Chapter 4
“So you and the spinster?” Nathaniel Thorne, Duke of Henshaw, leaned back in his chair and flashed a grin that was full of his trademark humor and charm.
“I never thought I’d see you take an interest in someone like her, Gabriel—but then, I never expected to see you take an interest in marriage at all. You continue to surprise me.”
“Oh, I don’t think we ought to take this story at face value.
” Jonathan Ellington, the Duke of Alderwick and the other of Gabriel’s two friends from university, surveyed him through narrowed eyes and swirled his glass of ale in his hand.
“You know those scandal sheets are often nothing but foolishness. And our friend Bellmoor here has never indulged in foolishness a day in his life.”
“And it’s high time he did,” Nathaniel said merrily. “Gabriel, you know I’m right in saying this, don’t you? You spend far too much time on your worries and not enough on enjoying yourself.”
“Of course what you saw in the scandal sheets is not true,” Gabriel murmured, taking a sip of his drink. “Do you really think I would bring a woman like that into my home with Helena there? I’m all she has in the world, you know, and she’s at a very impressionable age.”
“I don’t think anyone is questioning your devotion to your niece,” Nathaniel assured him. “You’ve always been a wonderful uncle and guardian to her, ever since the unfortunate death of her parents.”
“I agree that it would be a very inopportune moment for her to spend time in the company of a spinster,” Jonathan said. “That’s not the kind of thing you want her to pick up and try to emulate.”
“She’ll be making her debut in just a few years,” Gabriel said, though the thought of it made him uncomfortable, just as it always did.
It was difficult to think of Helena, who had been in his custody since the tender age of nine, navigating the social minefield of the ton.
“I want her to remain focused on finding a gentleman who is worthy of her.”
“So then, are you saying there’s no truth to what I read at all?” Nathaniel pressed him. “Lady Agnes was not seen leaving your house?”
Gabriel avoided the question. “How can I tell you what anyone did or didn’t see?”
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. “You can tell me what did or didn’t happen, Gabriel, and you know perfectly well that’s what I’m asking.”
“I do notice that no one approached you in the street when we were on our way here,” Jonathan mused. “Usually going out with you is a blow to any man’s ego, because we have to witness the way every lady in London looks your way.”
“Oh, it’s only because they think he’s so handsome,” Nathaniel said with a grin. “You know that’s what all the ladies say. I’m sure they’re devastated to think that he might actually be courting someone.”
“That’s not it,” Jonathan said. “He’s tarnished his lily-white reputation by going around with a spinster. He’s no longer the most eligible bachelor in London.”
“And happy to say so,” Gabriel said firmly. “But the truth of the matter is that you’re both right, at least in part.”
“So she was at your house?” Nathaniel leaned forward.
“She was.” Gabriel had always intended to confide in his friends about this—it was the reason he had asked them to join him at the club today. “But not for the reason you’re thinking, Nathaniel, so take that smug smile off your face.”
“For what reason, then?” Jonathan asked.
Gabriel pressed his lips together. “She wanted to see my library.”
It was a half-truth, of course. He wasn’t sure why he wasn’t telling them about Lady Agnes’ List of Improper Ideas.
It felt like a personal thing, of course, one she wouldn’t want him to go talking to people about.
But he wasn’t sure why he was letting that stop him.
It wasn’t as if she would ever know if he confided in his friends about her.
He could have done it whether she liked it or not.
“I don’t understand,” Nathaniel admitted. “You invited a lady over unchaperoned to look at your library? You must admit that sounds like there was a tryst, Gabriel.”
“I didn’t invite anybody anywhere,” Gabriel said firmly. “I told you I wouldn’t welcome her into my home with Helena there, and I meant it. Whether you believe anything else I say or not, you do know I wouldn’t lie about the care I have for my niece.”
Nathaniel nodded, conceding the point.
“But then what was she doing there?” Jonathan asked.
“She came of her own accord. Snuck in.” Gabriel shook his head.
“To tell the truth, it doesn’t even seem that surprising when you think about it.
Of course Lady Agnes, the well-known spinster, would not play by any rules when it comes to getting what she wants.
Of course she would be the sort to break into a gentleman’s home just to indulge her curiosity. ”
“Well, did you call the constables?” Jonathan asked. “That’s what I would have done. It’s a clear violation of law.”
“You’re always so quick to jump to that sort of thing,” Nathaniel chided him. “Call the constables—on a lady? What an overreaction that would have been. You didn’t, did you?” he asked Gabriel.
“No,” Gabriel said. He paused. How could he possibly explain this next part? “I’m going to be courting her.”
His friends stared at him.
“No you’re not,” Jonathan said after a moment. “This is a jest.”
“I assure you, it’s true,” Gabriel said with a sigh.
“I can’t fathom this. You’re saying you want marriage with the lady who broke into your home? Why?”
“Not marriage,” Gabriel corrected him. “I have no interest in any such thing, and nor does she. Well, of course she doesn’t—after all, she is a spinster by choice. That’s the one thing everyone knows about her.”
“Then why is she courting you?” Nathaniel asked. “Out of all the gentlemen in London, you’d be the one most likely to win over a dedicated spinster—but you’d also be the least likely to make the attempt in the first place. Why do this?”
“For Helena,” Gabriel said.
The two men looked at one another, confusion written across their faces. They looked back at Gabriel.
“I know you’re not saying you want to provide her a mother,” Jonathan said. “We spoke about that years ago. If you were going to do that, you would have done it when she was young. You wouldn’t have waited until she was on the verge of leaving your home to bring a woman into it.”
“You’re right,” Gabriel said. “That’s not my aim.
But you know I have to stay involved in society for her sake.
When she makes her debut, I need people to know who I am and that I can be trusted.
I want gentlemen to take an interest in her, and I want them to find me approachable enough to ask after her.
And that means constant attendance at parties—the kind of parties where people ask after my availability for courtship and refuse to listen when I tell them I have no interest.”
“Ah,” Jonathan said, his eyes widening as understanding dawned on him. “You feel that if you can say you’re engaged in a courtship with someone, you’ll be left alone.”
“And it’s already working, isn't it?” Gabriel said.
“You said yourself that no one had troubled me in town, and that’s just because they heard I might have been seen with Lady Agnes.
They have no firm proof that anything of the kind took place.
Once we announce our courtship, the proof will be there. People will have to leave me be.”
“But why would Lady Agnes do this?” Nathaniel asked.
“What can possibly be to her benefit about this arrangement. She doesn’t think you’re considering marrying her, does she?
Because if she does, Gabriel, I must tell you that to mislead a lady in that manner is a kind of cruelty I can’t stand by and let a friend engage in. ”
“No, of course that’s not it,” Gabriel said. “She’s well aware of my intentions. We discussed them.”
“And she’s willing? Truly?”
“She’s eccentric,” Gabriel said. “A lady who chooses to be a spinster is an odd one. I suspect she thinks of this courtship as a lark. An interesting adventure. That’s the sort of person she struck me as when I met with her—one who is drawn to doing odd things just for the fun of it.
I knew that asking her for this would be taking a risk, but I can’t honestly say that I was very surprised when she agreed to it. I thought she would do just that.”
“Well, this is an odd arrangement,” Jonathan mused. “But I suppose you know what you’re doing—at least, I hope you do. I would hate to see you find yourself in a situation you couldn’t get out of.”
“That won’t happen.” Gabriel was confident. “I’m going into this with open eyes, and so is Lady Agnes. We are agreed on what’s to take place between us and how it’s going to end. Yes, it’s odd, but there isn’t going to be any trouble.”
“I hope you’re right,” Nathaniel said. “I know I wouldn’t have done this.”
“The truth is that you don’t know what you would have done,” Gabriel said firmly.
“Neither one of you has a niece to care for, and you know that Helena is like a daughter to me. I’ve spent the last seven years raising her.
I would do anything to ensure that her future is bright and her prospects aer good, even if it is a little unorthodox.
There is nothing at all that will stand in the way of me providing my niece with the best care I can. ”
He sipped his drink for a moment, thinking of his brother, George—Helena’s father.
It had been a long time since George had died.
Helena’s shock and grief had been so sharp at first—she had barely spoken for the first few months, and when she did, it had been only in whispers.
But all of that was a very long time ago.
She was happy and thriving now. She was in a good state of mind.
All that remained was to see her married to a man who was worthy of her.
If he could do that, Gabriel knew, he would have fulfilled his duty to his brother.
At least I would have fulfilled my duty to someone, for once in my life.
And now he was thinking about his mother.
About the long and terrible grief that had taken over the second half of her life.
She had expected a third child after George, but the baby had been lost in childbirth, and she had never gotten over that pain.
Gabriel had done all he could to care for her after his father’s death, but he had never managed to alleviate her misery.
But Helena is happy. Helena is well. I have nothing to worry about with her.
She’ll find a good man, and she’ll marry and be happy for the rest of her days, and when she does, I will finally have something I can turn to and say that it was done right.
I will finally know that there was at least one person, in all my life, for whom I was enough.
Yes, he told himself once more—he would do anything to ensure that she got the happy ending she deserved. He would never allow anything to ruin the beautiful future he had in mind for his brother’s child. More than anyone else in the world, she deserved some happiness.