Page 27 of Married to the Duke By Midnight

“Eight,” Lady Thistleworth said as she stared at the dregs in her glass.

Jo saw Maggie visibly shudder beside her.

“A July child then. Or perhaps early August,” Maggie mused and drained her own glass of madeira. “Weren’t you at the Wadham’s house party in November, my lady? But your husband was not as far as I recall.”

Lady Thistleworth glared at Maggie, and Helena swiftly changed the topic. Maggie was more dangerous and more formidable than Jo had ever imagined.

Jo was relieved when the gentlemen finally joined them a couple of minutes later. Robert steered directly to her side. Jo was surprised when he indicated that he wanted to sit next to her on the rather narrow settee. She moved aside as much as she could, but his thigh was still lined with hers. The heat from him felt overwhelmingly good, almost forbidden. She briefly looked at him and offered a friendly smile but did not let her eyes linger on him.

Yet Lady Clopton still cooed:

“Oh, young love.”

Jo tensed at the words and felt Robert do the same as he moved away from her slightly as much as the settee allowed him to. Jo did not dare look at him. She had no idea how the older woman had gotten the impression from their brief interaction. She had certainly not meant to imply anything by smiling at Robert. She would hate if he thought she had insinuated that they were in love when he had not been present.

“The duchess tells me that you are leaving for your honeymoon in a short while, Duke,” Lady Clopton said, and luckily Jo did not have to participate in the conversation as Robert once again told the countess that his mother would be arranging their honeymoon.

Jo looked at Helena who was speaking to a couple of other ladies. Perhaps Jo should tell her that she would like to stay close to the sea. She still missed the long walks by the beach, and it would give her much-needed time to clear her head. A meadow or a forest did not offer the same kind of respite for her mind as the sea and beach did. It made her feel small in a way that the others did not.

It seemed rude though to make demands on Helena in terms of where they would go. Jo had only met her yesterday and even though Helena had more welcome than Jo could have hoped for, she did not want to burden her. She already felt like an intruder in their lives.

No, it was best to keep quiet and wait. Riddlesmarsh Hall was only a day away from the sea. When they went there after the honeymoon, she could make a day trip alone. There must be days when Robert was busy, and she had handled all her duties, so she could sneak away.

“Lady Riddlesmarsh?” Robert asked gently and drew her attention away from Helena and toward him and Lady Clopton again.

They had been joined by both Lord Clopton and Lord Thistleworth now and Lady Thistleworth was also paying attention to her again. Jo could feel herself blushing slightly at all the attention on her. Especially since she had no clue as to what was being asked of her.

“I was just saying that we would be delighted to attend the Cloptons’ soiree tomorrow night,” Robert told her.

Jo offered him a relieved smile, before she turned to Lady Clopton and readily accepted the invitation, even though she would much rather have spent the evening at home. There was still so much she did not know about Robert, and she could tell with his busy schedule that it would be difficult to find the time.

13

“Oh, there you are,” her husband said as Jo walked into the entrance hall to his house. Their house, she reminded herself again.

Robert was putting on his hat and gloves. Evidently going out. She searched her mind for where he was going, but their many social obligations were already blurring for her, even though she knew she must have written it down at some point.

She noticed how his eyes roamed over her face and briefly stopped on her curls. Jo knew she looked horrible: The carriage had felt stuffy and she had opened both windows to let in the breeze, even though it let in the stench from the city as well. Her cheeks felt flushed from the wind and her curls were in disarray underneath her green bonnet. She self-consciously patted them, hoping to flatten them at least a little. At least she had not caught the stench from the sewers.

“I was… I was out,” she told him as she took off her bonnet and gloves and handed them to the footman who was observing them. “I brought George, like you said I should.”

She gestured in the direction of the driveway where she had just alighted the carriage and where she had last seen the footman.

“Of course,” Robert told her and paused then added: “You are free to leave whenever you want.”

Jo frowned. She had gathered from what he said that she could move about as she pleased as long as she brought George. Was there some context she was missing?

“Yes, right…” she muttered and looked between Robert and the staircase, uncertain what to do. He was evidently leaving and the entrance hall seemed an odd place for a conversation. Especially in front of both Robinson and a footman.

She saw Robert’s hand twitch toward his waistcoat pocket. He probably meant to take out his fob watch, then thought better of it.

“I have to leave in a minute, but would you like to sit for a moment?”

“Oh, certainly,” Jo mumbled hesitantly, even more uncertain of what he wanted. Could whatever parting words he had not be shared in front of the staff?

He led her to a large drawing room off the entrance hall that she had not previously been in. It was just as spacious and bright as the rest of the rooms in the house. The furniture and wallpaper were kept in white and cream colors with small bursts of green like the leaves embroidered on the pillows on the sofas and chairs in the three different groups of seating arrangements. It worked well with the large paintings of different estates hanging on the walls. Robert’s estates, Jo presumed and gulped dryly at the thought of having to manage multiple households.

“Where did you go?” Robert asked as they settled in chairs opposite each other.