horses.’ Drew smiled in a way that Rob could see meant he would not back down.

‘He is a two-year-old child?—’

‘Who has a healthy interest in the world.’

Rob looked from Drew to Mary. ‘I did not come here to cause an argument between you. But between the two of us, we can look after George, and he would be unhappy if we left him behind.’

Mary glared at Rob. ‘We will see. I am going to the nursery.’ She rose and turned from the table, her fingers thrusting the skirt of her dress, swaying it with her movement, speaking her annoyance without words.

Drew rose too. As she left the room, he looked at Rob, smiling briefly, his eyebrows lifting then falling. ‘Do me a favour, in future do not side with me. You are her brother.’

A disgruntled noise came from the hall. Mary had heard.

‘Mary…’ Drew followed her.

Poor George would have to wait for his batting lesson until Drew finished patching things up and was free to bowl.

Rob expected Caro to rise immediately and leave too. Instead, he discovered her watching him.

‘I am sorry,’ she said quietly, ‘…if I have made you feel uncomfortable, but being in company is not easy for me, Mr Marlow, and I wish you would not stare at me as you have been.’

‘Caroline…’

She rose, leaving her napkin on the table and her meal half-eaten.

Rob carried on quickly, before she could leave the room. ‘I pose no threat to you. I hope you will come to feel as easy in my company as you do in Mary’s.’

She nodded, slightly, then left regardless.

‘Good day!’ he called in her wake, feeling as though he had taken a step towards his vow. As far as he was aware, it was the first time she had voluntarily spoken to any male member of his family.