Chapter Eight #2
Gwendolyn and Suzanna mentioned that they were at leisure.
When Suzanna happened to ask Bonham what he had been working on that vexed him today, he responded with a grumble about the service shaft that was used to lift food or other items from a lower story to an upper story without need for the servants to climb up and down the stairs.
“The pulley ropes are frayed and need to be replaced.”
“Ah,” Suzanna said. “Curiously, we had the same problem in our home last winter. Will you permit me to have a look at your shaft?”
Bonham and Gideon both coughed suddenly.
Since neither seemed able to speak for the moment, Suzanna continued. “Hargreaves and Sons sells an excellent pulley system that is easy to install. But I shall have to measure the width of your shaft. Precise measurements are necessary, obviously. Do you mind?”
The pair were coughing again.
“Because the platform must fit snugly within the opening. However, it cannot be too tight or you shall hear such squealing noises whenever the shaft is in use. And I expect you will be using your shaft often.”
“Oh, Lord,” Bonham said, sounding quite pained as he turned away and appeared to double over.
Suzanna frowned. “Are you all right, Mr. Bonham?”
He nodded. “I will be in a moment.”
“Well, all I mean to say is that the pulley will need constant oiling if the fit is not exact, and then the ropes will fray too quickly. I watched as the workmen replaced ours in our home, so I am quite sure I can guide you through the installation with my steady hand.”
Bonham’s grin was wide as he straightened to his full height once again and expressed his enthusiasm for Suzanna’s idea. “Miss Carstairs, you are priceless.”
She cast him an enchanting smile. “Thank you, Mr. Bonham.”
Berry thought Bonham was going to lift her friend up in his arms and twirl her around, for he was that enthused.
After a moment, he turned to Gideon. “The painters are here all day, so the place will be well enough guarded while I dash to Hargreaves. Any objections?”
“None.”
Bonham then turned to Gwendolyn and Suzanna. “Could I… Might I impose… Well, no. I don’t suppose…”
“We’d love to come with you, Mr. Bonham,” Suzanna replied. “I can show you exactly which pulley system will work best. Would you mind showing me what is presently in this house?”
He cast Suzanna a look of relief. “Come right this way.”
Berry was pleased the residents of Duchess Square would remain as friendly and helpful to each other as they had been when Fiona resided here.
With the Carstairs cousins now gone off with Bonham, the painters already off to the ballroom to start painting, and Miranda and her niece fled to go shopping, Berry was left alone in the entry hall with Gideon.
He was smiling from ear to ear.
Berry could not help but grin back. “Suzanna is a wonder, isn’t she?”
“Yes,” he said with a tender laugh. “You are quite wonderful, too. Do you mind that we will be spending a large portion of the day together?”
“No, I expect to enjoy it immensely.”
“So do I.” He regarded her thoughtfully. “You and your friends have been remarkably kind to me and Bonham. I feel even more of a wretch for the prank we pulled on you.”
“About Bonham’s hearing? You’ve apologized several times already and I’ve forgiven you each time. I understand now that you meant no harm by it. Truly. What hurt me is that I thought you did not like me.”
“Not at all. I thought you were charming from the first moment I met you.”
“I feel we have developed an excellent rapport, haven’t we?”
“We have,” Gideon insisted.
“I believe you look upon me favorably now. So, either you are very good at faking sincerity, or we are on the way to becoming good friends.”
He grunted. “Berry, my problem is that I am in danger of liking you too much. You are quite extraordinary.”
Her eyes widened. “Oh.”
“But you needn’t worry. Our relation shall always remain professional and never a step beyond. I shall always look out for you, just as Lord Berwick has done over the years. I hope ours will be as good a friendship as you have had with him.”
“I see. Um, thank you.” She was not surprised he wanted to keep his distance, for they were from vastly different backgrounds. His was a much rougher upbringing.
She was not so na?ve as to think he had merely given Hawthorne a polite warning. Gideon had a very tough, primal core beneath his veneer of polish.
In truth, this was probably his nature. A kill-or-be-killed attitude that one might find among animals in the wild. That he was always on his best behavior around her probably took conscious effort.
She glanced around. “Is there anything more you must do here?”
“No, that’s all I planned to accomplish at the house today.”
“Then let’s go to the orphanage. But we must take separate carriages. Mrs. Garland is still feeling too poorly to leave her bed, and I cannot be seen riding alone with you.”
“Understood. Take your two footmen with you. They ought to be guarding you no matter where you go or who you intend to meet.”
“All right. Give me but a moment to collect my gloves and reticule. I’ll meet you at St. Brigid’s shortly.”
She meant to dart off, but Gideon held her back. “I’ll walk you home.”
“But it is only a few steps away.”
“I know,” he said as they walked out of his house. “But you must never let down your guard, Berry. Anything can happen, and within the blink of an eye.”
This was the primal animal within him speaking, she knew.
And he was not wrong. There was a hired carriage standing just off Duchess Square that she had noticed earlier this morning when walking over to his home. Well over an hour had passed since then and the carriage was still there.
She would have thought nothing of it but for the fact it was a hired hackney. Why would it still be sitting there and not taking on new customers?
“Gideon, did you see that carriage over—”
“Yes, I noticed,” he said, taking her by the elbow and propelling her forward. “Don’t look back and don’t point to it. As soon as we leave the orphanage, I am going to engage a Bow Street Runner to follow Hawthorne around. I’ve had dealings with one of the best.”
“Oh, who?”
“An investigator by the name of Homer Barrow. The men he has working for him are also quite clever and reliable. I helped him out on an important investigation last year, placed his men as dealers at one of my copper hells.”
“Your copper hell?”
“Yes. Well, mine and Bonham’s.” He turned to her and groaned.
“Those seedy gambling houses are a part of our business. It is how we built our wealth. Nor am I ashamed of it, so do not give me any moral lectures. I have never cheated anyone, and I do not allow anything beyond gambling to take place there.”
“You seem to think I disapprove.”
“Don’t you? Shouldn’t you?”
“Those in the ton think I should, but this is because they wish to maintain class differences to protect their privileges. Morality and righteousness have nothing to do with it. Selfishness and entitlement are their reasons. The ones fighting hardest to protect the benefits of their rank are those who are least deserving, men such as Hawthorne. They offer nothing helpful or productive and yet demand the most.”
“That’s remarkably forward thinking of you.”
“You seem surprised.”
“In truth, I am. Perhaps because I am coming to think of you as a ton diamond. You do have a lovely brilliance about you. If one were to put forward an example of why the nobility is better than us, they would point to you.”
“You are full of compliments for me today,” she said, feeling the heat of a blush sweep upward from her neck to her cheeks.
“May I ask you a personal question, Berry?”
She nodded.
“You are a diamond in every respect, and I mean that sincerely. You are one of those rare ladies who are lovely inside and out. Why have you never married? You must have had a line of suitors out the door.”
“I did,” she said with a frown. “But my heart never sang for any of them. I do not think I will ever make a love match, not among the ton elite.”
His eyebrow shot up. “Why is that?”
“Too many scoundrels like Hawthorne, men who are only interested in me for my trust fund.”
“But there are good men out there, too. I’ve met several.”
“I know they are not all fortune hunters. However, too many of them still think of marriage in terms of a business alliance. They will be kind and respectful of their wives, support them properly, and sire offspring to continue their line. But they also see nothing wrong in setting up a mistress and visiting her regularly. This is viewed as acceptable conduct for married men, but it is not an arrangement that would ever work for me.”
“You would want your husband to honor his wedding vows and be faithful to you.”
She nodded. “Since I will only marry for love, I would be devastated if my husband sought affection elsewhere.”
“What surprises me most,” he said as they reached her door, “is that you never found such a man. There must have been a dozen or more suitors in love with you and who would never stray from their marriage vows.”
She cast him a wry smile. “If there had been, they hid their feelings well. It doesn’t matter. I am not complaining about my situation. Nor am I worried about what’s to become of me now that I know you are to be Lord Berwick’s successor.”
Her remark seemed to please him. He smiled. “Run inside and fetch your gloves and reticule. I’ll wait until your carriage is brought around and see you into it before I wave down a hackney carriage for myself. In fact, I may walk over to that carriage standing next to Duchess Square.”
“Be careful, Gideon. What if Hawthorne is inside and has a weapon aimed at you?”
“I’ll be careful,” he said, a little too confidently for her liking.
She did not belabor the point. Gideon had risen above his poor beginnings through intelligence and being quick on his feet. He must have dealt with the dregs of society along the way, especially when establishing his gaming houses. He knew when to be cautious and when to spring into action.
She hurried inside and fetched her things. Her driver had already been instructed to bring the carriage around. She saw him enter Duchess Square and pull up in front of her home as she walked out with her two footmen.
Gideon nodded his approval and walked her to her carriage.
A tingle ran up her arm the moment he took her hand to assist her into her seat. She thought he might have felt the jolt, too. His eyes had widened just the littlest bit before his expression turned unreadable again.
While his touch was pleasant, Berry was not pleased by her attraction to him. This would complicate their professional arrangement.
“I’ll see you at the orphanage, Berry.”
She nodded. “Be careful about that hired carriage.”
“I will.” He cast her a feral look, one that revealed he had escaped far more dangerous situations.
It hurt her heart to think of what he had endured in those early years. She had been raised to the manor born, indulged and pampered like a princess. He had been abandoned on the London streets at the age of three.
It was a miracle he had survived.
But this began to raise more questions in her mind. Who had delivered him to the orphanage? A child that young could not have known to walk to St. Brigid’s on his own.
Was it possible the headmistress had a record of it in Gideon’s file?
Her grandfather had established a strict procedure of keeping detailed records on each child.
She was suddenly curious to learn what a young Gideon had been like.
Was he quiet and withdrawn? Rebellious and a troublemaker?
A good student? The files were confidential, but she would have access to them all.
Had Gideon ever read his file? Surely he had to be curious.
Even if he were not, should she not be curious on his behalf?