“There you are! I thought I heard voices out here.”

Christiana glanced around to see Robert Maitland standing several feet away, in the parlor door. Grateful for the distraction he offered, she beamed a smile on the man, but her smile dimmed when she noted Lisa behind him. The displeasure on her youngest sister’s face had her eyebrows rising, but then she glanced back to Robert as he spoke again.

“The tea is growing cold. You should really come join us,” he said firmly.

“Actually, Langley, if you don’t mind, I need to have a word with you first,” Richard said, taking Christiana’s arm and urging her up the hall toward the other man.

“Oh?” Langley narrowed his eyes and then glanced to Christiana.

Reading the silent question as to her well-being in his eyes, she smiled gently and said, “He has the strawberry. Though, it’s really more of a rosebud if you ask me, Robert.”

Langley didn’t comment, in fact he didn’t look any happier to know Richard was Richard and Christiana supposed it was because he worried she was now stuck in this marriage to a man who had been horrible to her the last year. Sighing, she reached out to squeeze his arm in passing and said, “ ’Tis all right. He’s not the man we thought he was. He’ll explain everything.”

Christiana then continued on into the parlor, leaving Richard to sort out Robert. She didn’t get far into the room, however; Lisa blocked her way and didn’t appear eager to move.

“Shall we sit and pour the tea while we wait for the men?” Christiana suggested uncertainly. When Lisa didn’t respond at once, but merely glared after Robert as he moved off with Richard, she asked, “Is something amiss?”

Lisa let her breath out on a small impatient, huff. “He’s just so . . . annoying.”

“Robert?” Christiana asked with surprise.

“Yes, him.” Lisa turned abruptly and stomped back to drop into a chair by the tea tray. “He wouldn’t stop worrying about you. From the minute you left he was watching the door like a hawk and then started asking where you were and even sent Grace to check on you. Good Lord, he was acting like Richard was some murderous fiend. He’s your husband. What did Robert think was going to happen to you?”

“Ah.” Christiana sat down on the sofa across from Lisa, unsure what to say. Part of her wanted to babble out all that had happened. However, she’d rather explain it to both sisters at the same time than have to do it twice, so merely said, “Robert is aware that things have not been ideal between Richard and myself this last year and is just worried.”

“Well, he worries too much about you,” she grumbled, unappeased.

Christiana’s eyebrows rose. Lisa actually sounded jealous and it made her wonder if the girl’s feelings for Langley weren’t more than just the sisterly type affections Christiana and Suzette felt for the man, but merely said, “He worries about all of us: you, me and Suzette. Speaking of Suzette,” she added with a frown. “Where is she?”