health was good and that he hadn’t given in to the urge to wager money they didn’t have.
“Theodora?”
She looked up. “Sorry, lost in thought.”
Robin came to her side, carrying his plate and drink. “I see that. Everything all right?”
“I was just thinking about my father. Could I write him a letter? You have a way to get mail to Limbo, don’t you?”
Robin nodded. “We do. And you can write one in the library. Everything you need is in the rolltop desk by the reference section.”
“Thank you.” She felt better already. “Is everything set for dinner?”
“It is.” He went to the table and put his meal down. “Amelia was thrilled and promised me that she’d take care of inviting Deacon and his sister.”
“That’s wonderful.” She bit her lip. She still didn’t have anything to wear that wasn’t jeans or leggings. Hopefully, that would be fine.
One of his brows lifted. “Really? Because that’s not what your face is saying.”
“Nope, I think it’s great.”
He gave her a look. “Theodora.”
“You should call me Theo. Theodora seems so formal, and now that I’m calling you Robin—”
He smiled. “Stop trying to change the subject, Theo. What’s bothering you? Besides your father.”
She sighed. “I’m just thinking everyone else is going to be dressed nicer than me.”
“Ah, yes. We haven’t done anything about that, have we?” He took her hand. “I have something to show you.”
Chapter Seventeen
Robin had a feeling Theodora might not like what he was about to show her, and he completely understood if that was her reaction. He didn’t like it either. Despite that, he’d done nothing about it in all the years he’d lived here.
He led her back to the foyer entrance of his quarters and through the doors opposite the ones that opened into his personal space. He wasn’t sure how many years it had been since he’d entered these other rooms. He knew Mrs. Baton kept the apartment clean, but other than that, he did his best to ignore its contents.
He opened the doors and walked through, Theo at his side. Gone were the deep blues and royal purples that he favored. Instead, these rooms were all about the pale greens and aqua blues that had been the queen’s signature colors. He took a breath, then wished he hadn’t. Her perfume still lingered faintly. “This was Vesta’s side.”
Theo looked around. “The space is gorgeous. I don’t want to like it, but I do.” She made an apologetic face. “Sorry.”
“It’s all right.” He supposed it was very pretty. To him, it just reminded him of her. “She left a lot behind. Anything personal, I assume she took. What’s here is mostly clothing, jewelry, shoes, some knickknacks, cosmetics, things like that. Anyway, I thought maybe some of the clothing might be useful to you.”
Theo’s brows went up. “Are you suggesting that I borrow some of the queen’s things for the dinner party?”
“Absolutely. Why not? She clearly doesn’t care. If any of it meant anything, she would have taken it with her.”
“But these are…the queen’s things.”
“Does that matter? Because it doesn’t matter to me. In fact, I should have thrown all of this out years ago.”
“You would have thrown all of her stuff away?”
“In a heartbeat.”
Her brows crept slightly higher. “Why haven’t you? You obviously have no love for her anymore.”
He snorted. “As if that was even possible.” He surveyed the space. “I guess I’ve left it all because ignoring it was easier. And in the beginning, I might have thought she was going to come back and confess that it was all a bad dream.”
How idiotic he’d been.
He shook his head, disgusted at himself. How had he ever cared for her? “I was so young and so foolish. I should never have trusted her.”
Theo frowned as if it bothered her to see him upset. “Don’t do that to yourself. Yes, you were young, but you were supposed to trust her. She was your wife. And the marriage was intended to bring the two kingdoms together. How were you to know she had other ideas?”
“I guess.” Her concern was like a spring breeze, reminding him that there was still good in the world. He stared at the space before them. “I realize you may have different tastes from Vesta, but do you think you can find something to wear?”
“I’ll have to see what’s left, but I’m sure there will be something I can adapt. I’m all right with a needle and thread, if need be. And we’re about the same size. Or we used to