“I do hope you’re enjoying yourself,” Ivy said, her face flushed from the dance.
Robert turned her under his arm and recaptured her hand in his. “I am, but I think it’s time we left the servants to their merriment,” he said. “What about you?”
“I haven’t given them their gifts yet,” she said in protest.
Robert nodded in the direction of the refreshments table, where Graves was lining up pasteboard boxes adorned with ribbons. “You can do so when we finish this dance,” he said.
“Where didthoseboxes come from?” she asked in surprise. “They are far nicer than the ones we usually use,” she added in awe.
He chuckled softly. “I might have found them earlier. In one of the trunks Perkins brought down from the attic,” he hinted. “They were flattened, but Graves assured me he could make them presentable, and it appears he has.”
“I think he must have had one of the maids make the bows,” Ivy remarked. “They look positively beautiful.”
“Indeed. I hope you don’t mind, but I had him put the coins in the boxes with the oranges.”
Ivy’s eyes rounded. “Robert,” she said on a breath.
“It’s only a few coins, but... I thought it only right since I’m having the butler at Gladstone Hall do the same thing.”
“With oranges, too?” she asked in surprise.
He grimaced. “Apples, actually. Oh, and enough money in Mr. Walker’s box so he can buy a marriage license,” he added. “He won’t be able to get one at his own parish in London.”
She tittered as the music ended, leaving them next to the front door.
Robert glanced up and Ivy followed his gaze. “Oh,” she whispered, discovering the kissing bough hung directly above their heads.
“Oh, indeed,” he said, before capturing her lips with his. Although the kiss was short, it was a prelude of what he intended to be doing once they were in his bedchamber.
The two quietly made their way up the stairs, sure they wouldn’t be missed.
