“Rob! That is awful.”
He shrugged again. “Yes, I think so. But it suits her goals. She wants to be left alone to indulge in her scholarly pursuits. Is this not why you chose this brainy bluestocking for me? Except you did not question her hard enough, or you would have learned she doesn’t really want to be a wife or ever be a mother.”
Pain shone in Fiona’s eyes. “She doesn’t want children?”
“No, love,” he said gently.
She let out a ragged breath. “I see. I am so sorry, Rob. I should have been more careful in my selection for you.”
“No, you did your best and chose sincerely for me. The point is, there are never any guarantees in life. Three out of those four were respectable choices, but still were not right for me. The only obvious mistake was Anne. Who chose her?”
“Cherish did.”
“I thought so. She’s far too trusting, but you would have seen through Anne’s manipulations immediately. I expect you chose the others.”
She nodded.
“Yes, they are smart, engaging, and pleasant enough looking…but not suitable for me.”
“But Florence—”
“No, Aubrey wants her.” Well, not quite true. Aubrey wanted to find out what Florence was really up to with her bird-watching stunt. And was Aubrey not the best one to discover her true purpose when he understood about birds and could easily tell if she were spinning fables?
“Then Millicent—”
“Cannot wait to leave England and explore ancient civilizations. She intends to travel the world. I need to remain in England and take care of the Durham estate holdings.”
Fiona huffed. “Eloise? Surely she could notpossiblychoose—”
“Do you really expect me to keep her in consideration when she has openly stated she prefers Pershing to me? To pursue her would make me a laughingstock, especially if I did lose her to that churl. Spare me, Fiona. She is out of the question.”
She regarded him with utter dejection. “So, what now?”
“Nothing. I enjoy this house party and spend these next few days with you. We are going to be teammates anyway. Cherish will send Bromleigh to sleep in the stables if he dares foist Pershing on you again. Since he loves her to pieces, he has already surrendered and offered to add me to your team.”
“He hasn’t said anything to me yet.”
“He will,” Rob said. “He understands what he needs to do to make his wife happy.”
“But then you will be spending all your time with me, and this is the last thing you ought to be doing.”
“Fine, I’ll go riding with Bromleigh and his fellow Silver Dukes once they all arrive. Lynton’s already here, and I understand Camborne and Ramsdale are due to arrive later today. I’ll play billiards and drink brandy with Reggie. I’ll go fishing on my own.”
Her ears perked. “I don’t mind fishing.”
“I know,” he said, smiling as he recalled those lazy childhood summers when it was too hot for them to do much more than sit under a shade tree by the stream that flowed behind their neighboring properties and dip their poles into the swift waters, waiting for a plump fish to take the bait. “Care to join me for that? How about at dawn tomorrow?”
She let out a breath. “Yes, I would love it.”
“Then I’ll forgo my morning ride and we’ll go fishing instead. Most of the games you and Cherish have planned won’t start much before noon anyway. Ah, more scavenger hunters are returning.”
Fiona nodded and then left his side to greet them and mark down the items they’d found. Rob remained seated, feeling quite satisfied with how the day had turned out.
Now there was only one concern remaining.
Milbury.
Would the man use this house party as an opportunity to woo Fiona? Would Fiona encourage it?
