Page 25 of Surrender to the Earl
Molly giggled.
As Robert once again took Audrey’s arm and turned into the next room, the sounds were overwhelming, dozens of people talking at once. She was suddenly bumped from behind.
“Excuse me, miss!” someone called.
“The waiter,” Molly said quietly. “There are so many bustling about.”
“He should watch where he’s going,” Robert said coldly.
“He didn’t hurt me,” Audrey pointed out.
“Our table has benches, not chairs,” he said. “Will that do?”
“Of course.” She reached to feel the table, then let go of Robert to find the bench. She stepped sideways along it, making room for Molly at her side.
And that was when the hushed voices began, spreading out from around them. The travelers around them had realized she was blind.
“You can’t be the only blind woman they’ve ever seen,” Robert said crossly.
Audrey smiled. “I imagine most of those they’ve seen are beggars, and anyone highborn isn’t using a public coaching house. They’ll become used to me.”
The waiter raised his voice, the old trick, and Audrey could feel—and hear—Robert’s tension rise. He really was far too protective. This was nothing she had not experienced the time or two she’d been permitted into the village.
And then a baby wailed.
The sudden stab of grief took her by surprise, and she found herself holding still, listening. After her baby had died, she’d spent months wallowing in her sorrow, wondering why God had punished her, when so much had already happened. Gradually she’d come to terms with her loss, but she was never near babies.
“Audrey?” Robert asked.
Hearing the puzzlement in his voice, she put those feelings aside again. “Yes?”
“The expression on your face—” he began, then stopped. “It is none of my business.”
She didn’t have to answer, because a waiter chose that moment to inform them of the menu.
The meal, veal pies and cabbage, was plain but hardy, and afterward they strolled through the gardens, both vegetable and flower gardens, to stretch their legs and give the horses a chance to rest. But the carriage horses they changed, and soon they were on their way again. The coachman had an inn in mind for the night until an axel broke, jolting the passengers.
Robert cursed their bad luck but was surprised how unaffected Audrey seemed. She said she was happy for any new experience and listened contentedly as Molly described the coachman riding one of the carriage horses up the hill toward a manor in the distance. Robert didn’t know if he should have gone himself to smooth the way, but wasn’t about to leave Audrey. Soon enough, an older-model carriage came trundling down the drive.
As he assisted Audrey from their listing carriage, the coachman said, “Sir Miles Paley and his family live here. They’d be honored if ye’d spend the night while I see to the carriage repairs at the local blacksmith.”
When they finally stood in the little entrance hall of the manor, Lady Paley didn’t bother to hide her surprise as she studied Audrey. She was a petite woman, with delicate, childlike hands she absently rubbed together. “You’reAudrey Collins?”
“Audrey Blake, ma’am,” she corrected. “My husband was killed when stationed with the army in India.”
Sir Miles, tall and slightly stooped, gave a guilty smile. “We all assumed you a reclusive invalid, Mrs. Blake.”
Audrey accepted their assumptions with ease, while Robert wanted to bash some heads together. Of course, this wasn’t their fault.
And then they turned the full force of their enthusiasm on him.
“Please meet my daughters, Lord Knightsbridge,” Lady Paley said with proud formality. “Miss Rachel Paley and Miss Rosalind Paley. Girls, meet the Earl of Knightsbridge, here in our own home!”
Both young women were tall and coltish like their father, almost meeting Robert in height. It must be difficult to find husbands, but his presence unquestionably put that worry right out of their minds.
He smiled politely, then took Audrey’s arm. “May my fiancée rest before dinner? It’s been a long day.”
Surely the coachman had already told them of Audrey’s status, but their faces looked like he’d slapped them with the reminder. He saw Audrey holding back a smile. She’d come in handy—and she knew it.
