Page 21 of The Secret Love of a Gentleman (The Marlow Family Secrets #3)

The next morning, Rob came downstairs later than usual. They had finished eating breakfast when he walked into the room. Caro looked up, she and Mary were talking while she drank a second cup of chocolate. Drew was reading the newspaper that had been delivered from London.

She missed Rob smiling across the table this morning. His absence was a gaping hole in the start of her day. Mary and Drew had missed him too; Mary looked at the clock several times and Drew glanced at the door frequently, impatiently tapping his fingertips on the tablecloth.

They would all miss Rob when he left, and now, they all smiled at him.

A blush warmed her cheeks as he withdrew the chair and sat. After last night, perhaps she should spend her day in the nursery. But she had so little time left with him she did not want to hide away and waste it.

‘Are you feeling unwell?’ Mary asked him.

‘I sat up, I could not sleep, and I probably drank too much whisky and more of the punch than I should have.’ Rob sat down .

‘I agree, my whisky decanter had to be replenished this morning,’ Drew mocked.

Rob was pale, and his eyes were shadowed.

‘Coffee for my brother-in-law,’ Drew ordered of the footman, ‘and bring up a fresh pot. That must be cold.’

When a footman offered Rob bacon, he lifted a hand. ‘No, thank you.’ Then his gaze caught Caro’s, and he smiled, red rouging his cheeks.

He was embarrassed by their encounter.

She caught a sudden desire to laugh in her throat – he did not reject me . His eyes held their usual warmth and interest. Of course he had not. He had merely taken the right, gentlemanly, action. She thought of how many times he called out her name, asking her to go back.

Rob was a good man, and she realised, with her head clear this morning, if they had progressed, he would not be feeling ill from over-indulgence but from remorse and shame. She, more than most, knew how awful it felt to be ashamed of yourself.

She must apologise to him and forget her foolishness. But she would not forget her courage.

‘You are looking green, Rob,’ Drew teased him.

Rob rejected the kedgeree with another lifted hand.

‘You have to eat,’ Drew said. ‘The after-effects of an excess of liquor must be fed. Cold ham and eggs, William. My brother-in-law needs a hearty meal to fill his tender stomach.’ Drew waved the footman off to fetch it.

‘I am unused to this,’ Rob answered. ‘I think all I need is silence.’

The maid entered.

Mary rose and took the fresh pot of coffee from her. She poured a cup for Rob. ‘I am putting sugar in it. It will help your headache. ’

‘Thank you and forgive me if I am poor company today.’

Drew laughed, a hearty deep throated sound, with no deference for Rob’s request for silence.

‘I am glad you find my suffering amusing,’ Rob said.

‘You need to improve your stamina,’ Drew responded, ‘if you intend running with the London set for a few years before you settle. If you get drunk too easily you will lose a fortune playing cards.’

‘No. I shall abstain from both liquor and cards.’

Drew smirked as his attention returned to the newspaper.

Rob’s gaze met Caro’s. His eyebrows lifted, the expression asking, am I forgiven?

Yes, of course. For a moment their gazes held, as his blue-grey eyes shone in the morning light.

‘Oh.’ Drew cleared his throat, sitting more upright in his chair. ‘There is something here I am not sure you will wish to see, Caro. But as it is here, I must mention it.’

What on earth could be in the paper that would interest her?

‘Shall I show you?’

No. Yes. ‘Drew, tell me.’ She rose and walked around the table to look for herself.

‘Here.’ He pointed to a small announcement on the page.

She leaned over his shoulder to read it.

The Marquis of Kilbride is pleased to announce the birth of his son, William Edward Albert Kilbride, the Earl of Elsworth.

Albert had remarried over a year ago. Of course she had known his wife would bear him children. She knew this day would come.

Drew looked at her .

She shook her head, trying to appear as though pain had not lanced through her breast. It should not hurt. But it did.

She retook her seat, choosing to be strong, to not run and hide. ‘May I have another cup of chocolate, please?’ she asked the maid.

Valour was the better course. She must make more of her own life, not envy his.

She refused to acknowledge the sense of ripping inside her and smiled.

‘What was it?’ Rob asked.

‘Nothing,’ she answered.

He looked at Drew. But Drew just shook his head, respecting her choice, and then he turned the page and commented on a horse-racing article.