Harlequin Historical: April 2022 Box Set 2 of 2 by Marguerite Kaye

Author:Marguerite Kaye
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2022-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

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As the day wore on he wondered if she had somehow left the estate without anyone knowing. She had pleaded a headache the night before at dinner and, as far as he knew, hadn’t emerged from her room today. It would be just like her to have locked the bedroom door from the inside and scrambled down from the first-floor window.

There was a gnawing guilt building inside him and as he stood on the terrace behind the house he wondered how he might properly apologise to Charlotte if she refused to see him again. The idea of their short-lived friendship being over made him feel more upset than he should be, but he quickly pushed away this thought before he was forced to analyse it.

‘Something smells good,’ Charlotte said as she stepped through the terrace doors.’

‘Mrs Williams has a soft spot for me. When I asked her to put a basket together she rather outdid herself.’ He paused, waiting for her to meet his eye. ‘Thank you for coming.’

‘Until a few minutes ago I hadn’t decided whether I would.’

‘I’m glad you did.’ He offered her his arm and after a moment’s hesitation she took it. Carrying the sizeable basket with his other hand, he led her through the gardens and out into the parkland.

‘Where are we going?’

‘There is a beautiful little spot down by the river. I thought we could head down there.’

They walked mainly in silence over the undulating hills, but Robert was pleased to find there was nothing awkward about it. He knew Charlotte could hold a grudge and he had given her something to be truly annoyed about, but she was quiet and contemplative and not overtly angry.

‘Here,’ he said as they reached the banks of the river. Tied up was a sturdy little rowing boat. It was watertight even though it must be twenty years old—he and his cousins had often messed about on the river in it.

‘We’re going in that?’

‘Unless you don’t want to.’

She was down the bank and scrambling into the boat before he could even hold out a hand to assist her. With a grin he placed the basket on the boat and climbed in after her. Charlotte grabbed hold of the oars and set about positioning them.

‘I suppose you want to row.’ She held out the oars reluctantly.

He raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t even considered she might want to row the boat, but he wasn’t sure why he was so surprised.

‘If you would like to, I have no objection.’

‘Oh, good. My mother says it’s terribly unladylike to do physical things like this when there is a man around to do it for you, but where is the fun in sitting back and letting someone else do everything for you.’

Robert settled back at the front of the boat after untying the rope that held it tethered to the bank. He watched in silence for a while as Charlotte found her rhythm, pulling the oars through the water with surprising strength. All

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