Page 34 of Surrender to the Earl
“One of them, ma’am,” he responded shyly, still glancing at his mother.
Did Mrs. Sanford seem to flinch upon hearing her son’s words? Robert wondered. Of course, she would not want him to speak freely with their new mistress.
Francis continued, “Shall I fetch her, Mo—Mrs. Sanford?”
“I do not mind if you call your mother the name you always do,” Audrey said. “But yes, I would like to meet the rest of your family.”
She shrugged out of her cloak, and Molly took it for her, folding both of their cloaks over her arm.
“’Tis a brisk day, Mrs. Blake,” Mrs. Sanford said. “Shall I bring tea to the drawin’ room while you wait?”
“I don’t wish to keep you from your luncheon duties,” Audrey said.
“’Tis no bother, ma’am. If you don’t mind plain fare, I have cold ham and carrot soup that I can warm if you’re hungry.”
“That would be good,” Robert said.
Audrey cocked her head toward him, smiling.
Over the next half hour, while they sipped their tea, they met Evelyn Sanford, also as tall as her mother, who blushed profusely and kept tucking strands of blond hair behind her ears. Mr. Sanford, the groundskeeper and groom, was half a head shorter than the rest of his family but made up for it with a barrel chest and workman’s large hands. He was balding on top, with a white fringe that circled his head and puffed over his ears. Robert thought he seemed somehow … disapproving of Audrey, but his tone was respectful, if clipped.
“You have an older daughter, I understand?” Audrey asked, holding her teacup between both hands as if to warm herself.
Before Mr. Sanford could speak, his wife entered the room. “We do, ma’am, but she is a widow livin’ nearby.”
“Oh, I am sorry to hear that,” Audrey murmured. “Do send her my sympathies.”
Robert had spent too many years learning to read the faces of prisoners, and it seemed to him that this little family was hiding something, with the way they glanced at each other, and always quickly away from Audrey. In fact, there seemed to be a decidedshift in attitude since the family had had a chance to speak alone together.
Or was he being too protective of Audrey, just as she’d accused him? These people were allowed to be dismayed that their cozy family life was about to change.
After a delectable luncheon—thank God—in a sunny dining room that overlooked a terrace, Robert followed Audrey about as Mrs. Sanford led them on a tour of the ground floor. Molly described everything with her usual thoroughness, and Robert saw Audrey’s concentration as she tried to absorb all the details.
He did not attend her on the first floor but was waiting in the study that also seemed to be the library. When Audrey came to find him, he set down the book on London history he’d been reading. She looked much more hesitant than he’d ever seen her, but only in movement, not in manner. She still glowed with the excitement of the day.
“Robert?” she called.
“I’m here.”
Her body turned toward him. “Oh bother, I’ve already forgotten where everything is,” she mumbled, reaching forward with a hand as she started to walk.
Robert took her hand and held it between his own.
“You don’t need to do that,” she whispered.
“The door is open. Do you want your servants to see me taking my leave more formally than a lover should?”
She stopped fighting and let her hand rest in his. She pressed her lips together, even as he chuckled.
“No gloves, Audrey?”
“I forgot after luncheon.”
“You were far too excited.”
“It seems you were, too.”
He knew she referred to his hands, but his mind briefly went elsewhere, his smile fading. “I don’t want to leave you like this,” he said at last.
