“Is something wrong?” Richard asked, apparently having heard the sigh.

Christiana shook her head at once. “No, no. Everything is fine,” she assured him glancing around to see the other two carriages had drawn to a halt behind them and everyone was disembarking.

“Come, let’s get you inside and find you something to eat,” Richard said, taking her arm to lead her toward the inn.

“What about the others?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder.

“They’ll follow. I’m more concerned with you. You skipped breakfast this morning in favor of packing and I suspect you didn’t eat much of the tray I had sent up to your room last night when you didn’t join us at the table.”

“I was helping Grace pick out what we should bring,” she explained.

“I know, and I understand, but you’re looking a bit pale now and a good meal will probably set you to rights.”

Christiana fell silent and merely allowed him to lead her inside, but her thoughts were not silent. George had always been nagging at her about eating, using it as an opportunity to force her to eat unpleasant things she didn’t care for when he was annoyed with her. She didn’t deliberately skip eating. The problem was she’d been so miserable this last year she hadn’t really felt like doing anything, even eating. That wasn’t what had happened last night and this morning, though. Her forgetting to eat then had just been because she was so busy.

But Richard wasn’t nagging at her and using it as an opportunity to berate and insult her as George had always done. Instead he was being sweet and understanding and even concerned. It made her feel . . . cared for.

“Here we are.” He settled her at a large table where everyone could join them and then glanced toward the innkeeper and back before asking, “Is there anything you don’t like?”

Christiana felt her eyes narrow. “Why?”

“So I don’t accidentally order you something you don’t care for,” he said with a laugh as if that should be obvious, and she supposed it should have been. Richard was not George.

Smiling, she said, “As long as it is not kippers, kidney, or liver, I should like it.”

Richard nodded and headed off to speak with the innkeeper. Christiana watched him go, thinking that her life had definitely changed for the better. If he continued to treat her as he had since their meeting at the ball , she thought she could have a nice life, perhaps even a very nice, happy life.

Or not, Christiana thought on a sigh, because between the pleasure he gave her, the respect he showed her, and the kindness with which he dealt with her, she could easily fall in love with this man, truly in love, not the infatuation she’d decided she’d had for George. And that would be awful if he didn’t love her back.

“Men!”

Christiana glanced around with surprise as Lisa suddenly dropped into the seat beside her, her face disgruntled and eyes glaring as she watched Langley walk over to join Richard by the innkeeper.