Page 70 of Starlight and the Duke
Also of concern were Bromleigh and Reggie, who considered her under their protection, since they were her closest male kin. Would they take the news of Rob’s visiting her as well as their wives had?
She had almost made it to the safety of her guest bedchamber when the pair walked up to her. “Fiona, come with me,” Bromleigh said, his voice deep and laden with ducal authority. Reggie also had a serious expression on his face.
“Go away, Gawain. You too, Reggie. I will not be lectured to by either of you,” she said, tipping her chin up in defiance. “What did Durham tell you?”
“Everything,” Bromleigh responded.
No, Rob was too discreet ever to do such a thing.
“Where is he now? What have you done with him?”
Bromleigh cleared his throat. “I have asked him to leave.”
“What?” This genuinely surprised Fiona. After all, Rob had been friends with all of them for many years, and a good and loyal one at that.
“He’ll join us for supper tonight, but has agreed to leave at first light tomorrow morning. I will not have him—”
“Ruin me? What am I, some sixteen-year-old ingenue? Good grief, I was married for almost twenty years. And who are you to dare pass moral judgment when it took you over forty years to get around to doing your duty, and your own behavior was reprehensible in the meanwhile?”
“It is not the same thing,” he attempted to argue, but she cut him off with an indignant gasp.
“I cannotbelieveyou would do such a thing to him! Or ever believe Durham would use me ill! No one treats me with more respect than he does. If he leaves, then I will leave. And you can explainthatto Cherish and Margaret.”
She shoved both of them into her bedchamber and shut the door behind them because she was not finished excoriating them yet. “Of all the stupid, preposterous ideas you have ever had, Gawain! How can you think Rob was ever anything less than a gentleman? More of a gentleman than you ever were. Need I remind you of your reputation before you married Cherish? It wasappalling. And then you were so stupid as to try to match Reggie with Cherish when all along you loved her but were too stubborn to admit it! And you think to control my life? My choices?”
She hardly drew a breath before continuing. “And you, Reggie.”
He held up his hands. “What did I do?”
“You are going along with Gawain’s foolishness. I’ll see you both sleeping in the stable with the horses,” she muttered, and then left them gaping at her while she walked out of her bedchamber to find Rob.
“Of all the gall,” she grumbled, marching down the hall to knock at his door.
After knocking louder when no one responded, she simply barged in. He wasn’t there, so she searched for him downstairs.
She grew worried when she did not find him in the house or garden or stable, but his carriage was still in the carriage house, so he could not have left yet.
She finally spotted him standing beside the stream where they had been fishing at daybreak this morning. “You,” shesaid, striding forward to confront him, too. “What did you tell Gawain?”
He arched an eyebrow and regarded her with obvious confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“He told me that he had banished you as of tomorrow. Is this true?”
Rob nodded.
Fiona felt her heart tighten, as though someone had caught it in a vise and was now squeezing hard. Rob was the kindest, most thoughtful man alive. It shamed her to think he was being treated so badly because of her. But had he said something that ought to have been left unsaid?
“Why would Bromleigh do such a thing unless you confided our private business to him?”
His eyes widened. “Do you seriously believe I would ever be so indiscreet? But I did tell him that I arrived early to propose to you because I am in love with you.”
She groaned. Of course. Rob was so infuriatingly noble sometimes. “Why did you tell him that?”
“Because it is the truth. I love you and marrying you has always been my intention. I did not come to you for the chance of bedding you for a few days…as enjoyable as satiating myself on your body was. I hoped to prove we belonged together for a lifetime.”
“But you never said a word to him about doing…you know…with me?”
“Of course not.”
