He worried about her coming to his house alone. Her dress may have been innocuous, but there were still dangers to an unaccompanied woman, especially at night. Mayhap even more for someone who appeared to be working class. To his chagrin, he feared someone seeing and recognizing her almost as much as her safety. She had a network beyond the Ton, and the servants gossiped like Society matrons. However, he doubted he could prevent her, and ’twas more her risk of being seen, especially if she had a key to the back door. Besides, did he really want her to stop?
He kept running into the same concern about her visits and the business venture.She is too high profile for my comfort.
But he’d argued with himself throughout the day again, a habit becoming more frequent the longer he knew Beth.If her face is not included and my name is not on the catalogue, ’tis an excellent idea.
It was silly to risk exposure for more sales; he didn’t need the money. His pride in his work argued with the logic against the risk. He also dithered over the question that bothered him the most. If her repeated visits were focused on the novelty of his wares, was he willing to risk ending her visits by declining her help?
He liked Beth. Indeed, he kept finding more aspects to admire about her. In turn, she’d said she liked his strength and form, and he believed her. But just as he objected to her inattention to Ton gossip, would she not lose patience with his desire to avoid it? Someone with her energy and network deserved someone able to move in the same circles and support her, just as she had supported his work. He was not that person.
Despite the threat of exposure, he was willing to risk being hurt. If he could keep their relationship to the dark hours of the night, he could enjoy it until her interest waned.
With that in mind, he foraged through his office to produce a spare key and requested a cold supper to be served in his workroom. He picked at it, keeping some aside to have food on hand for her visit. The same servant who answered her knock the night before was asked to direct her upstairs.
Unable to focus on the intricacies of cutting and stitching such an unforgiving material, he paced until days or hours or minutes later, he heard a tap on the sitting room door.
Beth entered, shedding the same servant’s cloak she’d worn the previous night.
Robert stepped in front of her, reaching for her hand. But instead of bowing over it, he tugged her closer and leaned in to kiss her cheek.
“Oh! I am happy to see you as well, Robert.” She beamed.
I love making her smile.
He led her to a seat near the fire and offered her a plate to fill from the supper tray. “Port? Or I had them bring sherry up, although I confess my valet thought I was mad when I asked him for it.”
A laugh burst out of her, her bosom jiggling. “Sherry would be lovely, thank you.”
Robert dragged his eyes away from her neckline to pour them each a drink then sat across from her. He reached for a pile of rough sketches to hand her.
“Robert, I have a lead on a new blacksmith.” Her words stopped him as his hand met the sketches, and he left them in place. “Well, rather ’tis a lead on finding a blacksmith, but still.”
“Really? How?”
“I am actually surprised you didn’t think of it. I learned yesterday that Penelope’s stepfather, David Hunter, hired an apprentice, and I asked her to provide an entrée with him.”
“What?” he near-yelled, standing. This was one of his fears, that she did not respect his privacy.
“Stay calm. I would never give your name out without your permission.” Beth gestured toward his chair, and he lowered himself, still frowning. “But think, Robert. If we go to him, we are two days from London. He knows how Penelope and Michael met, so his discretion is proven. And he’s hired an apprentice, so he can speak to how he found him.” She cocked her head.
Dammit.She has a point. ’Twould be like Bath, almost a holiday with no disapproving Ton to worry about.
She kept inching him toward the edge of discomfort and just beyond. He knew she’d continue to prod at him the more he acceded to her requests. Despite that certainty, he was unable to decline the opportunity for more private time with her away from the Ton.
“I assume your presence is required?” he asked, cocking his head.
“Yes, to facilitate the interview. You liked my help in Bath.”
He smiled. Her voice was pleading, almost as much as when he held back her ecstasy.
“Right, then. I can be ready to leave tomorrow, if that suits you?”
Her eyes widened in surprise then narrowed, leaving no doubt she was formulating a negotiation. “Your word as a gentleman?”
He nodded.
“I am afraid I can only join you on one condition.” She folded her arms under her prodigious chest, drawing his attention to it as he was sure she intended.
“Let’s hear it, then.”
