Page 84 of The Secret Sister

‘Whoa… wait. Hartington saw the kiss?’ Edward’s eyes were wide and horrified.

Robert nodded, a sick feeling settling in his stomach. This was getting worse by the minute.

His brother resumed his pacing and hair pulling. ‘Dear God. I swear, I always thought you to be overly cautious and circumspect with women. What the hell has happened to you? Is it Juliana? Are you seeking revenge on all women?’

‘Don’t be stupid,’ Robert snapped. ‘It’s nothing to do with Juliana. It’s just that… I… Christ, Ed, I do not know what has happened to me! I like Miss Courtney. I enjoy her company. She’s funny and witty, and she seems quite happy being quiet with me too, which is a damned sight more than most women can manage. She’s never set her cap at me, she is just… my friend.’

‘So, you kissed her.’

Robert sank into the chair and rested his elbows wearily on his knees. ‘I saw her with Hartington and they seemed close. I got it into my head that the rumours were true and she had chosen him.’

‘And?’

‘I was… jealous. I couldn’t stand it, so I asked her if there was anything between them.’

Ed closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. ‘You didn’t feel that was a tad presumptuous?’

‘Of course I did, but how else was I to find out?’

‘In the same way the rest of us do. By agonising for days, suffering sleepless nights, and hoping against hope what you saw was not what you thought it was.’

Robert rubbed his head, that was now pounding. ‘We were walking and talking, and she assured me there was nothing between her and Hartington and nor did she wish there to be and I…’ he gestured vaguely, ‘looked at her and wanted more than anything in the world to kiss her, so I asked if I could and she said yes. So, I did. Kiss her, I mean.’

‘And what did she do?’

Robert shrugged. ‘She kissed me back.’

‘Was it a good kiss?’

Robert’s lips twitched into a smile at the memory, and warmth flooded his entire body as he nodded. ‘The best ever.’

‘Better than Juliana?’

Robert shrugged. ‘I never kissed Juliana.’ The honest reply came out of his mouth without thinking, and he felt himself flush as he looked at the naked incredulity on his brother’s face. ‘Yes, yes, I know – I probably bored her to death.’

Ed huffed a laugh, and they exchanged weak smiles.

‘I’m sorry if I’ve played hob with your plans. I swear, I never planned to kiss her. It just happened.’

‘And she wasn’t angry with you?’

‘Not at all. She said, well, she said we should see how we go on.’

‘Then she is a paragon among women. She doesn’t annoy you and you want to kiss her. I suggest you offer for her forthwith before she gets stuck on the notion of marrying Hartington. She’d be a duchess if she did.’

‘She doesn’t want to marry him.’

Ed gave him a searching look. ‘So why are you not offering for her?’

Robert looked away. ‘What on earth could I offer her? I’m probably heading for Canada before long, and life as an army wife can be difficult. Besides, who on earth would want me for a husband?’

‘Rob, don’t say that. Do you love her?’

Robert scrubbed at his eye with the heel of his hand, then sighed. ‘I have absolutely no idea.’

Chapter 38

ELIZA