A thoughtful silence descended, underscored by the patter of rain on the carriage roof. Last night, this hiatus would have been uncomfortable. Brimming with the powerful responses that his return had stirred up. Powerful responses Robert hadn’t felt able to deal with, not if he wished to preserve an ounce of pride.
Silas was right. He’d come a long way in a short time. God bless Morwenna. What little peace he’d found since returning, he owed to her.
A desperate longing, so powerful he could taste it, overtook him. He loved his brother. He always had. And he looked forward to getting to know him all over again. But right now, he ached to see his wife.
Robert had joked about taking her in the carriage as they rolled away from the Admiralty. It didn’t seem such a joke anymore. When everything overwhelmed him, only the hot, wet grip of her body set the world turning in the right direction. He was likely to become a rapacious satyr before he was done.
The prospect of getting her to himself, away from the hurly-burly, was the promise of paradise. And he’d finally meet his daughter.
His daughter!
It was too much to comprehend, when he’d spent so long hardly daring to believe he’d see his next sunrise. An embarrassment of riches to a man who had once thought a crust of bread the height of luxury.
“With your permission, Morwenna and I plan to go up to Woodley Park.”
“To see Kerenza?”
“Yes.”
Silas smiled. “She’s just like you. Without her, I don’t know how we’d have survived losing you.”
“So you don’t mind?”
“If you go to Woodley? Hell, no. It’s your home as much as mine.”
Not true. But nice of his brother to say so, nonetheless. “Thank you.”
“Getting away from London will do you good.”
“I feel I’m deserting you.”
Silas sighed and leaned back in his seat. “Being with a loving family asks too much of you right now. I understand—at least as much as someone who hasn’t suffered as you have can understand. I saw your face when you came in last night. That crowd nearly undid you.”
Robert’s lips twisted in self-derision. “I’m better than I was, thanks to Morwenna. Give me a year or so, and I might even get back to normal.”
“There’s no rush,” Silas said calmly. “You’re home, and heaven has granted us the chance to see you again. We can sort everything else out as we need to. The main thing is to return you to health and happiness. And if my sparkling company isn’t the answer, I can bear it.”
“Thanks, old man,” Robert said. He realized with a surprise quite how careful his family had been with him since he’d returned, and he was devilish grateful.
“I’m damned proud of you, Rob.” Deep feeling thickened Silas’s voice. “I’m proud of your brilliant naval career, and that you had the good sense to marry that fine woman, and that you have such a cracker of a daughter. I’m proud that you managed to get through your imprisonment, mostly in one piece. And I’m bloody beside myself with pride that you didn’t punch that officious Admiralty pen-pusher on the nose this afternoon.”
Robert gave a grunt of grim amusement that hid how his brother’s heartfelt declaration had moved him. There was no man he admired more than Silas. It was a shock to hear that Silas admired him in return.
“I came damned close.”
“Believe me, I know. When that pompous idiot said you hadn’t been working for the navy when you were in jail, and therefore shouldn’t receive your back pay, you looked ready to box his ears.”
“He nearly didn’t make it out of his office.” The brothers shared a glance of perfect understanding. “Vile worm he was.”
Silas looked thoughtful. “You know, it’s too early for you to make any decisions, but have you given consideration to your future? You and Morwenna are more than welcome to make your home at Woodley. The house is so big, we could set you up in private quarters in the east wing. And Kerenza would enjoy growing up with her cousins.”
“Thank you, Silas,” Robert said. “But I’d rather go out on my own. And I hope Kerenza will soon have plenty of brothers and sisters to keep her company.”
“Hmm,” his brother said, as if he understood exactly how mad Morwenna and Robert were for each other. Damn Silas, he probably did. There had never been anything slow about him. “That means you have plans?”
If only Silas knew how many lonely hours Robert had devoted to counting the mistakes he’d made and how he’d remedy them, if heaven ever offered him the chance. The miracle was that he’d lived to see a time when he might achieve what he wanted. “Of course.”
“So if you’re not coming to live at Woodley Park—and I think you should take my offer seriously—do you want to go back to the Portsmouth house? I know you and Morwenna are fond of it, but if you want a big family, it will rapidly become too small. Now you’re leaving the navy, there’s no need to live so close to port.”