“For?”
“For you to be happy.” She placed the paperweight back down, giving him a smile before turning and leaving the room.
Chapter sixteen
Louisa stood in theLavender Room, surveying the progress as servants removed furniture and workers joined together to roll up the massive rug on the center of the floor. It had been more fulfilling to be involved in reworking the room than Louisa had anticipated, and she watched it all unfold with a level of satisfaction. No longer would the room be gaudy and full of feminine florals, but a nice blend of deep, masculine colors and fine furnishings. It would suit herselfandthe duke.
“Very nicely done, Louisa,” the dowager allowed. “Things are shaping up nicely.”
“Thank you.” She smiled wider under her mother-in-law’s praise. “I must admit that it is looking well thus far.”
“I know Robert is quite proud of you.”
“What?” Louisa snapped her head in her direction.
Arabella gave a self-satisfied smile. “Oh, yes. He went on about it for quite some time yesterday.”
Louisa picked at her finger, feeling unreasonably self-conscious at the mention of Robert’s praise. “That was very kind of him.”
“So, I told him you no longer need me, and I shall retire to Glennview for the remainder of the year.”
“You . . .” Words dried up on her tongue. Leave? Already? She had grown somewhat close to the woman over the last couple of months and had come to enjoy her company. If she left, it would just be Louisa and Robert. And that thought worried her.
“It is time for you to stretch your wings—for you and Robert to make a home for yourselves. I would only be in the way.”
Louisa reached her hand over, taking Arabella’s arm. “Nonsense. We welcome having you here.”
Arabella looked down at Louisa’s hand, as if people touching her was a foreign concept. She finally gave it a hesitant pat. “I think it is time. But I will be back.” She looked Louisa dead in the eye with her next words. “Especially once I have a little grandbaby to spoil.”
Baby . . ? Louisa’s stomach knotted, clenching tightly enough she momentarily forgot how to catch a breath.
“What?” Arabella leaned forward. “Are you already in the family way?”
“No!” Louisa dropped her arm like a red-hot branding rod. “I mean—” She ran her hands along her waist, then threw her hand in the air when she realized how that might look. “No.” She held a hand firmly out. “I am not in the family way.”
Arabella narrowed her eyes, showing just enough to make her suspicions known without revealing too much. Just like Robert. “Well, when you are, be sure to let me know. This will be my first grandchild, and I cannot deny that I am getting a bit impatient.”
Louisa took a breath as spots formed in her vision. She knew this would be part of her agreement with Robert. He was a duke and would need an heir, but how could she separate thecontractual things from the emotional? It almost would have been better to have gone ahead on their wedding night when she still thought him a bit cold and distant. Their situation was getting stickier and more difficult to navigate with every day that passed.
“Yes,” she finally managed to say. “You will be the fifth to know.”
“Fifth?” Arabella quirked a brow.
“Well, yes. After Robert, my mother must be next, and if I tell Mother, then Violet is sure to find out as well. And, of course, I shall technically be the first to know, therefore you would be . . . fifth.” She had paused, realizing how stupid the entire montage of musings had been, but she had to finish her thought, regardless.
Arabella laughed. “Oh, my dear. I do not think you realize how much of a blessing you have been. Robert needs someone like you.”
“No, he—”
“Hush,” she interrupted. “I think I would know. I knew him well before you and have seen the change in him—the change you have brought out.”
“You are too kind. But really,” Louisa continued, attempting to switch the subject, “you need not leave. We are happy to have you.”
“Not another word.” Arabella sliced the air with her hand. “I am leaving to allow you two the time to get to know one another. That is that.”
Louisa nodded, then turned her attention back to the matter at hand. A room needed to be surveyed, and she was the lady of the house. Soon to be theonlylady.
Louisa threw herself into the care of Stonemoore once Arabella took her leave. Better that than find herself alone with Robert, which seemed to be happening more and more. It was the strangest thing. If she was in the kitchen going over the menu with Mrs. Powell, he would happen to arrive at nearly the same time, also needing to discuss something with Mrs. Powell. And when Louisa needed to go to the milliner for a new pair of gloves or hat, Robert would claim a pair of boots needing repairs and go with her to drop them off. Things that easily could have been seen to by a servant, but Robert decided to take it upon himself.
