to freeze his movements. He gave her a careful look. “What do you mean, exactly?”
Taking courage, she said, “Most people outside my family try to avoid me. I don’t really have any friends and the ones I did have as a child mysteriously disappeared after Charles’s wedding. Given my personality, I cannot help but wonder if it was my faux pas that turned me into a pariah, or if I’m simply too unruly to like.”
“You are aware that most members of the ton are idiots, are you not?”
The seriousness with which he posed the question made her laugh. “Maybe.”
He pushed out a breath and set his glass aside. “I like you a great deal, Athena.”
“Really?”
“To be sure, you do get the strangest notions sometimes, and I do believe you’ve got a great deal to learn about life and how to manage your willfulness so you don’t put yourself or others in danger. But as a person, I think you’re a gem. I’d hate to see you lose your sparkle.”
Athena’s lips parted in response to his words. She wanted to thank him and yet somehow doing so seemed insufficient when he’d just given her the biggest stamp of approval she’d ever received. Coming from him, from the man whose life she’d ruined, it meant the world. It made her eyes sting and her throat close up tight, so rather than speak, she simply nodded her appreciation and finished her food. The prospect of leaving his side instilled in her the strangest feeling of discontent. In fact, she feared she would miss him terribly once they parted ways. More than that, she feared she would lose her opportunity to learn why her heart beat faster when he was near or why his opinion mattered as much as it did. Within her reach was the chance to figure out something important, and yet, she couldn’t quite seem to grasp it.
Chapter Five
ROBERT’S GUT TIGHTENED as he and Athena approached Foxborough Hall. He’d never been prone to anxiety, but the thought of walking through the front doors he could see in the distance and coming face to face with Athena’s family, of giving explanations and then embarking on the most important endeavor of his life, made his nerves clang together.
“Tell me something,” he said. They’d had almost two hours in which to speak, and yet he’d managed to waste them on inane topics and introspection. Walking their horses through deep banks of snow, they turned them onto the tree-lined drive leading up to the house. “What is your hope for the future?”
“To be happy, I suppose.”
“And what would happiness entail?”
“I don’t know. I’d like to be respected by my peers, not to be gawked at or whispered about whenever I enter a room.”
“What about courtship, marriage, and children?”
She cast him a startled look. “I, um...” Turning her gaze back toward the road, she swallowed deeply, then said, “I would like to have a family of my own one day – a large one, I should think, with plenty of children and an adoring husband to love.”
Warmth seeped through Robert’s veins. “Do you have a particular gentleman in mind yet?”
“No. As I’ve mentioned, none of the well-respected gentleman I’ve met wants to risk his reputation on me, but I am hoping that will change if we’re seen together. Your public acceptance of me, as the man I once wronged, would help a great deal, I’m sure.”
“Let us hope so,” he murmured.
So she’d not set her cap for anyone in particular. This was good to know since it increased his chances and eased his mind. All he had to do now was open her eyes to what he already knew to be true – that they could have a passionate union filled with many more joyful moments and interesting conversation. Within the confines of his heart he could feel his own emotions shifting, from the almost brotherly affection he’d harbored for her as a boy, to the fierce adoration and want she instilled in him as a man. It was more than purely physical. It was an innate need to protect her, to walk by her side and offer guidance, to bask in the beauty of her sparkling eyes and bathe in the warmth of her smiles.
A shaky breath rose from his lungs. They had arrived.
After dismounting, Robert went to help Athena down. He knew she didn’t require help, but he wanted to give it nonetheless, to take this last bit of closeness for himself. His hands