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“Meeting with her aunt in town. Did she not say?” Muriel offered an innocent expression.
“Muriel…” he growled.
“She is, I swear!” The maid placed a hand over her heart. “And she went in the closed carriage and will be entirely safe.”
“I have a meeting in town shortly,” he said to them both. “Where was she going to meet with her aunt?”
He held little hope that his meeting would go any better with the investors this time than last, but he had to damn well try. As if he did not have enough to deal with after this Marshall business. He might try to ride by to at least assure himself she was safe. It was preposterous really, having to effectively spy on his wife to ensure her safety but she was not exactly on speaking terms with him after he’d tried to have her belongings packed and shipped to her father’s.
Muriel shrugged. “A teashop, I think. Most likely Bramley’s. It’s the best in town.”
“I don’t understand why she will not just go to her father’s,” Cillian muttered.
Muriel glanced at Shah and a smile slipped across her lips. “Because she loves you, of course.”
Cillian’s heart came to a shuddering halt. Even Shah remained frozen. The maid simply eyed him with a smug expression.
“Why are you so insistent on sending her away?” the maid asked.
“Because it’s dangerous, because—”
“Because you cannot bear the thought of losing her.” Muriel’s smile grew bolder by the moment. “Because you would die before letting anything happen to her.”
“Yes. She’s my wife—”
“Because you love her, my lord.”
He flicked a glance at his steward who gave the tiniest shrug and mouthed something like she’s right.
Taking a step back, Cillian resisted the desire to swear. He’d wanted a few things out of this marriage—mostly a productive and useful partnership. He hadn’t anticipated friendship or someone as kind and as giving as Ivy. Someone who didn’t look at him like he was the devil incarnate. Someone who made desire burn through him with a simple glance over her shoulder.
He certainly hadn’t anticipated love.
But here it was, apparently. He loved Ivy.
With any luck, she loved him too. It just meant he had a hell of a lot to lose. Somehow, he needed to stop Marshall from harassing them and ensure her safety, because Muriel was right about all of those things—he’d die before letting anything happen to her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ivy slowed her pace when she spotted Aunt Sarah seated in the tea shop with William Cameron, Violet’s father-in-law. Aunt Sarah spent some time at the man’s bedside when he had been convalescing, but she wasn’t aware they were spending time together outside of family events.
William leaned in and brushed a kiss across her aunt’s hand before he departed, and Ivy blinked.
Maybe they were more than friends.
As far as Ivy knew, Aunt Sarah had never had eyes for anyone after her husband’s death until she’d met Mr. Wilde who resided in London. For reasons unknown, Aunt Sarah declined to pursue happiness with the man. But perhaps she could find happiness with Mr. Cameron. He seemed a good man and he had raised Duke for some years after his wife’s death who was a wonderful husband to Violet.
Ivy smiled to herself and waited for a gap in the traffic to cross. No one deserved love more than Aunt Sarah. She gave her time so freely to all her nieces, flitting back and forth between London and Bath, and even if her somewhat scattered advice didn’t always help, she was ready with a warm embrace and a quick laugh.
Crossing the busy road, Ivy caught her aunt’s eye and waved. She couldn’t be certain, but she swore the slightest hint of pink entered her aunt’s cheeks briefly. By the time Ivy seated herself opposite her aunt at the small, round table by the windows of the tea shop, the color had gone, and Ivy wondered if she’d imagined it.
“You’re early!” her aunt said and now Ivy was convinced she’d seen her aunt blush.
“As are you.” Ivy gestured down the road. “Was that Mr. Cameron I spotted?”
“Oh no I don’t think so.”
Ivy peered at Aunt Sarah as a pot of tea was brought over along with a selection of delicate cakes.
