Chapter XV

Present.

Eva closed her eyes and hoped it would be alright. The memory of the rape was still so painfully alive in her mind that she did not know how she would react... She did not even know what everything entailed. She had passed out that evening, after wounding Lord Rochester and she had awoken to find him looming over her with a garden full of people watching. That moment her humiliation had reached its climax.

The following morning the servants informed her that her husband had had breakfast earlier with Lord Ashton and that he had headed for the village to talk to the men about the "creature".

Eva was also informed that Lord Ashton had decided to stay in and was presently in the garden .

"Robert?" She asked, walking down the little path that led to a beautiful gazebo.

"Oh Eva, do join me!" He motioned to the empty spot besides him.

"How are you ?" She asked, her eyes full of concern.

"I am fine... For now."

"Do you want to talk about it? Losing a parent is never easy."

"I don't suppose there is much to talk about..." he shrugged his shoulders.

"But I sense that there is more to the story than just your father's death."

"How can you tell?" He said, looking into her eyes.

"Sometimes... There is a hopelessness in the way you look at things. As if you've been hurt a great deal."

He did no answer immediately. Instead, he placed his hand on hers.

"How...?"

"I guess kindred souls have a way of recognizing each other. "

He turned his head.

"Her name is Isabella. "

"Who is she?"

"My step mother."

"Robert, surely...?"

"She wasn't my stepmother at the time." Eva waited for him to continue.

"I met her before her come out. Her father had been a business associate for quite some time. She was so beautiful...." he sighed. " at first I did not have the courage to pursue her. I was only a second son then. Yet she showered me with attention. That was until I introduced her to my father. She realized that I would never inherit, and since my brother was married, she decided that my father would do."

"Oh Robert..."

"She laughed at me the night before the wedding. She told me that someone of her beauty could not settle for a nobody. She wanted wealth and a title. And she did get them in the end...."

"I am so sorry.... but you do realize that she is simply not worthy of you."

"She cheated on my father... She did everything for me to hate her and I do... I do hate her."

"But you still love her." She completed the sentence.

"Yes... and now I have to go and see her."

"What are you going to do?"

"I don't know exactly. I should find her somewhere to stay, as the dowager."

"What if she tries to..."

"Seduce me?" He laughed.

"I although I may have some residue of feeling for her, I could never look at her the same."

"You know you have us, here. So anytime. .."

"Thank you Eva. Thank you for..." he smiled.

"For being you."

"You are most welcome"

They stayed in silence for a while before Robert cleared his throat and asked her.

"Christian told me something the other night."

"Huh?"

"That you have a son."

"Oh...That. .."

Eva sighed and was about to tell him the same lie she had told her husband, but when she looked into his eyes she found that she wanted to tell somebody, to have a confidante.

"He's not my son."

"But Christian said..."

"I lied."

"Can I trust you not to tell him anything? At least until I can find a way to make the boy stay with us."

"Although I do not feel quite comfortable lying to my best friend, I will not be lying as long as I do not say anything on the matter. "

"I found him dying" she said and recounted the whole story. How she had hoped to find the creature but instead had found a little boy. How she had brought him back and cared for him. She told him how much he looked like her and how the idea to claim him as her son had come to her mind.

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure what?"

"That he is not your son?"

Eva laughed at his question.

"Oh quite sure. I lied about that affair. I thought that since everyone assumed the worst, why not use it to my advantage. "

"When can I meet the young man then?"

"Right now if you want? I still have to check on him."

"Let's go then!."

"Just one thing. Try not to stare... His right side is badly burnt."

"Don't worry. Children like me" he offered her his arm and they went inside the house.

Robert had been right. He was great with children. Gabriel took to him immediately and even allowed Robert to teach him how to ride. The happy scene was what stopped Christian in his tracks.

Through his eyes he was an outsider and he felt S if he was interrupting something.

Eva was smiling from ear to ear and Gabriel was clinging to her skirts as Robert was explaining the ropes. He wanted to barge in and say "its my family"

Eva noticed him first. He tried to keep a neutral face as he dismounted and gave his horse over for grooming.

"You're back!" She said shyly. Robert offered to teach Gabriel how to ride... would you like to join us?

"I have business to attend to" he said in a brusque manner and went inside the house. But the moment he reached his office , doubts began to gnaw at him. He should have accepted damn it. If only his pride would not have been so wounded by seeing them together like that. He wished he did not have such a poker face sometimes...

He looked began sifting through his papers hoping to find something to keep his thoughts occupied. But every time he tried to read something Eva's smiling face would appear in his mind. She was very beautiful, his wife... he wondered if Robert thought so as well... no he would not be jealous he told himself. Robert would never betray him. But what about her? A small voice said inside his head.

He did not know her... or what he knew of her was very little indeed. She had a son, from an affair. She had been caught in a compromising position with some Lord Rochester. By any standards she was... no he did not want to think about her as a whore. She was also understanding and a good listener. She had a sweet countenance and an even sweeter voice. He resolved to find out everything possible about her. Maybe if he villainized her enough then he would not have to worry about her being a danger to his heart.

Lunch passed and they did not talk very much. Eva was a little bit worried since her husband seemed to be brooding. Even when asked something, he would take some time to answer and when he did, he would just give short replies. Was it Gabriel? He had said that he was fine with him being with them but what if it wasn't the case? Robert had been a delight and he had had Gabriel smiling again, a fact which she would not have thought possible so soon.

Too bad he was going to leave in a couple of days.

She was brushing her hair in the intimacy of her chambers when the idea struck her.

What if she asked Robert for advice? She knew that it was not at all proper, but she did not have any lady friends and it was unseemly to talk about such things with servants... Robert had proved a true friends, so maybe he would be willing to help her with her small setback. She smiled as she realized that things would solve themselves after all, little by little.