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Ianthe gave an underwhelmed sigh. Fine and all right weren’t quite the responses she’d been hoping for. Given that Robert had helped to choose her new wardrobe, she’d expected him to be slightly more enthusiastic about the results. The gown she’d selected for their visit to Mr Harper was, in her opinion, both beautiful and respectable, a pale cerulean blue with a high-buttoned neck, long sleeves and medium-sized skirts that extended backwards in the new fashion.
‘I thought we were going to learn about Romans today.’ Matthew pouted.
‘We still will. Your guardian and I just need to make a call first.’
She smiled, secretly pleased by his petulant expression. Since their trip to the harbour, he’d become a whole different boy, positively eager for her time and attention. In striking contrast to his guardian. The atmosphere between them had been strained ever since.
So far Robert hadn’t said anything directly about her behaviour at the harbour, though she’d caught him watching her occasionally with a speculative expression, as if trying to work something out. Even during their trip to the dressmaker’s, she’d had the uneasy feeling that she’d been under surveillance. She’d done her best to avoid being alone with him, trying to avoid questions, not that she could have given him any answers anyway. The sudden, vivid sensation of panic when he’d suggested that she stay at the harbour had surprised even her. In that moment, even his presence by her side hadn’t helped. All she’d wanted was to get back to the house as quickly as possible.
Once there, she’d pleaded a headache and retreated to her room, aware of how bizarre her behaviour must seem, but unable to do anything about it. Ever since, she’d done her best not to give him any further cause for suspicion, though she still hadn’t been able to bring herself to go outside.
‘Will you be long?’
‘A couple of hours, maybe.’ Robert answered for them. ‘Now run along. We’ll finish the game later.’
He stood up, adopting a stern expression as Matthew bolted away to the kitchens. ‘You don’t have to make up for his lesson later. You can have a day off when you want one.’
‘I know, but I enjoy teaching him. He seems to like history.’
‘The kind with blood and battles, I presume?’
‘Ye-es. But I think he’s coming along.’ She pulled on her bonnet, arranging the veil neatly. ‘Ready?’
He gave her an intense look and she forced herself t
o smile, resting a hand on his arm and trying not to grip too tightly as they walked down the front steps and on to the street.
‘I thought that we’d walk.’ He sounded suspiciously nonchalant. ‘It’s not far and the weather’s fine.’
She gave a murmur of assent, not trusting herself to speak as they walked along a succession of side streets, keeping her head up and trying to concentrate on the loveliness of her surroundings and not the sudden feeling of exposure. Truly, it was a beautiful town, the Georgian architecture perfectly in keeping with the cliff face below, as if the town itself had somehow grown out of the rock.
She liked it here, she reminded herself. This was her new home. She was safe. And Robert was right beside her. Surely no one would hurt her when he was there.
‘Here we are.’ They were at Harper’s in a matter of minutes.
‘Here?’ She gulped, shuddering at the sight of at least twenty gargoyles peering down at them from the red-stone turrets and crenellations of a large Gothic villa.
‘It suits its owner, I’m afraid.’ Robert pressed her hand reassuringly. ‘But don’t worry. This is just a formality. The last piece of the puzzle, that’s all.’
‘The last piece...’ she murmured, adopting her most respectable demeanour. ‘All right, I’m ready.’
‘There’s no need to scowl.’
‘I didn’t know I was.’ She felt vaguely offended. ‘I’m just trying to do what you want.’
‘Just be yourself.’
Herself? She lifted her eyebrows incredulously. That wasn’t what they’d agreed. They’d agreed that she be sensible and respectable. He’d never said anything about being herself before. Though of course, she realised with a sinking feeling, that was who he thought she really was...
And it was who she was! She gave a start, alarmed to have drifted so far from the new, respectable Ianthe. Ever since their walk on the pier and that moment when she’d allowed her old self to escape for a few moments, she’d found it harder and harder to put her back in her cage. Now she felt as if her old and new identities were at war with each other, each struggling for dominance. She wasn’t sure who she was any more, but she knew who she was supposed to be.
She straightened her shoulders, pursing her lips as she put the respectable mask back on again. Now she wished that she’d worn one of her old grey dresses instead. They would have reminded her how the new Ianthe ought to behave...
A maid opened the door, and she felt her stomach lurch as they stepped inside. The gloomy interior seemed the perfect accompaniment to her anxiety. This was it, the real test, the whole reason that Robert had married her. She felt sick.
‘Mrs Felstone?’ A young woman with white-blonde hair emerged from a side door almost at once, smiling a welcome. ‘I’m so pleased to meet you finally. I’m Violet Harper.’
‘Miss Harper.’ Ianthe held out a hand, starting to relax slightly. The woman was unusually small, almost tiny, with striking blue eyes that gave her an almost waif-like appearance, but she seemed friendly. ‘Please call me Ianthe.’
