He saw the stubbornness in the set of her mouth. “If she hurts you, I’ll yank every strand of hair from her head.”
He laughed deeply, the sound filled with love. “You’re so fierce.” He sobered. “She is, too. More so than she was. I wasn’t the only one who suffered during the time we were apart. They broke her, too, and now she’s putting herself back together.”
“Broken things can break again.”
“Or they can become stronger, impenetrable.”
The Duke of Thornley shook his head. “I’d have never thought to look for you among Sisters of Mercy. To take shelter among them was a stroke of genius.”
Desperation, more like. She’d feared her brother might think to look for her in a shelter, and she hadn’t wanted to sleep on the streets. “I really am sorry, Thorne, for any embarrassment I might have caused you.”
“You’ve apologized before, and I told you then that I hold no ill will.” He grinned. “Besides, it all turned out in my favor.”
“Your mother must have been appalled by the notion of you marrying a tavern owner.”
“Gillie won her over, and in time, every member of the aristocracy will adore her as I do.”
“I have no—”
“Are ye a fairy?” A very sweet voice interrupted her.
Glancing over, she saw a young lad of seven or eight, and her heart gave a little lurch. His clothing appeared relatively new, his dark hair straight, his eyes even darker.
“Robin, you don’t interrupt when someone is speaking,” Thornley said. “If you must interrupt, then you beg their pardon.”
The boy scowled at the duke before turning his attention back to her. “Beggin’ yer pardon, miss. But are ye a fairy?”
She laughed lightly. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Because ye’re so pretty and...” He furrowed his brow. “Can’t explain it, but ye stand out, like ye’re glowing or somethink. ’N’ ye’re so very pretty.”
He seemed to be focused on her prettiness, although it had been a good long while since she’d felt pretty—inside or out. “So your name is Robin?”
He nodded with such force that his dark locks flapped against his forehead. “I lives here. I protects it. Until my mum comes. She’s a fairy.”
“Is she now?”
A quick bob of his head, and she wondered if he had expected her to know his mother. “And who is she?”
He shrugged. “Dunno. The duke here give me a book on animals. I like animals. Do ye?”
“I do. I once had a cat. It slept on my bed.”
“I feed the cats milk, but not too much. Don’t want ’em so full they won’t eat the rats.”
Her stomach roiled at that image. “That’s awfully sweet of you to care for them so much.”
“Hello, young Robin,” Finn said as he pulled out his chair and sat. He looked over at Thorne. “Gillie’s back at the bar, working.”
“I’d best join her, make sure she doesn’t overdo it,” Thornley said as he stood. “It was good to see you, Lavinia.”
“You, too.”
As he walked off, Robin sidled up next to Finn. “Ye got anythink for me, guv?”
“In two days, I should think, I’ll have some errands for you to run.” He ruffled the lad’s hair. “Now, off to bed with you.”
Robin glanced slyly over at her, then back at Finn. “Ye kissed her?”
