Shaw crossed his arms, barely possible given his rotund girth, and jerked his chin toward the door. Had Robert been capable of clapping, he would have applauded the reverend’s sheer arrogance. A man who’d dismiss a duke so summarily was either brave or sorely misguided, possibly both.

And a man who’d disrespect Constance deserved transportation.

“Your Grace?” Constance said, resuming the place beside Robert. “Are you well?”

“Of course he’s well,” Shaw said. “In the prime of life and thinking his consequence would be enough to blind me to my Christian duty. I have asked you both to leave, and as Ivy’s uncle, I warn you that further meddling in the girl’s life will not be permitted.”

Say something. Do something.

Constance put a hand on Robert’s arm. “Rothhaven?”

Robert managed a nod, but from the worry in Constance’s eyes, he knew his lapse had been obvious to her.

“Must I toss you from the premises bodily?” Shaw asked. “Our discussion is at an end.”

Stand. Stand on your own two feet, and say something sensible. With Constance’s aid, Robert rose.

“Matthew, chapter 22, verse 39,” Robert said. “…and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Lady Constance seeks a chance to show her daughter the love of a mother who is far from perfect, but who has never faltered in her attempts to do the right thing by her only daughter. Who or what is it you love, Reverend, when you keep a mother and daughter apart, and drag that child away to someplace she doesn’t want to go, the better to further your own ambitions?”

Robert had spoken slowly and carefully, his voice flatter than normal, and the result was a tone more arrogant than he’d intended.

Shaw lowered his arms. “How dare you? How dare you both? I could demand coin of you, I could threaten you with scandal, I could have called the magistrate on you for even approaching Ivy, and this is how you respond to reasonable reservations on my part? You insult me in my own home, and I have had enough. Mrs. Hodges, show them out. Now.”

Constance was as pale as funeral lilies, though she appeared composed. “Rothhaven, let’s be going, shall we?”

She kept her hand on Robert’s arm, though she was escorting him more than he was escorting her. Constance was at the front door tying her bonnet ribbons when Ivy came thundering down the steps.

“You can’t leave like this!” she said, throwing her arms around Constance. “I don’t want to go to blasted Australia, and Uncle is wrong to toss you out.”

Mrs. Hodges passed Robert his hat. “You’d best leave, Your Grace, my lady. The reverend might eventually calm down, but not if he thinks you’ve provoked the young miss to outright disobedience.”