After all, the very last thing he desired was a repeat rejection. Coming from her, he doubted he’d ever recover. He took a steady breath, tried to find some sense of calm. Nothing else had ever counted as much as his next words would.
“Do you still collect flowers?” He’d not really known what he’d say until he’d said it, and somehow the question seemed perfect. The subject was safe, allowing them, he hoped, to return to a more relaxed mood.
She turned slightly in her chair so she could watch his approach. “Yes. I’m surprised you remember.”
He studied her as he drew nearer, noted how she averted her gaze and started to fidget. Forcing a casual lilt to his voice, he said, “How could I not? You were always searching for four leaf clovers and marveling over plants you’d never seen before.”
A grin brightened her features. “I have ten notebooks now, filled with my flowers and notes.”
“Ten? That’s rather impressive.”
“No replicas,” she added. “Each flower is unique.”
“I’m guessing some must have come from a hothouse.”
“A few, I’ll confess.” She tilted her head and gave him a smile. “Do you still dabble in poetry?”
“Poetry? I don’t recall ever—”
“The barmaid down yonder, does make one wonder, about gravitational forces. Her breasts are so large, they’re in need of a barge, while her arse needs a team of ten horses.”
Robert barely managed to wait for her to finish before a roar of laughter rolled through him. “Good God. You remember that?”
“Of course. Bawdy rhymes have a way of sticking with me, Lord Darlington.”
Interesting.
He considered asking if she’d invented any of her own. Instead he said, “I know I insisted on formal address earlier, but I think we can dispense with that now. Please, call me Robert.”
“If you like.”
The hesitance in her voice did not escape his notice. Deciding to set her at ease, he prepared to return to the amusing subject they’d been discussing, but was stopped from doing so when Dartwood came to announce that supper was ready to be served.
Thanking the butler, Robert waited for Athena to rise and then offered his arm. She stared at him for a moment as if unsure of how to proceed. When he did not budge, she eventually looped her hand through the crook of his elbow and let him escort her. Satisfaction settled deep within his chest. He dropped a look at the lady who walked by his side and was pleased to see a pink flush in her cheeks.
Yes, he affected her. And he rather imagined it terrified her to bits.
