“Are youstillnot dressed properly?” she asked, trying her best to sound scolding rather than breathless.
Robert smirked and, to her absolute horror, rolled one shoulder slowly, as if testing the tension in it. The muscle flexed beneath his skin. Then the other.
“Does this displease you?” he asked innocently. “I thought we were making progress.”
“You—!” She clamped her mouth shut, eyes darting back to the fireplace to avoid his grin.
He stretched like a cat, just to be infuriating. “You should see your face, darling wife. You’re blushing again.”
“Oh, you cad,” she snapped, whirling around and nearly tripping over the edge of the rug. “Stop it at once!”
His laughter rumbled in the low, amused way that made her want to throw something at him and also, against her better judgment, smile.
“This is far too fun,” he said, settling into the chair with maddening ease. “You storm in here like a duchess on a mission, and yet, here you are, utterly undone by an unbuttoned shirt.”
“Because you’re doing iton purpose.”
“Guilty,” he agreed with a wicked glint in his eyes. “But if it puts your noble mind at ease, I shall behave.” He raised his hands in mock surrender.
With a sigh that was more or a growl, she fully looked up at him again and instantly regretted it. The light from the fire had shifted, casting golden shadows along the hard lines of his torso. The open shirt was worse than no shirt at all; it was an invitation, a temptation.
Her breath caught again before she could stop it. He noticed. But this time, he said nothing.
That was when she sat down without being invited, and her skirt settled around her like a pale cloud. She clasped her hands tightly in her lap. She needed to focus on what she had come to say or better yet, to ask.
“I came,” she began, forcing her voice to be steady, “because I want to understand. Earlier… when we danced… you saidsomething about my father.” She looked up at him, eyes searching. “I want you to explain what you meant.”
Robert’s entire posture changed. The muscles of his chest, previously displayed with such shameless ease, now tensed as if bracing for a blow. His face lost every trace of humor. The light in his eyes dimmed. He didn’t answer. He didn’t even look at her.
Silence bloomed between them suddenly, thick and suffocating.
Evelyn’s voice softened. “I know this isn’t easy, but I’m your wife now. You can trust me. Whatever you tell me, it will stay between us.”
He finally met her eyes. There was something old and raw in his expression, grief so deep it had calcified into silence over the years. Her heart clenched.
Robert stood, walked to the hearth, and braced his arm against the mantel, staring into the fire like it might burn the words into clarity. When he spoke, his voice was low, almost hollow.
“I was nine,” he said. “We were traveling back to Harland from a visit to my grandmother’s estate. It was supposed to be routine, just a few days’ ride.”
He swallowed hard.
“My mother had been unwell, so she was wrapped in furs, seated beside me. My father sat across from us with my older brother, Julian. We were laughing about something, I don’t even remember what. Then the carriage stopped.” His jaw clenched. “Too suddenly. No call from the driver. Just… silence.”
Evelyn barely breathed.
“They came out of nowhere. Men. Three of them. Faces covered. They killed the driver first. Then the footman. I remember my father standing, telling my mother to hide Julian and her…” Robert’s voice cracked. “Her hands on me, pushing me down. There was a compartment under the seat. No one knew about it but us. A small space. Cramped. I couldn’t see much, but I heard everything.”
Evelyn’s hands flew to her mouth, horrified.
He didn’t stop.
“My mother… she wouldn’t beg. She tried to reason with them. That made them angrier. They killed her first.”
A second passed.
“Then my father. Julian. And then… silence again.”
He turned toward her finally. His eyes were glassy but dry, distant and haunted. “I waited. I don’t know how long. Hours, maybe. When I finally climbed out… they were just lying there.Still. The blood had soaked through everything. I touched her hand, thinking maybe she would wake up.”
