30
Jo threw her bonnet on a high-backed chair as they entered the small study in the vacation house before throwing her arms around Robert’s neck and drawing him down for a kiss.
She had been without his lips, without being pressed against his body for exactly six hours now and she could not stand it any longer.
She had felt her core clench when she had seen him walk toward her outside of the hotel.
She had been enjoying the view of the sea and talking to his mother and sisters on the shaded terrace and had prayed they would not know how much the sight of Robert affected her.
Jo had cursed herself for suggesting that they walk into town, since it had delayed when she could press herself against him.
“Jo,” Robert said against her lips and sounded more serious than she had heard him in days. Weeks even.
Jo stepped back, confused by his tone and the fact that he was not kissing her back. She had thought he would be as excited to be alone with her as she was. She was certain she had seen the smoldering look in his eyes when they were standing in front of the Royal Pavilion.
“What?” she asked.
Insecurity that she might have done something wrong flared, only for her to squash it down firmly. He was not displeased with her. He would tell her if he was. She knew that about him now.
“Why don’t we sit?” Robert said in a tired voice and ran a hand down his face.
“What has happened, Robert?” Jo asked, letting herself be nudged toward a high-backed chair, but not sitting down.
Her mind was already reeling with the possibilities of what could have happened in the short time span they had been apart.
Could he have received a missive from Beatrice?
Had something happened to her friend or one of the children?
“Jo,” Robert sighed and tugged her elbow to make her sit down.
Jo complied as her mind kept spinning with what could have happened and to whom.
She had been with his mother and sisters.
He had been with Thornston. Perhaps Xavier had fallen ill or been injured.
She knew how much he meant to Robert and her heart was already in her throat at Robert having to go through sorrow and hardship over his stepbrother. Could he have died?
“I ran into Mr. Hawkins,” Robert told her, as he picked up her bonnet from the other chair and sat down.
The statement made her mind come to a halt. Had it been a horse, it would have been rearing, legs flailing through the air.
“Oh,” Jo said, searching his face, then the rest of the room as if she could find an answer. “I didn’t know he was in Brighton,” she mumbled, feeling like the world closed in on her slightly.
She did not like the fact that Ambrose was there.
She would go to great lengths to avoid running into him in the city.
Perhaps it would be possible to learn where he was staying and especially when he left.
Maybe they could leave earlier. They were going to Riddlesmarsh Hall after their honeymoon. It was almost over and…
“He claimed he had a right to the money you had made while investing your inheritance from the time your uncle died until you married me,” Robert continued without meeting her eyes.
Jo scoffed at the absurd idea.
“No, he doesn’t. I know the terms of my father’s will state that he would have been the one to manage it, but that doesn’t make him entitled to the money I made.
I was not even investing it during the six months following my uncle’s death.
I made the investments right after I reached my majority – with the blessing of my uncle, of course. ”
“I know,” Robert told her and reached for her hand. “It was what I told the solicitor I spoke to as well. Even if your cousin was by default the one who should have been managing the money, it would never give him claim to any interests or gains made from investing your inheritance.”
“Exactly…” Jo began enthusiastically until her mind caught on what he had said. “You spoke to a solicitor?”
“I… yes, I wanted the matter dealt with as fast as possible. I didn’t want to bother you with it. Or have to deal with your cousin ever again, frankly.”
“But why didn’t you come and get me? We could have gone to the solicitor together.”
“I didn’t want to cause a scene. If I came storming into the Pavilion Hotel and hauled you out of there, it would be the talk of both this town and London and…”
“You could have waited until I finished the ice cream!” Jo cried. She did not know when she had risen, but she realized she was looking down at Robert as she said this.
“I wanted the matter out of the world,” Robert repeated; his voice was steady and kind, as was his habit, but right now it annoyed Jo instead of reassuring her, since it seemed to imply that Robert thought he was right.
“It’s my money!” Jo cried.
“He wanted the money by tomorrow, Jo,” Robert reasoned with her, still patient, still not raising his voice. As if she was a child he was scolding.
“But he had no right to them; you said so yourself.” Jo began pacing in front of him. “It was the first clause in our contract. The duchess will manage her own money. You wrote that. You signed it. How could you forget it?”
“Jo,” Robert said with a deep sigh and looked down almost as if he deflated. “I know what I signed. I just didn’t want to bother you with it. I didn't want you to have to deal with that despicable man ever again…”
“I want to deal with him!” Jo stopped in front of him to meet his eyes. When Robert sent her an incredulous look, she amended:
“Or I don’t want to. But I will, if I have to. It’s a privilege to manage my own money. One I want. One you agreed I could have…”
“And I want you to…” Robert said in a calming voice and reached for her hand again. Jo stumbled backward from his grasp.
“I would never take that from you, Jo,” Robert continued, looking startled by the fact that she had retreated. Jo felt a little as well.
But she needed distance from him now. If she felt his touch, she might relent, and she did not want to.
Not now. This was an important aspect of their marriage.
One of the most important and if she could not make him see that…
Jo drew in a deep breath to steady herself, but she was shaking with anger and frustration.
“You just did,” she told him calmly. “It was the one reason I agreed to marry you…”
“I thought you married me to save your seaside cottage…” Robert scoffed, and Jo’s stomach dropped at his words, yet another part felt happy that he was finally participating in the fight.
“That too,” she told him hotly. “But the money is part of it… We had a contract, Robert. We had a deal.”
Robert closed his eyes and she could visibly see him collect himself: his features softened, and his jaw relaxed. When he opened his eyes, he was the picture of steady and calm. And she hated it right now.
“But matters changed, haven’t they?” Robert told her gently as he rose.
Jo took another step back, needing not to be pressed against him in the small space.
“One of the reasons why I married you was that I wanted an heir, and we agreed that we would wait at least three months before we begin trying, perhaps longer…”
“Yes, we agreed, Robert,” Jo told him quietly, feeling her voice shake with emotion.
Robert’s eyes searched her face for several seconds.
“Why can’t you understand that I did this for you? Because I did not want to burden you.”
“Why can’t you understand that when it comes to my money, I want to be burdened?” Jo replied, feeling her temper flare again.
“It made no sense, Jo, for me to…” Robert began hotly, but Jo interrupted him.
“It made every sense in the world!”
They stared at each other. Jo did not know how to proceed from here. He seemed unwilling to acknowledge that he had acted against both their agreement and her wishes. And Jo did not know how to persuade him. She had made her perspective clear, but it seemed it was not enough.
“I need to go for a walk,” she muttered, since it was the only way she knew to clear her head.
“No, Jo, please,” Robert said and reached for her arm as she passed him to grab her bonnet from the chair behind him.
Jo gently pulled her arm from his grip as she looked into his eyes. This morning she would have said she knew everything there was to know about Robert Montgomery, but now she was not so certain.
“Let me go,” she told him, even though he was not holding onto her anymore.
Robert nodded as he looked into her eyes. Jo pried her eyes from his and hurried to the door.
“I only did it because I care about you, Jo,” she heard him call behind her, but she did not stop to acknowledge his statement.
Usually, Jo’s anger deflated slowly the longer she walked, but now it only seemed to grow with each step. How could he? He signed the contract. How could he not understand? The fragmented sentences swirled in her mind, intermingled with one imaginary heated argument after another.
She understood that he had not wanted to make a spectacle, that he wanted to protect her. Part of her was thrilled. Yet another part was devastated. If she was to abide by their contract, this should only ever be a partnership and nothing deeper…
Jo felt the tears prickle her eyes as she stared blindly at the bright sea.
Blast it, she was falling in love with her husband. Over the past ten days, the many times they had come together to pleasure each other, she had let herself be lulled into an idea that there was more between them than there was.
And now Robert’s mistake had shown her where the limits of their relationship were: He could overstep, and Jo could get angry, but have no power to do anything. She could overstep and end up with a broken heart.
A sob wrenched itself out of Jo’s throat. She had been so stupid.
“Duchess, Duchess,” Jo heard someone call behind her.
She ignored whoever it was, hoping they would believe she was not able to hear them due to the wind and the sea.
“Lady Riddlesmarsh!” someone shrieked at the top of their lungs.
Jo turned to see Lady Clopton waving frantically at her. Jo quickly dried the tears from her eyes, vaguely aware that she was wearing neither her hat nor her gloves.
Lady Clopton was walking surprisingly fast in the sand, flanked by Lord Clopton and at least half a dozen footmen carrying different items, two of them parasols to keep over their masters’ heads, and two others holding what looked like mahogany chairs upholstered with crimson silk.
Jo closed her eyes and cursed inwardly, while she allowed the Cloptons and their entourage to draw closer. She needed to be alone to gather her thoughts. To understand what this new development meant for her marriage. She needed to be away from Robert, away from the ton. Away from Brighton.