Chapter Thirteen #2
Gabe folded his arms and changed the subject. “You were talking about the crown prince of Zindaria. You’re not handing him over. I won’t allow it.”
Nash sat back with a thoughtful expression. “I won’t give up on you, Gabriel. But, yes, to return to the subject of the crown prince, if the count wishes him ill, I agree, the boy must be protected. But how?”
“Boot the bastard out of England.”
Nash gave Gabe a look that said he could throw the word “bastard” around all he liked, Nash would not react. “Unfortunately the government cannot,” he said. “Zindaria, though small and obscure, is an ally of the Austrians and we cannot afford to provoke an international incident.”
He steepled his fingers and stared at them thoughtfully. “What we need is a complication. Something for the Foreign Office to chew over, to debate, to delay. Delay can be a government’s most useful weapon.”
Gabe snorted. Delay had caused him many a problem in the army. Delay in funding, in provision of supplies. He had no patience with government delay. He looked at Nash. Except perhaps in this case.
Gabe sat forward as an idea came to him. “If the princess was married to an Englishman, would that make a difference?”
“Yes, that would certainly complicate things nicely, but she’s not.”
“She could be. To me.”
Nash stared. “Are you mad? You hardly know her.”
“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that she would not only be married to an Englishman, it would be to an Englishman with excellent family connections. An aunt who is a leader of the ton, a brother with an inside track to government decision-making—”
“And another brother who sits in the House of Lords and would make a huge fuss if anyone tried to take his sister-in-law’s son!
And besides, you’re a war hero.” Nash sat back in his chair and gave his brother an admiring look.
“It’s brilliant. It will answer our purpose admirably—but are you sure you want to do this? ”
Gabe nodded. “I’m certain.”
“Beddable little filly, is she?”
Gabe gave his brother a hard stare. “No.” He said the word like a whiplash.
“Not beddable?”
“Not your business, brother.” The violence of his reaction shocked Gabe. The mere thought of his brother regarding Callie as “a beddable filly” had made him want to thrash Nash to a pulp. His brother hadn’t even met her.
Nash gave him a cool look. “Point taken. She will be my sister-in-law, after all. But there will be a deal of talk.”
“I’m counting on it,” Gabe said. “The more people know about the wedding the harder it’ll be to have her son whisked out of the country.” That’s right, Gabe told himself. Keep reminding yourself that it’s all about the child.
Nothing to do with these primitive emotions surging up within him. The moment the idea had occurred to him he wanted it done, wanted her to be his wife. Now, without delay. His wife.
The woman who had sworn repeatedly that she would never marry again.
Nash nodded. “Yes, you’re right. We’ll get it organized at once.”
Gabe frowned as a fairly large hole in the scheme occurred to him.
His brother noticed his expression and said, “You are having second thoughts, aren’t you?”
“No, it’s not that—”
“If it’s the special license you’re worried about, I will see to it. Aunt Gosforth will no doubt be happy to organize one of her ‘small’ receptions.”
“Yes,” Gabe said absently. “The more witnesses, the more difficult it is for the government to act.” And the more difficult for her to wriggle out of.
Nash nodded. “I’m glad you see the value of family, after all.”
Gabe gave him a flat look. “For a good cause, yes. But don’t get too excited about this scheme just yet.”
“Why, what’s the problem?”
Gabe said slowly, “There’s just one small fly in the ointment.”
“And what is that?”
“The bride.”
“The bride? She’s the fly? Do you think she might not like it?”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to her,” Nash said confidently. “I’m very good at explaining things and convincing people. It’s my job, after all. Bring her in.”
“Marry Gabriel Renfrew? Absolutely not!” Callie stared first at the man who’d been introduced as “the Honorable Nash Renfrew, something in government” and then at Gabriel.
There was a strong family resemblance: the nose, the chin, and those intense blue eyes.
Not to mention the shoulders, the height, and the infuriating assumption that he knew what was best for her.
“I won’t do it!” she reiterated. “It’s a ridiculous idea. There must be another way.”
Nash shook his head. “We’ve given it a great deal of thought. It’s the only way we can think of to prevent my government from handing your son back to the Zindarian government.”
“Not the Zindarian government,” she flashed, “Count Anton, the snake who has been plotting to murder him!”
Nash shrugged. “I know; Gabriel told me. It’s unfortunate, but unless you have proof, which Gabriel assures me you don’t, our government cannot concern itself with personalities; the count has provided the appropriate paperwork.”
“Paperwork!” she stormed. “What sort of people would put paperwork before a child’s safety?”
Nash gave her a very Renfrew look. “Princess, to a government paperwork is everything.”
She glared at him and took a few angry paces around the room. “Then I will take my son and flee.”
He shrugged. “It will just delay the inevitable. They will track you down and bring you back, and then you will be in breach of the law and will be separated from your son.”
“But I am English! I came back to my own country to be safe!”
Nash looked regretful. “Unfortunately, Princess, your nationality changed once you married. Which is why—”
“No! I won’t even consider it! It’s utterly ridiculous.”
“It’s not, you know,” Gabe said. “It makes a great deal of sense. And I’m the perfect candidate.”
She snorted.
“He is,” Nash insisted. “You couldn’t get anyone to suit your purpose better—not without wasting time, and time is of the essence here.
With the Renfrew family connections—our elder brother is an earl, you know—we have the potential to cause all sorts of scandal if anyone tried to separate you from your son, or you from your husband. ”
“Husband!” she declared with loathing. “I don’t want a husband.”
“Not even if it will save your son?”
She gave him an anguished look. “How would it work?”
“If you married Gabriel, you’d once again become an English citizen. And since he has excellent family connections”—he gave his brother a direct look—“we’d use those connections to put pressure on the government to delay.”
“Delay!” she exclaimed. “What good is delay? If I understand you correctly, in the end, you will still have to hand my son over to a murderer!”
Nash gave her a shocked look. “Princess, I assure you, the English government may be riddled with imperfections, but in matters of creative delay we are unmatched.”
She bit her lip and considered his statement. “How much of a delay do you think you could manage?”
“Until forever,” Nash said with pride.
She gave him a doubtful look. “Forever?”
He made a careless gesture. “At least until your son is of age.”
“Or until Count Anton dies?” Gabe asked.
Nash inclined his head. “Indeed.” He narrowed his eyes at his brother. “But not if you murdered him, Gabriel. That would complicate things enormously.”
She looked at Gabe anxiously. “I don’t want you to commit murder.”
“Then your only alternative is to commit matrimony,” Gabe responded.
She flung him a resentful glance, cornered and desperate.
Gabe felt for her…almost. He was determined to convince her. Now that they were in London he wouldn’t put it past her to simply disappear. Her notion of staying at a hotel had given him a jolt that had shocked him.
He had to get her to promise to marry him. A promise would hold her. “If it will save Nicky, is there really any choice?”
“I don’t know. I can’t think. I need time,” she said unhappily.
Gabe looked deep into her eyes and saw she was terrified.
He wondered yet again what her husband had done to her to make her so fearful of marrying again. He had to reassure her. He wouldn’t hurt her, he would treat her tenderly…
“It would be purely a matter of convenience,” Nash said, and Gabe had the urge to strangle him again.
“If that was what you wanted,” Gabe amended quickly with a hard look at his brother.
Nash’s brows rose. He said coolly, “Don’t think of it as a marriage; think of it purely as a legal maneuver, like a chess gambit.
A marriage between you and my brother would block Count Anton’s petition for custody of the boy and mire it in legal arguments, thus giving our government an excuse to delay.
” He waited a moment and added, “It’s my considered opinion that it’s the only way to keep your son with you. ”
He rose. “Gabriel, you were right about the fly in the ointment. I’ll leave you two to discuss it in private.
It seems to me that there are matters between you two that need to be settled before any agreement can be made.
I’ll see you at dinner, which is in—” He consulted his pocket watch. “—fifteen minutes.”
“What did he mean about the fly in the ointment?” she demanded as soon as the door closed behind Nash.
“Nothing. Just a beautiful fly with lovely green eyes. And the most sweet-smelling ointment,” Gabe said soothingly. “Do you remember the smell of the ointment? We have fond memories of ointment, you and I.”
She gave him a flat stare.
“Or at least I do,” he finished hastily. She was obviously not in the mood for seduction.
“You see, this is why I have such strong doubts about any agreement we might make,” she told him. “You don’t take women seriously.”
“I do take women serio—”
“You take women like Mrs. Barrow seriously. You took your great-aunt Gert seriously, but not me. You never listen to me.”
“I do—”
“You ignore my expressed wishes and ride roughshod over my decisions and I cannot and will not put up with it.”
Gabriel was shocked. “But that’s not how it is at all.”