“I understand why you believe you wish it.”
Her eyes narrowed. “How generous of you to explain my own mind to me.”
Rowan rose.
The movement changed the room at once. The dark coat fit his shoulders too well, pulling cleanly across muscle, and Emmeline felt the humiliating warmth gather low in her stomach before she could stop it.
He came around the desk. “Ironford village is not a promenade in Hyde Park.”
“I should hope not. I have seen Hyde Park.”
“There are uneven roads, curious eyes, gossiping mouths, and villagers who have not yet formed an opinion of you.”
“Then I ought to give them the chance.”
His gaze moved over her face, pausing at her mouth just long enough to make her knees feel less certain. “And if you dislike their opinion?”
“I shall survive disappointment.”
“I do not doubt it.”
The softness of the words startled her.
For a moment, they simply looked at one another, and Emmeline felt the room narrow around them. He stood close enough now that she could see the faint dark grain of stubble along his jaw and the slight shadow beneath his eyes. She wanted to ask whether he had slept.
Instead, she lifted her chin. “I also want Aaron to come.”
At once, Rowan’s expression closed. “No.”
“Why?”
“He is not accustomed to the village.”
“Then it is time he became accustomed to it.”
“He is seven.”
“Years old. Not seven months.”
His jaw tightened. “Do not make light of this.”
“I am not.” She stepped nearer before sense could restrain her. “That is exactly my point. He should know the people who live under his father’s care. He should see shops, hear carts, greet children.”
Rowan’s eyes hardened. “You do not know what overwhelms him.”
“No,” she said, quieter now. “But I know what delights him.”
The words seemed to strike him. She watched his hand flex once at his side.
“And Biscuit,” she added carefully, because if the argument was going to be fought, it might as well be fought fully. “Aaron will be steadier if Biscuit comes.”
“The dog is not going into the village.”
“The dog is very small.”
“The dog is disordered.”
Despite herself, Emmeline smiled.
