Athena attempted to go outside, he’d seen to some correspondence, reviewed his ledger, and contemplated the offer he’d make for her when he eventually met with her father.
Reaching the library, he opened the door and prepared to step inside, only to come to an instant halt the moment he saw her. Belly down on the floor and with her feet kicked up in the air, she read one of three books strewn out before her. Every muscle inside Robert flexed in response, for although she was properly dressed now in the same gown she’d worn when she first arrived, her skirt had followed the laws of gravity and lay around her knees, allowing him a direct look at stocking-clad calves and feet.
He frowned. Where the devil were her shoes?
Searching the floor, his gaze swept the curve of her bottom. No breeches this time, his treacherous brain informed him. And her skirts were already bunched half-way up her legs. Robert flexed his fingers. It wouldn’t take much to...
With a shake of his head he turned away, slamming the door as he left the room. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she meant to torment him. But no. He’d seen the incomprehension in her gaze earlier when she’d been struck by desire. She’d not understood it or known how to handle it. She’d simply lain there, willing to surrender as instinct took over. Which wasn’t at all what he wanted from her. What he wanted, he thought as he grabbed his greatcoat and stormed from the house in pursuit of the wintry chill outside, was for her to come to him without fear or doubt but with full understanding of what would transpire between them.
“I missed you this afternoon,” she told him at dinner. “You said you would come to the library when you were done with your work, but you didn’t. Or was that you, slamming the door?”
“It was. I’m sorry.” He continued eating his soup.
“Is everything all right?”
“It is.”
“You’re not angry with me again?”
“No. I just...” He frowned at her. “Eat, Athena, or your food will get cold.”
She made a huffing sound, but did as he asked. Pleased with her compliance, he finished the remainder of his soup in silence and set his spoon aside. “Perhaps we can play a game of chess after dinner. Or cards, if you prefer.”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not especially good at strategy games. I wonder... Do you still have your marbles?”
Robert instantly grinned. “Of course. They’re upstairs in my bedchamber.”
“Then I would suggest you fetch them once we’ve completed our meal so we can compete. As I recall, you won the last time we played and I’ve a good mind to change that.”
Amused and, he had to confess, eager to have some fun with her, as soon as the meal was over, Robert went to collect the box of marbles he kept on top of his dresser. They’d been his most prized possession once – a collection that had taken him years of birthdays, Christmases, and pocket money to establish. Arriving in the parlor where Athena waited, he set the box on the floor and sat down beside it. She came to join him and he poured the marbles out onto the carpet.
“This one was always my favorite,” she said, picking up a hand cut agate marble, its high polish making it stand out among the ones made from clay.
“Mine too. It was a gift from my favorite aunt. She’d seen me eye it every time we passed the shop window, so she bought it for me for my birthday. My tenth one, I think.”
Athena chuckled. “Just imagine. It’s as old as I am.”
The comment gave him pause. He glanced at her, at the smile curving her lips, the rosy flush in her cheeks, at how a few stray curls hung over her brow while she studied the rest of his collection. He was ten years her senior. Wanting anything more than friendship from her wasn’t right. It just wasn’t. And yet, he could not deny his feelings. All he could do was hope and pray he’d be good enough for her and that she would not regret marrying him.
He gave himself an inward shake. There was no guarantee she’d accept his hand, but now was not the time to dwell on such detail. Removing a long piece of red ribbon at the bottom of the box, he laid it out in a circular shape and placed all the marbles inside.
“Pick your