‘Why? You must know that you are attractive. I have it on good authority that women are always admiring you.’
His skin turned a deeper shade of red. ‘Not me. They are admiring my title. I do not know that anyone has ever expressed an interest in me as a person.’
Her laughter faded away when she caught sight of his expression. ‘Oh. I thought you must be jesting. I do apologise for laughing.’
He shrugged and rummaged in the hamper. ‘It does not signify.’
Catching his arm, she stopped him. Her hand on his skin shocked them both, and for a moment the two of them could only stare at where their bodies touched.
‘Tobias.’ He looked up then, his gaze locking with hers. ‘You are ridiculously handsome. The thick, dark hair, the brooding scowl, the high cheekbones…’
‘Brooding scowl?’ he broke in before she could finish.
‘It lends you an air of mystery.’
He scoffed, but before he could speak again, she went on, ‘But those are only the surface things. Having been married to a wastrel, I cannot tell you how attractive it is to see a man who works hard for his family, who cares so deeply for them all, who puts their wellbeing before his own. You are strong, but kind. Firm, but loving. Too stubborn by half, but no one can be perfect. Except me,’ she added, because she feared the moment might be becoming too heavy, too close to a confession she did not want to give. Because once he knew exactly how she felt about him, he would expect her to marry him in an instant.
He didn’t smile at her light-hearted ending. His gaze was still fixed on hers. Slowly, softly, he moved towards her, brushing his lips against hers. ‘You are so beautiful it makes my heart hurt,’ he whispered against her skin. ‘Your curves drive me out of my mind, your quick smile brightens my day and when you laugh it makes me happy wherever I am.’ She chased his mouth, trying to deepen his kiss, but he had not finished speaking. ‘But those are only the surface things. You are determined to fight for those you love, yet soft when anyone gets close. You are quick to speak, yet not afraid to admit when you are wrong. You have courage most people can only dream of.’ His lipstrailed over her cheek, her jaw, her neck, coming to rest over her pulse. ‘You are right when you say you are perfect. You are perfect for me.’
After that, he kissed her until she was desperate for the press of him over her, but no matter how much she pulled him towards her, he held himself apart. Neither of them won that day.
Chapter Twenty-nine
It was mid-afternoon on Thursday when the idyll finally came to an end. What struck Grace later was that she hadn’t been expecting it, or at least she had forgotten to dread her parents’ arrival, which was foolish in a way, since the Dashworths were only at Glanmore Park because of the threat Grace’s family posed. The long, lazy summer days had lulled her into the false idea that all was well with the world, that everything outside of the Glanmore estate only existed in a blurry, indistinct way.
That all ended very abruptly. She and Tobias were sitting on a settee, watching Charlotte perform what at some point may have been a play or a dance, but seemed to be an adorable mixture of wobbling about and bursting into several lines of some half-forgotten song, before moving on to another one. With no other adults in the room, Tobias had linked his fingers with hers and was stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. For a man who had given every impression of being as unbending as the trunk of an oak tree when they first met, he had proven to be exceptionally tactile. Whenever they were alone, he found some reason to touch her, and she was living for those brief, gentle brushes of skin on skin. For the moment, the quiet domesticity of sitting together with their hands entwined was more than enough.
The door to the small sitting room burst open and Charlotte let out a delighted, ‘Freddie.’
It took a second to register that anything was wrong, but when Grace caught sight of him, she realised Freddie’s skin was unnaturally pale, his normally smiling lips drawn tight. He managed a smile for his niece, dropping to his knees to hold out his arms and catch her as she flung herself at him, but Grace could tell the gesture was forced. Freddie was ever a happy presence, but the tightness around his eyes showed just how upset he was.
Tobias’ thumb stilled on Grace’s hand as they waited for Freddie to stop fussing over his niece. Finally, Freddie said, ‘The people we have been waiting for have arrived in the village.’
Next to her, Tobias’ whole body jolted, his fingers tightening around hers. ‘Are you sure?’
‘An older couple matching the description we have has arrived at the inn. They are travelling with several thick-set men, according to your agent, who is waiting to give you a full report when you are ready.’
Freddie stood, picking up Charlotte and holding her tightly to his chest. The young girl made no protest at being held, snuggling closer to her uncle, whom she adored.
‘It might not be them,’ said Grace, more in hope than in belief. Because if her parents were here, then she would have to see them, probably even talk to them. It would be the first time she had laid eyes on them since she had discovered they were behind the death of her beloved sister. She did not know if she was ready, or if she ever would be.
‘The agent said that they have accents like yourself,’ said Freddie, kindly but succinctly.
‘We will send for the constable,’ said Tobias, clearly thinking as he spoke, ‘but I should like to meet them first. We cannot have people arrested just because they sound different from us. We need to establish that these people are indeed Mr and Mrs Ashby.’
Grace may not want to ever see them again, her whole body might revolt at the idea of being around the people who had made the world all the poorer by removing Clare from it, but she would do it. For Charlotte to live a normal life, safe from fear that her maternal grandparents would take more from her than her parents. ‘It should be me who goes to them,’ she said.
‘Absolutely not,’ came Tobias’ immediate reply.
For a minute, Grace stayed completely still. While she did not want the task, she was the only person in England who could be absolutely sure that these two people were her parents. Tobias telling her what she could or could not do was the exact reason she did not want to marry again. It seemed to dawn on Tobias that he had made a misstep with her, because his fingers twitched around hers, reminding her that they were still holding hands in front of Freddie. She slowly and deliberately removed herself from his hold.
There was a solid lump in her throat, but she still managed to say, ‘It is the quickest way to assess whether or not these people are my parents. For me not to see them is foolish beyond reason.’
Tobias was shaking his head before she had finished speaking. ‘You could get hurt and that is not a situation I am prepared to accept.’
Grace did understand his reasoning, could even sympathise with his need to protect her, but he was wrong. ‘My parents were not physically capable of such a feat that last time I saw them and they have only aged since then. I can handle them both.’
Seeing her parents would be an emotional blow, but not a physical one. It would be brutal to look at the two people who had done allthey could to wear her down throughout her childhood and who had ordered the death of her sister.
