6 #2
She was not certain how to interpret this more playful and open persona he presented in front of friends and family.
But she was not his friend and could hardly count as his family after less than four and twenty hours of marriage.
They would find a way to act naturally around each other in time, she supposed.
“Robert will be a kind husband to you. You have nothing to fear,” Helena assured her gently, which put Jo more at ease.
She smiled because she did not know what to say.
“I suppose you could have done far worse,” Maggie sniffed.
“Where will you go for your honeymoon?” Philomena asked.
Jo sensed that she might be used to diffusing the tension between her older siblings.
“There is no reason for that,” Jo stated at the same time as Robert said:
“We have not decided yet.”
They looked at each other for a beat. Jo felt her cheeks heat at the thought of a honeymoon with Robert. It indicated that it would be when they… slept together for the first time. But if they left soon, as was customary, it would not align with her plan. And he had agreed to honor it.
“How about your seaside cottage, Duchess?” Xavier asked quietly.
His blue gaze met hers, and Jo felt as if he could see straight into her soul and did not like what he was seeing.
She averted her gaze to her plate as she thought of his suggestion.
Seaglass Cottage would be an ideal place for a honeymoon, and she missed being there already.
But it felt too intimate to spend a prolonged period of time there with Robert.
It did have three bedrooms, so they would not have to share, but it was not as grand as Robert’s townhouse.
They would be running into each other constantly.
“I think perhaps neutral ground would be best for the honeymoon. Perhaps something not too far from Riddlesmarsh Hall. I should like to show it to you afterwards,” Robert suggested and looked at her.
Jo nodded encouragingly as she met his eyes. It sounded better than going to the cottage now and she would like to see his estate as well.
“Why don’t I plan it for you? As a wedding gift. Now that you will obviously not need my help in planning your wedding,” Helena said and sent her son a pointed look.
Robert looked properly chastised, as he muttered: “Sorry, Mother,” then perked up and said: “But at least you have four other children, whose weddings you can plan.” He pointed to his siblings in turn with his fork.
Jo did not miss how Xavier glared, the corner of Maggie’s mouth turned down, and Philomena looked in pain at the mention of marriage. Judging from their expressions, it would be a long while before Helena would be planning a wedding for any of them.
Robert caught it as well and grinned as he said:
“Well, at least there is Rafe.”
Philomena giggled, Helena smiled, Maggie rolled her eyes, and Xavier’s frown loosened a little at his words.
“Have you heard he wants to leave school and join the military?” Philomena asked Robert. Her voice was sweet and she spoke more quietly than Helena and Maggie.
Robert shook his head. With his attention on his sister, Jo was able to study his profile.
The bright morning light in the room seemed to illuminate his many freckles.
She had the odd idea of tracing them with a finger from the one in the corner of his eye to the one below his bottom lip.
She hastily turned her attention to the two rolls, three fried eggs, five strips of bacon and the lone kippers on her plate.
She had taken far too much but everything looked so delicious.
“He wants to join the army. To help fight Napoleon,” Philomena explained.
“Well, he is a good shot,” Robert stated, then turned to Xavier to ask: “Will you allow it?”
“Not at the moment. Helena and I have discussed that it will be best for him if he finishes Eton and then goes on to university before he makes such a decision.”
“I think you should allow it,” Maggie stated in a voice that told Jo she was ready to fight for her beliefs.
“You would let him go to war?” Philomena asked exasperated. “But he could be killed.”
Maggie gave her sister a gentle look.
“I know,” she told Philomena in a quieter voice than she normally used. “And I don’t want him to die. Obviously. But Rafe has always hated school. I think the military might be a place where he would be able to excel – and that would be good for him. Give him some confidence.”
“But what would he do with confidence if he is dead?” Philomena countered. Her looks and her light tone of voice made it difficult for Jo to determine whether it was a na?ve comment or a cutting one. Maggie seemed to take it as the latter.
“Good point.” Maggie pointed at her with her knife. “But what would you have him do? He hates school. University would break his neck, meaning he cannot become a priest, a doctor, or a lawyer. As a second son, his only other option for an occupation is the military.”
Maggie looked at her family in turn in the silence that followed. It seemed no one could argue that their youngest brother Rafe would not enjoy university, but no one knew what else to do. Jo raked her brain for a solution, her mind already trying to compose a list to solve the problem.
“How about a writer or an artist?” she suggested without much thought, but eager to help.
“Artistic talent was not distributed equally in the womb,” Maggie told Jo. “Meaning that Philomena got all of it, and Rafe writes and paints like a two-year-old.”
“It is true,” Robert confirmed beside Jo. “Philomena is a truly talented painter.”
Philomena blushed slightly when Jo looked at her.
“I should like to see your paintings then,” Jo told her. She meant it but also knew it would be an easy way to become better acquainted with her new sister-in-law.
Philomena pressed her lips together to suppress a smile and nodded.
“Perhaps he would enjoy managing an estate,” Helena said in a way, that told Jo it was wishful thinking.
“I have an estate he might manage,” Xavier mused thoughtfully as if he had not heard the tone in Helena’s voice.
“Me too,” Robert said enthusiastically. “Or we could buy one for him.”
Maggie rolled her eyes, before saying:
“Why don’t we discuss it when Rafe is present?”
Which the others mumblingly agreed to.
“If you have finished your meal, I should like to talk to you in my study,” Xavier said in a low voice to Robert.
Jo had been lulled into a sense of calm by their discussion of their brother, but her nervousness was back at the thought of being alone with Robert’s mother and sisters.
And what exactly Xavier wanted to say to Robert.
Robert’s stepbrother had acted kind, but that did not mean that he might try to persuade Robert to annul the marriage.