Roi’s smile faded. “I have not had the opportunity to tell you what happened when we left Cheltenham,” he said. “Robin was not—”
Christopher held up a hand to stop him. “Say no more,” he said. “Lady Diara told me everything.”
Roi looked surprised. “She did?” he said. “What did she say?”
“That Robin tripped and hurt himself just as you were preparing to leave,” Christopher said. “That is why he did not come.”
Roi realized that Diara probably had to tell his father something about Robin’s absence, so she gave him the samestory they had both agreed upon. With regret, he sighed and averted his gaze.
“She had to tell you that,” he said. “She was protecting me.”
Christopher frowned. “Protect you from what?”
Roi cleared his throat softly. “Robin was being difficult,” he said. “I wanted to bring Diara to Beckett’s funeral, but he demanded I marry her first. I told him I did not wish to because, until my son is buried, my focus will be on him, and that is not fair to a new wife. But Robin did not see it that way. He said some fairly distasteful things about Beckett, so I struck him.”
Christopher wasn’t surprised to hear that, but he still shook his head with regret. “Hard?”
“Hard enough to knock him cold,” Roi said. “When he awoke, Diara told him that he tripped and hit his face on the table. I am sure he does not believe that, but Diara told her mother the same story, and, as you have seen, the lady can be quite convincing when she wants to be.”
“She does not want her father to know you struck him.”
Roi shook his head slowly. “Nay.”
“He could have you punished.”
“Possibly.”
“Then I like her already, because she has tried to protect you,” Christopher said. “Not that I condone striking Cheltenham, even though the man undoubtedly deserved it, but I like that she would do what is necessary to protect you from his wrath. That is a good woman.”
Roi nodded. “I think so,” he said quietly. “Papa… I have spent the past four days with her, and I have come to a conclusion that makes me feel quite guilty.”
“About what?”
Roi stood up and went to his son’s casket, looking down at that pale face. “About the fact that I do not think Beckett would have been a good husband for her,” he said. “She is far moremature and responsible than he was. Mayhap he would have grown into it, but he simply wasn’t ready for marriage. He lacked the sense of maturity that it requires, and poor Diara would have been married to a man who was not as sensible or wise as she was. That would have made for a sad marriage, indeed.”
“But why do you feel guilty?”
Roi looked at him. “Because I am glad he didn’t marry her,” he said. “She is a much better match for me.”
A smile tugged at the corner of Christopher’s mouth. “Can I assume that you are pleased with this betrothal?”
“Very much so.”
“You were not so certain when you told Robin that you would assume the contract in Beckett’s stead.”
“I did not know her at the time. She is perfect.”
“As perfect as Odette?”
Roi shrugged. “Odette was completely different,” he said. “We were both young when we married, and there were times I was more like her father than her husband. She would not make a decision without me. She would hardly make a move without me. She was kind and educated and accomplished, but she was very much a helpless creature. Diara is most certainly not a helpless creature.”
Christopher sat back against the stone wall behind him. “Does she remind you of someone in that respect?”
“Who?”
“Your mother, mayhap?”
Roi thought on that for a moment. “A little,” he said. “I am not ashamed to admit that the older I have become, the more I like a woman who is not a poor, fragile flower. I like a woman with a little fire and the sense to control it.”
