“You,” he stated, the moment he reached the ground floor. He led them to the dining room as Ivy gasped and stared at him.
“Me?” she said in disbelief. “I... I haven’t written letters to you in?—”
“Years, yes, I’m well aware,” he said, pulling out a chair for her at the end of the long dining table.
Ivy slowly settled into the chair, watching him as he made his way to the carver at the other end. She winced at seeing how far away from each other they would be sitting if she remained where she was. Coming to her feet, she waved to the footman. “Perkins, I’m going to sit there,” she said, pointing to the chair adjacent to the carver.
The footman’s eyes rounded. “Yes, my lady.”
Ivy knew she had caught Robert off-guard with her edict, but she was determined to continue their conversation without worry the servants might eavesdrop. From Salisbury’s comment a few minutes earlier, she knew the staff was curious about their master’s unexpected appearance at the country estate.
The footman was quick to set up a place setting for her, and he held the chair until she was reseated. Meanwhile, Robert had remained standing behind the carver and finally sat down.
“You may serve the wine and the first course,” Ivy said, directing the instructions to Perkins.
“Yes, my lady.” The footman disappeared into the butler’s pantry.
“I don’t think we’ve ever sat this close to one another during dinner,” Robert remarked, experimentally reaching out with his foot to determine where her slippered feet were under the table.
Ivy couldn’t help the rush of heat that had her cheeks reddening and her insides tumbling about. “I don’t wish to shout across the table when we’re speaking of ghosts,” she whispered, sounding far too defensive.
The footman appeared with the wine, and Graves delivered bowls of soup. When they were once again alone, Robert said, “The old letters aren’t really the ghosts,” he said, taking his spoon in hand. He stirred his soup a few times before lifting it to his lips. A purr of appreciation sounded.
Ivy furrowed an auburn brow when her gaze went to the hand that held his spoon. The knuckles there were scuffed, and one appeared larger than the others. “And yet they had you fleeing York,” she accused, tearing her attention from his hand. “On the absolutely worst day of winter.” She noticed his grimace and added, “What’s happened, Robert? What’s going on?”
He dipped his head, his gaze on the curls of steam rising from his bowl of soup. “I read them,” he stated, before he took another spoonful of soup to his mouth. “Or reread them, I suppose.” He ate the soup and didn’t make eye contact as he returned the spoon to the bowl and once again stirred the contents.
“How old were these letters?” she asked, finally eating a spoonful of soup she had been holding in anticipation of his response.
“About thirty years, I suppose,” he replied.
She reacted with surprise. “You have letters from me that are that old?”
He gave her a quelling glance. “Of course. I’ve kept all of them,” he said. “You wrote the ones I was reading whilst I was in London for Parliament and you were in York. Moving into Gladstone Hall. Redecorating the salon and the dining room,” he added wistfully.
Ivy inhaled softly. “Oh, I remember. We had just returnedfrom our wedding trip, and I was so happy.” She suddenly frowned. “Except I wasn’t.”
He arched a dark brow in surprise. “You weren’t?”
“Oh, I was happy, but I missed you terribly,” she admitted. “We had spent every day together since our wedding and then... suddenly you weregone.”
He considered her words as he took another spoonful of soup. “In one of the letters, you had learned you were with child,” he said. “I think I must have bought drinks for everyone at Brooks’s the night after I received that letter.”
Grinning, Ivy continued eating her soup. “I feared you would be bored reading all my correspondence. I recall I wrote every day until I knew you had left London to come home.”
“Indeed you did, but I was never bored, Ivy. Not whilst reading the letters anyway.” He sighed. “I was never so glad to leave London as I was at the end of that session.”
Ivy allowed a wan smile at hearing his claim. “I was so relieved when you arrived at Gladstone Hall. So I could show you what had been done to those rooms,” she said wistfully. “I so wanted to see your reaction.”
Robert winced, remembering he had only had eyes for her. “You must have thought me daft when I didn’t immediately notice the changes.”
She tittered. “Blind, is what I remember thinking,” she countered, arching an auburn brow for emphasis.
“Only because I couldn’t take my eyes offyou,” he argued. “You were already so round with child,” he murmured, his gaze clearly on his mind’s eye. “And you glowed, as if you had swallowed a lit candle.”
Ivy grinned at the memory. “I was so worried you would find me too fleshy.”
“God, no,” he whispered. “You were so gorgeous. You still are,” he said, waving his spoon for emphasis. “It’s a good thing both Charity and Grace take after you more than me.”
