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“She hates me,” she said in a quiet whisper. Her eyes glassy, she stared straight ahead, seeing nothing.
“Give her time,” he said gently.
A wretched sob escaped, and her shoulders began shaking convulsively.
“She blames me for what happened,” she said through her sobs. “And she’s right. I didn’t fight for her enough, I didn’t—” She broke off and covered her face with her hands, unable to stop her sobs.
Robert looked at her mutely. He had never seen a woman cry like that before. A few theatrical tears were shed to manipulate millions of times by several mistresses, especially Annie. His grandmother had never shed a tear in front of him. But this poor, miserable young woman was crying uncontrollably, and he had no idea what to do.
“I wish I could help,” he said lamely. He reached an arm toward her, thinking to caress her cheek or pull her hair away from her face but thought better of it and yanked his hand away.
Julie raised her head at that moment and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand. Robert patted himself, looking for a handkerchief, then remembered that he was in a state of half undress and crossed his arms at his chest.
“You helped,” she said on a hiccup. “Oh, God, I’m such a mess.” She kept wiping away her tears as she talked. “I need to… I’ll freshen up and then—” She looked at the door, worry creasing her forehead.
“I think you should stay away for a while,” he said gently. “Go to your room, get some sleep, and maybe, later on, you’ll be able to get through to her. The Dowager Duchess of Rutland will arrive in a couple of days, perhaps—” He stopped, as she whirled around on him at his words.
“The duchess… is going to come here? Why?” She looked so stricken with horror and disbelief that he wanted to laugh. His grandmother was a frightening woman for those who didn’t know her well, and it was always fun to see what emotion she evoked in other people. But not this time.
“She wants to meet her new granddaughter.” Robert shrugged.
“Mary? She is coming here to meet Mary?” Julie’s eyes widened even more than he thought possible.
“Yes, well. You don’t need to worry; she is a very caring woman—with children,” he added at his wife’s astonished look.
A nervous chuckle escaped her as she stared at him in disbelief.
“Trust me, she will be good for her. Besides, we made a deal. Nobody is going to hurt her under my roof, remember?”
Julie’s shoulders relaxed at his last words. Regardless of her feelings toward him, she at least seemed to have come to trust him over the previous five days.
Robert showed her to her room and resumed his place outside of Mary’s door. The last thing he thought would happen after his marriage was looking after his simple-minded sister-in-law.How did it come to this?Did he imagine a simple life of uninterrupted work, of nights in bed with his wife, and quiet family dinners? He chuckled to himself. Now, who was the idiot in this situation? Nothing ever went as planned. After the incident with Annie, he should have known that having any kind of predictable marriage was not in his cards. Several minutes later, the housekeeper appeared from inside Mary’s room.
“Lady Mary is washed. As best as was possible,” she added starchily. “Her ladyship left her some of her old clothing, but it doesn’t fit right. We fixed what we could for now, but she is going to need new clothing to her size.”
“Right.” Robert nodded thoughtfully. “I’ll let my grandmother deal with it.”
He shrugged and was about to enter the room when Mrs. Post continued, “She has severe bruises all over her body. Some burns, possibly from flogging.”
Robert’s hand tightened on the doorknob. He’d suspected she’d been abused from the way those two brutes were handling her in the asylum, but hearing the confirmation made his heart clench in fury.
“I just thought you’d like to know,” the housekeeper finished lamely.
“Thank you,” Robert forced out through the lump constricting his throat. He entered the room to see Mary sitting on the bed, in an old gown that was too long for her and too loose in places. Her lips were pursed in displeasure, and her wet hair was collected in a simple bun. She looked at him miserably. He forced himself to smile, although pity and compassion were fighting inside him.
“Are you ready to see the horses now?” he asked, coming closer to her.
Her face lit up instantly.
“I don’t know if you’ll be able to ride in this gown, but you can at least pet them and perhaps feed them,” he added thoughtfully.
Mary looked at her gown and picked up her skirts. “I want to feed horsy,” she said, looking up at him.
“Good.” He nodded. “First, you need to eat something yourself. Go to the dining room with—” He looked at the young maid in the room.
“Alice,” the young woman clarified quickly.
“Right, Alice. You go with Alice and have breakfast, I will join you as soon as I change my clothing, and then we can go to the stables. All right?”
Mary looked at him, confused.
“Go with Alice,” he repeated slowly, pointing to the maid. “Eat. All right?”
“Horsy,” she said, frowning.
“After you eat.” He smiled at her conciliatorily.
Mary stood and slowly walked to Alice, who took her by the hand and led her to the door. Mary paused at the door and looked over her shoulder at Robert but didn’t protest. The door closed, and Robert breathed a sigh of relief.
