She could see in his eyes how much she meant to him. ‘What shall I say to him that will not hurt him?’ she thought, as the wind whipped at the loose ends of her hair. ‘I am not ready for marriage.’ They stood there for several moments with Robina unable to reply and the Earl holding her hands tightly. She could not meet his eyes for it pained her to see so much love there. She felt confused – she liked him well enough, but romance? At last he let go of her and said with a sad note in his voice, “I can see that I have made a mistake in springing this on you. Forgive me and I will not mention it again as I have obviously spoken out of turn and it has embarrassed you. There are several letters that require attention, I will understand if you wish to go, but I would appreciate your help – matters have piled up over the past few days and I have not had the opportunity to attend to them.
