Chapter 10
GIDEON
Gideon stared at Helena as the two ladies disappeared in the distance.
And to his utter shock, she was actually giggling.
The sight was so unusual and so charming he didn’t even know what to say at first. He had noticed how controlled she was when speaking to people — first with Sir Franklin, and then with Whitcombe.
But now here she was giggling, and her entire face had changed.
She looked younger, her eyes sparkled, and it seemed to make her skin glow, although that might’ve simply been the sunshine bearing down on her.
She placed a hand in front of her mouth, covering her smile. “I do beg your pardon. I know it is not kind of me to laugh, but the situation certainly calls for it.”
“Does it,” he said. “I was having a perfectly pleasant conversation when you and little Miss Lavinia interrupted.”
“Gid!” the little girl called and placed her little head against his shoulder. His heart melted, and he wrapped his arms tight around her.
“That’s right,” he said. “You are Miss Lavinia. And you caused your uncle a great deal of distress.”
“Uncle,” Helena said with a smile. “I did not know that we were that familiar now.”
“Well,” he said, “I do not know how else to refer to myself. I do not think she understands the rules of the peerage just yet, so having her call me Your Grace probably will not work. And we have to stop her from calling me Pap, to avoid such a situation again.”
“Pap simply means up. Do not ask me how she coined the phrase as it makes no sense to me, but it is what she has been using. She merely wanted you to lift her up.”
He shook his head. “And you could not have explained that to the young ladies?”
“I could have, but they did not seem particularly interested in having me explain anything to them. They seemed to have made their minds up quite firmly. In any case, what were you doing telling them such Banbury tales?”
“Banbury tales,” he said, but his voice came out rather less indignant than he had intended. “I told Banbury tales?”
She dipped her head to one side and slammed her hands on her hips, which made her look rather like a school matron.
“May I remind you that your commanding officer on this apparently treacherous sea voyage was my father? And that I heard in detail the actual events of that day? You were barely even offshore, and the most dangerous thing he encountered that day was the upchucking that took place on deck. From a great number of gentlemen who were not quite sailors. You among them.”
“I did not relieve myself of my breakfast that day, if you must know. I did, however, cling to the deck with some determination, thanks to the high waves.”
“Oh yes, the high waves. The English Channel is so very well known for its tremendous waves that have drowned entire fleets.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I take it you have never heard of the Spanish Armada, swept away in a storm.”
The sound that escaped her was somewhere between a snort and a laugh.
“If you must go hundreds of years into the past to find a fleet that was drowned, you know your tale is weak. Besides, the voyage you speak of took place on a calm day with clear skies. My father was not a seafaring man himself and was prone to queasiness at times, but even he described the journey as something of a pleasant afternoon’s sail.
At least until half of his soldiers took ill. ”
There was no point in arguing with her. He could tell that now. Captain Hartwell had clearly been very detailed in his descriptions of the afternoon. “Very well,” he said. “If you insist on sticking to the truth so very closely, I shall not repeat the tale in your presence again.”
“Whatever you like,” she said. “I would like to think that my matchmaker is a truthful man.”
“I am. But sometimes the ladies enjoy a tall tale. It was entirely harmless.”
She nodded. “I see. So is this how you spend your time when you are not matchmaking? Trying to charm not one but two ladies at once.”
He took a sharp breath. “I was not trying to charm them anywhere. I was merely having a conversation.”
“I see. Well, we shall not keep you any further then.” She extended her arms to take Lavinia, but the little girl tightened her arms around his neck and held on.
“No,” she said with absolute determination that brooked no argument.
“It seems the little lady wishes to remain with me a while longer,” he said. “You will not pry her from my arms, will you?”
“I suppose not.”
“Very well then. And since you are here, I had a mind to go over a few other gentlemen with you. Shall we walk?”
“If you insist,” she said. “But will they be as tedious as the first two?”
“I should think not. However, I have thought about what you said about your terms, and I agree that we should discuss each gentleman before I set up any further meetings. So I will tell you about them and you will tell me if they sound suitable or not.”
She shrugged as they stepped back onto the path.
“So the first gentleman I have in mind to introduce you to is Lord Wesley Singleton. He is well positioned in society, even though he is only a baron. Adequately well off. A house in St. James, near the park. And an astute businessman.”
“Astute,” she said. “In what sense?”
He didn’t truly know. It was what he had heard at the clubs. However, he wasn’t going to tell her he had been less than thorough in that regard. “Astute as in he has a successful business. He runs a tight ship.”
“A tight ship,” she said with a smile. “We are again with the nautical themes. So does this astuteness apply to his home life? Am I to expect to also run a tight ship in his home?”
“I do not know,” he said. Did she have to question absolutely everything?
“I do not aim to be contrary. It is simply that I wish to know what is expected of me. Also, if I may make an observation?”
He wanted to say no, because he had a feeling that whatever she was going to observe was not going to be in his favor. But he did not want to be contrary either. “Very well.”
“Every time you tell me about a gentleman, you are always determined to make him sound agreeable and promising. I think it would be easier if you also had something less than flattering to say. I do not expect whoever you introduce me to to be perfect. I do not think there is such a thing as a perfect match, after all. But if you did not withhold the negatives from me, it would give me a better chance to prepare myself.”
He blinked. He knew negative things about all the gentlemen he wanted to introduce her to, but he hadn’t thought it wise to share them with her.
“After all,” she said, “I am sure when you tell the gentlemen about me, you tell them that I am widowed, that I have a child, and that my finances are not what they once were.”
“I do tell them. But I do not frame it as any sort of shortcoming. You couldn’t help that you became a widow after all.
Lavinia is charming. Aren’t you charming?
” he said and winked at the little girl.
She bounced on his arm, and he felt the way that Helena was looking at him.
He couldn’t quite name the appearance on her face, but it was softer than she had looked at him before.
Kinder. As though she saw him as something more than the peculiar Duke who had shown up on her doorstep demanding to find her a husband.
“Now, if you must hear something negative, this gentleman is rather a bore. He has no notable pastimes to speak of.”
“I see,” she said. “Boring.”
“Yes. But stable.”
“It sounds dreadful,” she announced.
“You find stability dreadful?”
“No, I find the complete lack of any pastimes whatsoever to be alarming. Stability is very desirable, but a man who is entirely dull is another thing altogether.”
“Let us place him further down the list. Who else do you have?”
“Well, there is Mr. Donald Donaldson.”
She burst out laughing. “Let us place him at the bottom simply for the name alone.”
“You would discriminate against somebody by virtue of their name? That is not very charitable.”
“Very well,” she said. “Tell me about this gentleman.”
“He is wealthy, for one. He is a diamond merchant. You will always have beautiful jewelry.”
“That is tempting,” she confessed. “But besides that? Is he also boring?”
“No,” he said. “He has a number of interests. Fencing, hunting, shooting—”
“No, no, no,” she said, wagging her finger.
“That will not do. I would rather go back to the one who was boring. This one seems to have rather a death wish with all the excitement he seeks. All of these things could leave him just as dead as my first husband. And I do not look to repeat this experience.”
“So you do find stability appealing after all.”
“I never said I didn’t.” She looked at him. “Is that how you would describe yourself? Stable?”
Now it was his turn to burst out laughing.
“Not in the least. I am indeed the opposite of stable. Which is exactly why I am not applying for the position. No — if you were to marry me, stability would not be something you would have. Excitement, certainly. You would laugh wholeheartedly, and you would find yourself travelling and exploring the world. But if you wish to sit at home and work on your embroidery, I am not the man for you.”
“I do not care for embroidery,” she said. “I prick my fingers more often than I care to admit.”
“Is that so,” he said, looking at her. “Would you describe yourself as adventurous?”
“I am a lady, therefore my options are limited. But I would love to see Scotland.”
He waved a hand. “Nothing much to see there. All greenery and mountain goats and such.”
“And Ireland—”
He waved his hand again. “Full of Irish.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”
He raised an eyebrow and smiled, but left it at that.
“And—” she began, then shook her head. “Never mind.”
“Bonbon!” Lavinia shouted and pointed toward something in the grass. Gideon squinted but didn’t see it.
“It’s a rabbit,” Helena said. “Bonbon means rabbit. There must have been one hopping over there.”
“Oh,” he replied. “Shall we go see it?”
Lavinia nodded excitedly and jumped up and down.
“Come on then.” He hurried toward where the rabbit had apparently been, with Helena struggling to keep pace.
When he glanced back, she had pulled up the hem of her dress and was running across the grass.
A sliver of pale skin was exposed, and he noticed that she wasn’t wearing stockings as was customary.
He supposed that being a widow afforded her such freedoms. But he would have to remind her to wear some the next time he introduced her to another gentleman.
Although that was rather an awkward conversation to have with a lady.
Maybe he could ask Clara to do it. In any case, after their conversation he now knew that she was sharp-witted and could hold a conversation, and she had a sense of humor.
Once he found the ideal match for her, it should be no problem to have her married off in no time at all.
Why did that give him such a pinch in the stomach? He didn’t know.
He set Lavinia down in the grass and the little girl squealed at once. “Bonbon, bonbon!” she pointed excitedly at a rabbit sitting near the water, eating what appeared to be a blade of grass. Helena stopped beside him and sat down on the grass as well.
“Oh, I should’ve given you my jacket to sit on. You will dirty your dress.”
“I might,” she said. “And it is one of the last nice ones that I have.”
Quickly he got up and spread his jacket down so she could sit on it.
The rabbit hopped away after a little while, with Lavinia looking after it longingly.
He saw her bottom lip quivering at the loss of the companion she hadn’t quite yet made, and he scooped her up.
“No, no,” he said. “Don’t cry. Do you want to see a trick?
Look.” He tucked his nose between his thumb and forefinger, then removed it, shoving his thumb between his index and middle finger so that the small knob appeared.
“Look at that — that’s my nose. That’s my nose. ”
Her eyes went wide and she grabbed his finger to push it back against his face as if to replace the missing nose.
“Thank you, Lavinia,” he said. “You gave me back my nose. I appreciate it very much. How about your mama’s — shall we take your mama’s nose?
” Before he could think twice about it he turned and quickly pinched Helena’s nose, doing the same thing.
Lavinia burst out laughing and likewise pushed his hand toward Helena’s face.
Then, pretending to battle with unseen forces, he pulled his hand back.
“Oh no, I can’t give her back her nose. Whatever are we going to do.”
“Mama! Mama!” she called, and quickly Helena raised her hand up, wrapped it around his wrist, and gently pulled his hand toward her face to replace the presumably missing nose. Lavinia clapped her hands in excitement.
Helena glanced at Gideon. Their eyes settled on one another for a moment as her hand remained on his wrist. Her skin was soft and cool against the warm afternoon air, and for a split second, somewhere deep within him, he felt one of the walls he had begun to build around his heart after Cassandra had left shatter.