He tilted his chin back down, glancing at her. And then his eyes narrowed. Dangerously. “Is something funny to you?”
“No, of course not.” But the smile in her voice was clear, and he seemed to notice. Perhaps her husband was beginning to know her better after all.
He took a step closer, lowering the kerchief from his face. Well, at least the bleeding seemed to have stopped. And then his hand lifted toward her waist. But just as she expected the soft weight of it, he pulled his arm back.
“Well,” he said, bending slightly at the waist and looking to the ground. “That seems a good place to stop our lesson today. I’m not sure my nose could handle another blow of that magnitude.”
“All right.” She cleared her throat. “Shall we try again tomorrow?”
“Yes.” He wiped his nose. “Tomorrow will be good.”
Robert nodded, fisting the cloth in his hand as he strode away. As he left, and Louisa turned to watch him go, a flash in one of the upper windows caught her eye.
It seemed her mother-in-law had been watching their interlude.
Chapter fifteen
Robert made his wayto his room, striding over to the wash bin and splashing the cold water in the basin across his face. He dipped the edge of the kerchief in and wiped his nose clean. If only he could douse his entire body in the small dish, perhaps his mind would clear.
In a futile attempt to draw himself nearer to his wife, he had done his very best to flirt with her. But as soon as his hand had been about to cup her waist, every nerve in his arm had screamed at him to stop.
What if you misunderstood her advances? What if she runs off at your touch? And why on earth did you let out that dratted moan as she toyed with your hair?
He flopped back onto his bed, throwing an arm over his face.
“Ow,” he quietly mumbled, his nose still tender from Louisa’s punch.
What was he to do with himself? While wanting a deeper connection with Louisa, he was still tentative about breaking the physical and emotional boundary between them. But sheseemedattracted to him. Though, what if he was entirely mistaken and did something only to make himself look a fool? She did seem to enjoy getting a reaction from him. It was possible she was not actually attracted to his person, but rather, just enjoyed teasing.
After hiding in his room for nearly an hour, he ventured back downstairs. The first thing he did upon entering his office was to open the window and let in the fresh, early afternoon air before sitting down on his leather chair at his desk. He tried to focus, but anytime he picked up a paper to read it, the remembrance of Louisa’s hand trailing across his chest wormed its way in.
He slapped the paper back onto his desk, pressing his hands to his eyes. While knowing it would take effort on his part to get to know her, he had not realized it would be quite this difficult. It had never been modeled for him, his own parents having a respectful yet distant marriage, and Jessica only marrying Lord Drake for his money, ending in a loveless marriage with nothing there to even mourn. Robert was in uncharted waters, flailing about and trying to find his way.
A soft rustle near the office door drew his attention.
Prince.
“Leave,” he grumbled. But instead of doing as he was ordered, the small white pup sauntered farther into the room. Robert didn’t like the greedy look of those black eyes as they surveyed the space. “Just sit down and be quiet, if you please.” Goodness. He was talking to dogs now. He leaned back, snapping open the newspaper on his desk while occasionally flicking his eyes to the furry visitor to be sure it was behaving.
Robert stared unseeing at the words. At least he appeared to be busy if someone wandered into the room. He put a tentative finger to his nose, and to his surprise, found himself chuckling. Louisa’s fire as she thrust her fist forward had immediately turned to regret as his head snapped back. To her credit, thelady could throw a punch. But perhaps he wouldn’t let her know that so they could keep up with their lessons. He found he rather enjoyed them.
Prince circled round on one of the leather chairs and plopped into a little pile of white fur, letting out a contented huff.
Knowing he would not be able to focus on anything productive, Robert paced over to the window. The fresh air was soothing, and he let himself relax, enjoying the view. A squirrel scampered up a tree, birds flew from branch to branch, and everything seemed peaceful and quiet.
Until a small growl sounded behind him.
He turned around, and Prince had his front paws propped against the back of the chair, a line of hair along his back standing on end as his lips curled.
“Prince,” Robert said, a chuckle slipping out. Who knew the little dog had a killer instinct buried beneath all that fur? He pointed out the window. “What is it you see? The birds or the squirrel?”
Prince’s paws climbed farther up the back of the chair and he gave a yelp.
Robert walked over, picking him up and carrying him to the window for a better view. Prince’s eyes snapped to the squirrel, trailing after it as it scurried around a tree.
“Ah, so the squirrel?”
Prince’s muscles tightened as he strained against Robert’s hand.
