Chapter Two
Gideon scowled darkly at the two ladies who had completely ignored him for the last few minutes.
He was quite certain that one, at the very least, had seen him standing there, patiently waiting for them to step aside and yet, she had done nothing of the sort!
Curling his fingers into his palms, he threw open the door of the bookshop and strode out into the sunshine.
The warmth did nothing to lift his spirits.
He did not want to be here, did not want to be present in London and yet his responsibility to his sister had to be fulfilled.
With their mother recuperating from a winter illness, Gideon had not had any other choice but to come to London society, to force himself to mingle with gentlemen and ladies of the ton.
He would have much preferred to remain at home, to have kept himself involved with estate matters instead of returning here but that choice had been taken from him.
“There you are, brother.”
“What do you mean?” Striding towards his sister, Gideon threw up his hands, narrowing his gaze at her. “I have been looking all over for you.”
Emilia did not even flinch, perhaps a little more used to his anger than he had expected.
“Why were you looking for me? I told you that I wished to take my leave once I had purchased some books. I thought you would have been waiting for me at the carriage.” She gestured to it but did not take her eyes from him.
“When I stepped outside, you were not present and thus, I thought to remain here and wait.”
“I went to peruse the books for myself,” he muttered, still irritated with her. “I thought you would be a few minutes with the purchase and I did not want to stand around and wait.”
“I see.” She blinked, then turned to the carriage. “Might we make our way home, now that you have finished trying... and failing... to berate me?”
Gideon’s jaw tightened. “Emilia, you cannot speak to me like that. You will never find yourself a husband when you have a tongue that moves far too quickly!”
Much to his frustration, she laughed at this instead of taking what he had said with any seriousness.
“I highly doubt that, Lancaster. You may think that the perfect young lady is one who does not say very much at all but I can assure you, there will be many gentlemen who are glad of a young lady with spirit.”
“You have far too much spirit,” he muttered under his breath, waiting for her to climb into the carriage before following after her.
Emilia was the exact opposite of him in every way.
She was bright whilst he was shadowed in his spirit.
She laughed whilst he frowned. There was an easiness about her character and her manner that he fought against, displeased with how simple it was for her to irritate him.
To his mind, she was not taking her London Season with enough seriousness, was not truly considering all that a gentleman might require of her as his wife.
Emilia disagreed with him firmly, telling him on more than one occasion that he was much too severe in his thinking and that she was quite sure all would be well.
They had only been present in London for ten days and already, Gideon was growing weary of it all.
“There is Lord and Lady Newton’s ball this evening, is there not?
” Emilia’s bright smile told him just how much she was looking forward to it whilst, inwardly, he shriveled at the thought.
“I am very much looking forward to it.” Sending him a glance, she sighed contentedly and looked out of the window.
“You must do your best to smile, Lancaster. I will not have gentlemen pushed away from even acquainting themselves with me because of your severe look.”
“You are the daughter of a Duke,” Gideon reminded her, near growling now with irritation at her lackadaisical attitude.
“You will have all manner of gentlemen approaching you and none of them can be trusted immediately. If I am severe in my look, it may push back those of them who are interested in you because of your standing and your fortune.”
Emilia did not look in the least bit dismayed. Instead, she only smiled and tilted her head at him. “Do you not think that I can make such judgements myself, brother?”
It was a question he did not dare answer.
Emilia was, to his mind, far too determined in her own opinions and the like and, given her young age, he did not think it right that she should be so.
It had been something of a disagreement between them for the last few years and thus, Gideon knew it would be best for him to remain silent on the matter.
Besides which, he considered, looking out of the window, she did not know the truth.
She did not know what had occurred earlier in the year and just how close she had come to ruination.
It is best for her that she does not ever know.
“Do promise me that you will, at the very least, try to appear a little more contented than you do at present?”
Gideon sighed inwardly and threw her a sharp glance. “Emilia, I shall be just as I am. Do not ask me for anything more.”
His sister huffed and folded her arms across her chest, her jaw jutting forward just a fraction as her eyebrows lowered. Gideon, unmoved by this display of upset, said nothing and instead, looked away from her, out of the window.
“I do wish you would tell me why you despise society so.”
A cold finger of dread began to lace up his spine.
“Mother has told me not to ask you but I can see just how clearly you dislike being here. You have been irritable and angry, more so than usual I mean, ever since we first set foot in London.”
“Emilia, this is not a conversation I am willing to have.”
“But why not?”
His head whipped around towards her. “Because it is not something I wish to speak about! If our dear mother has already told you not to ask me about it, then why must you persist in doing so?” Raising his voice to such a high level had not been his intention, but he had done so nonetheless.
The whispers and shadows of the past began to pull at him, plucking at his clothes and his hair and Gideon’s anger burned hot.
“I will not speak of it, Emilia. Do not ask me such a thing ever again, do you understand me?”
The way her eyes rounded, color fading from her cheeks, told him that he had been a trifle too strong in his response to her.
Shimmering tears came into her eyes as she nodded but Gideon hardened his heart to her upset, telling himself that it was best for her to know just how strongly he felt about such a thing.
The last thing he needed at present was for her to demand to know what had happened in the past. Something that he had taken great pains to hide from everyone.
Emilia’s gentle sniffing made him scowl and he shifted in his seat so that he faced the window a little more, determined not to let her upset affect him.
He had made himself absolutely clear and, one way or another, she would have to learn to abide by what he said.
***
Clasping his hands behind his back, Gideon watched his sister dancing with a Lord Knightwood, seeing her laughing up at the gentleman.
The edge of his lip curled, displeased at her response to the gentleman.
She was being much too encouraging, mayhap even flirtatious and that was absolutely unacceptable for any young lady of the ton, even less so for the sister of a Duke!
Recalling what she had asked him, Gideon tried to keep the scowl from his face but struggled to do so.
This was not at all a pleasurable experience for him and, to be frank, the sooner his sister found a suitable gentleman, the better.
That way, Gideon would be able to return to his estate and all could return to normal.
“Lancaster?”
He turned sharply, about to deliver a furious blow to whomever it was who had spoken to him in such an inappropriate manner, about to remind them that he was to be referred to as ‘Your Grace’, only for the warm, smiling face of his friend to greet him.
Taking a step back, Gideon let out a harsh breath, shaking his head as he did so. “Lord Markham.”
“You were not expecting me, I think.”
Gideon shook his head, then stuck out his hand. “Not in the least. I thought you were quite happily married?”
His friend arched an eyebrow. “An occasion you missed, if I recall correctly.”
This did not bring even the smallest flush to Gideon’s face. “Indeed, I did. I am afraid I was taken up with estate matters.”
Lord Markham tilted his head. “Is that so?”
The dull way he spoke told Gideon that Lord Markham did not believe such a thing but he himself only shrugged, refusing to permit such a thing to trouble him. Lord Markham was unaware of what had taken place and thus, Gideon could not expect him to understand.
“There were a few… difficult matters that required my full attention.”
There was a momentary pause, only for Lord Markham to shrug and then smile, clearly willing to set it all aside. “I see. Then, whilst I am sorry that you did not manage to attend my wedding, I do hope you will now be willing to be introduced to my wife?”
“But of course.” Gideon had no real interest in becoming acquainted with the new Lady Markham but it was the right thing to do and thus, he injected as much delight into his tone as he could. “I am surprised that you are back in London, my friend. I thought you would have been on your honeymoon.”
Lord Markham chuckled, snapping his fingers at a nearby footman. “Our honeymoon is to begin after the Season.”
“And why is that?”
Taking a glass from the footman’s tray, Lord Markham turned to Gideon again. “Because my wife was very eager to come to the Season again. Not for her sake, I might add, but because she is very eager to help a friend.”