Читать книгу The Complete Regency Surrender Collection - Энни Берроуз, Louise Allen - Страница 104
ОглавлениеHanover Square was nearly deserted at this late hour of the evening—or rather early morning if one was to be exact. However, one building stood like a beacon with the glow of candlelight in one of the upper windows. Thankfully for Gabriel it was not the building he needed to break into.
As Andrew stood guard, Gabriel crouched before the front door. Squinting in the dim light, he pressed two metal pins into the lock and jiggled them.
‘Are you certain you do not wish to have me give it a go?’ Andrew asked over his shoulder.
‘I almost have it.’
‘Do you even recall how it’s done? I cannot imagine you’ve had a need to do that for quite some time.’
How he wished he could go back to a time when he was not the kind of man who would pick the locks of his wife’s possessions—to a time when he had no idea of the horrors of betrayal. What would his life be like now if he had never gone to his uncle for advice?
A satisfying click broke the silence. Slowly he turned the handle of the door to the building that housed Manning’s studio. Hopefully the man’s landlord was a heavy sleeper. The last thing he needed was to have to explain his presence in the house.
He pulled Andrew inside the darkened hallway by the sleeve. Faint streaks of moonlight from the transom over the door lit their way to the staircase. They took the steps gingerly, hoping to avoid potential squeaks. When they finally reached the third floor, both Gabriel and Andrew took a deep breath.
With all the practice he’d had recently, this time it only took Gabriel two tries to pick the lock. Moonlight flooded into the studio from the large windows, making it easy to navigate the large room.
‘What exactly is it you believe we will find?’ Andrew whispered.
Gabriel’s gaze landed on the easel, draped with a white cloth. That was what he had been hoping to find. ‘We are looking for anything that might prove he was blackmailed.’
‘But we agreed he was telling the truth. Why are you questioning it now?’
‘It’s prudent to be certain.’
Andrew studied him carefully. ‘How do you propose we divide and conquer?’
‘I’ll search out here. There is another room behind that screen. See what you can find.’
Gabriel waited until Andrew was in the next room before he removed the knife from his boot and uncovered the painting of Olivia. Most people would never know it was the Duchess of Winterbourne reclining on the divan—but he would. He would not leave it here unattended. Should Manning be executed or transported, who knew what would become of this painting? He needed to bring it home. He needed to protect her reputation. It was the least he could do after today.
With a resolved breath he sliced the canvas from the frame, rolled it up and secured it with a strip of black ribbon.
‘What are you doing?’ Andrew asked from the doorway.
‘It’s of no concern of yours. Did you find anything?’
‘Amazingly, I did not. Have you even begun your search or have you spent all this time taking Olivia’s portrait?’
‘What do you know of her portrait?’
Andrew walked closer to him. ‘I know she was sitting for the man. Was he able to complete it?’
Gabriel shook his head.
‘Pity. I’m sure it would have made a nice addition to the gallery.’
Thank God this painting would never see the light of day in any gallery, but Andrew did not need to know that.
‘Yes, a shame. Well, if you are finished in there, perhaps you can help me look out here.’
With the portrait secure, Gabriel was eager to finish searching the studio and put this day behind him.
Throughout his ride home, guilt over his suspicions about Olivia continued to plague him. She didn’t deserve his suspicions and had never done anything to indicate she could not be trusted, or that she hated the monarchy. She wasn’t Peter.
For over five years Gabriel had had to live with the fact that Matthew’s death was all his fault. He was the one who had confided his responsibilities to his uncle. When Peter asked to accompany Matthew up north to gather intelligence on the rumblings of a plot against the Crown, he should have said no. He knew Peter was a zealous supporter of Catholic emancipation. And that year Prinny was very vocal he was not. But in his wildest dreams Gabriel never thought Peter would try to prevent them from stopping an assassination attempt over it.
He would never know if Peter had intentionally killed Matthew to stop the intelligence they uncovered from reaching Gabriel. It might have been an accident. Peter took that knowledge to his grave. What Gabriel did know was that night when his uncle stood over him with cold rain pelting them both, Peter had every intention of killing him.
After that night, Gabriel vowed he would never again be responsible for anyone else’s death. He would never again share what he did or the names of those that worked for him with anyone else. But his feelings for Olivia were running deep. During Manning’s interrogation it became apparent he cared more for her life than his own. He wanted to trust her. He wanted a real marriage. Perhaps there was a way to have one.
* * *
When Olivia awoke the next morning, her suspicions about Gabriel and the mysterious package in Richmond continued to plague her. Luckily she would be spending her morning in Manning’s studio. He would be a welcome diversion and today she would make him hold an extended conversation with her, whether he wanted to or not.
* * *
When she knocked on his door after breakfast no one was home, which did nothing to improve her mood. At least he could have sent a note cancelling her sitting for the day.
There was no sense in returning home where she would be tempted to enter Gabriel’s study and probably get caught trying to pick the lock to his desk again. So she took Colette with her to Madame Devy’s to lose herself in a morning of shopping.
* * *
When she walked out of the dressmaker’s shop an hour later, she spotted Janvier standing in front of the milliner next door, deep in conversation with a willowy, dark-haired woman with fine features and a prominent brow. Olivia couldn’t recall seeing the woman before, and from the simple appearance of her dress one could assume she did not move within Olivia’s elevated circle.
Having no desire to interrupt their conversation or stand on the pavement on such a windy day, Olivia was about to walk towards her carriage when Janvier appeared startled to see her. She gave him a friendly smile and he whispered something in his companion’s ear before he left her and approached Olivia.
‘What a pleasant surprise,’ he said with a tip of his hat.
‘This is a surprise. I was just seeing about a dress for the theatre.’
‘For the opening night of Douglas?’
‘Perhaps.’
‘Will you tell me the colour or will you keep me in suspense?’
‘A bit of suspense keeps life exciting.’
He flashed her a grin. ‘I agree. Well, I am certain whatever colour you have chosen, you will look lovely in it.’
It was just like Janvier to try to charm her after being seen with another woman. She held on to her bonnet as a particularly strong gust of wind blew down the street. ‘I must be off before the wind takes me. Good day, Janvier.’
He tipped his hat and helped her into the carriage, where Colette was waiting to accompany her to more shops. It would take quite of bit of funds to distract her from thinking about the enigma she had married.
* * *
Hours later the man himself emerged from his study as she stood in the entrance hall, removing her bonnet. Crossing his arms over his broad chest, he leaned against the doorframe of his private sanctuary. ‘You’ve been busy,’ he remarked casually as he watched two footmen carry in boxes and wrapped packages from her carriage.
She handed her bonnet and gloves to Colette, then dismissed her with a nod. ‘I realised I was in need of new slippers and gloves, and I saw a lovely fan for the theatre.’
‘How many slippers does one woman need, I wonder?’ he asked, with a slight smile.
‘As many as she can afford.’
He nodded slowly, holding her gaze across the empty hallway. ‘There is something I need to discuss with you...when you have the time.’
‘I have a few things to attend to. Perhaps we can speak before your family arrives for dinner this evening?’
He tipped his head. ‘I shall look forward to it. Shall we say six in my study?’
She nodded her agreement, even though having a conversation with him, knowing he was hiding something from her, was the last thing she wanted to do. What if he discovered she had been in his study and taken the cryptic note he’d tried to burn? Well, so be it! She needed answers and she was not afraid to press him to get them.
* * *
The idea of sharing his secret life with Olivia terrified Gabriel. There was no other word to describe it. But after weighing his options all morning on how he could have a real marriage with Olivia while also keeping his people safe, he knew it was the only solution.
She had sat in that carriage. She had found that box. And just yesterday he’d caught her trying to pick the lock to his desk.
He’d always known she was a smart, inquisitive woman. A person like that would not stop until they had answers. If she decided to poke into his affairs she might uncover the truth anyway—along with the identity of any number of the people who worked for him. He might be able to trust her with his involvement protecting the Crown, but he could not trust her with the identity of his operatives. The scar below his ribs was a daily reminder why. He would tell her the truth—at least the part he thought she needed to know.
* * *
At precisely six o’clock Olivia arrived at the door to his study. From the determined expression on her face, it appeared she had come with a purpose. It wouldn’t surprise him if she wanted to discuss that carriage again.
‘I gather from your earlier comment about the fan you purchased, you’re planning on attending the theatre,’ he said, closing the door behind him and leaning against it. That wasn’t exactly a polite way to begin a conversation, but it was something.
She walked to the fireplace, where the ashes appeared to be more interesting than he was. ‘Yes, Douglas will be opening, and Mrs Siddons is to return to the stage. Prinny and I were recently discussing how we’ve missed her performances.’
‘He told me you brought marzipan. That’s an interesting gift to give someone with the gout.’
‘While you and I both know he suffers from terrible bouts of it, we also know he’s not plagued with it now.’ She finally looked at him. ‘Was there a particular reason you wanted to see me? I cannot imagine it was to discuss Prinny.’
All of this had to do with Prinny.
Gabriel pushed away from the door and walked towards her. ‘I have something I would like to discuss with you.’
‘You said as much.’
He waited politely for Olivia to sit before taking the chair next to her. For the last hour he’d thought about what he would say—now he wished he’d considered how to begin. He spun his ring, searching for the right words.
When Olivia raised an expectant brow, he knew he needed to forge ahead. ‘I believe we have spoken to each other more now than we have in the last five years. We are behaving as a family, in every sense of the word, and I was wondering if it would be possible for this reconciliation between you and I to continue, even after you are with child?’
Her eyes widened momentarily before her forehead wrinkled. He waited for her response. The awkward moment stretched between them and Gabriel began to wonder if she understood what he was asking.
‘Why now?’ She only said two words, but her scepticism spoke volumes.
‘I told you—’
‘No, not really.’ She stood and took a few steps away before spinning on her heels to face him. ‘I know what you’re about. I am not naïve. You believe I was trying to pick the lock to your desk. That carriage and odd box I asked you about, they have significance even though you claim to know nothing about them. You are hiding something and think that by flattering me I’ll run into your arms and brush my questions aside.’
He stood so she was no longer looking down at him. ‘I’m not asking for a true reconciliation to trick you. I’m asking because I have genuine affection for you and I’d like to try to start over again with you if that is possible.’
‘Interesting timing.’
‘Is it? We have just begun this temporary reconciliation. I’ve just started to realise how much I’ve missed you. Is that truly questionable timing? I couldn’t possibly have realised I missed you, a year ago. You weren’t speaking to me. You weren’t giving me the opportunity to remember how much I enjoyed your company.’
Gabriel spun his ring, uncomfortable with admitting he cared for her and missed her when she had yet to tell him she felt anything close to that about him. Early in their marriage he could see she had genuine affection for him. He thought he’d sensed those feels returning. Perhaps he was wrong.
‘Yes,’ he continued, ‘I do believe you were attempting to pick the lock to my desk and, yes, we did discuss that carriage and the box, but my wanting to be with you has nothing to do with that.’
It now appeared it was her turn to search for the right words to express herself. ‘I like you, Gabriel, I do, but I do not trust you.’
The absurdity of her not trusting him when all along he had never trusted her almost made him laugh. If neither of them trusted the other they had no chance of being happy together. Prinny was her dear friend. She would never want to see him harmed. It was time she knew the truth. ‘There is something I need to tell you, Olivia, but before I do, I need you to swear you will not reveal what I am about to say to anyone.’
‘That’s a bit dramatic, wouldn’t you say?’ But when he remained silent, waiting for her agreement, she must have realised his earnestness. Her eyes searched his. ‘Very well, I swear.’
He gestured to the chairs beside them and they both sat down.
‘Do you remember the day my father died? No, wait, it began before that. It started when I was a child.’
Confusion crossed her brow.
‘My father had very strong opinions about the French Revolution. He had a deep-seated fear that what had happened in France would cross the channel and cause a revolt here. He believed strongly that King George needed protection and Prinny as well. Believing if they were safe, there would be little chance of members of the ton facing the same fate as the French aristocracy. You see, he worried for the safety of this family. He created a secret organisation made up of men and women whose sole purpose was to ferret out any threats against the Crown and to protect the royal house with their lives, if necessary. On the day he died, he made me promise him that I would do everything in my power to ensure King George and Prinny remained safe before I assumed his role in overseeing that select group of individuals.’
The look of confusion was still in her eyes, along with some disbelief. ‘Surely you are joking.’
He shook his head. ‘It is all true.’
She pointed to the portrait of his father above the mantel. ‘You expect me to believe that man organised a secret society to protect the Crown? That man?’
‘He did.’
She studied the image of his father through narrow eyes, as if she would find a clue to his father’s secret dealings within the portrait. Then she turned back to him and gave him the same appraisal. ‘I do not know why you find it necessary to tell me such a fantastical tale, but I do not find it amusing and it does not improve my trust in you.’ She looked away and brushed out non-existent wrinkles from her lap.
‘Olivia, what I am telling you is the truth. I am responsible for protecting the Crown.’
‘And I am a Grand Duchess of Russia, simply raised in England as a girl,’ she bit out with sarcasm.
‘You yourself admitted you have suspicions about me. That is why I am telling this to you. Why did you feel it necessary to try to open a locked drawer to my desk? You know deep down what I have told you is possible.’
Her hand stilled from where she had been about to pick an invisible thread from her sleeve and she stared at the hearth. Her eyes were moving as if she was reading a message in the ashes and he could see she was considering what he said.
‘You are too clever to discount what I am telling you, Olivia. You know what I am saying is possible—that it is the truth.’
She looked back at him and he could see she was struggling to believe him. ‘How long have you been involved in this?’
‘I took a vow to give my life for the Crown when I was at Cambridge.’
‘So when we were introduced you were already working for your father?’
He nodded and saw the moment she realised what he told her was possible.
‘You’ve been deceiving me from the moment we met!’
‘We are sworn to tell no one. One of the reasons we have been successful in stopping plots against Prinny and King George is because we operate in secret. My own mother and most of my closest friends do not even know. Lyonsdale doesn’t know.’
‘Lyonsdale is not your wife. I am,’ she spat with fire in her eyes.
‘I swore an oath.’
‘Then why tell me now? What has changed?’
‘Everything has changed,’ he replied forcefully. ‘I misjudged you and did not know you well enough to trust you with something like this years ago. I see now how much you have come to care for Prinny and know you would never do anything to cause him harm. If I continued to keep this secret from you, it would pull us further apart. I do not want that.’ He placed his hand over hers. They remained cold under his touch through her embroidered silk gloves. ‘I do not want to go back to the way things were between us. I like waking up to you. I like being together with you and Nicholas even if at times it is at an absurdly early hour of the morning. And I like knowing that when I want to see you, I will not be turned away. I have missed your intelligence and your wit. And there is no place I would rather be than in your bed. There is no other woman I want more than you, Livy.’
She slid her hands out from under his. ‘Explain the carriage I was brought home in yesterday.’
‘It’s used when we have a need to observe people who we suspect have plans against the Crown.’
‘And the box?’
‘There are times disguises are necessary.’
‘Tell me about the package in Richmond.’
Bloody hell, she was even craftier than he thought! ‘What do you know of Richmond?’
She reached inside her glove and withdrew a charred piece of paper. ‘Tell me about the package you received in Richmond,’ she repeated, holding it out to him.
‘An attempt has been made on Prinny’s life—’
‘He is hurt? Is—’
‘He’s fine. I have him in Carlton House to keep him safe until we are certain we have in custody all those involved in this plot. The package this refers to is a person. It’s the man who has been supplying information on Prinny’s whereabouts.’
‘You saw this person last night?’
‘I did.’
‘Well, I hope someone beat him to a bloody mess.’ From the anger rolling off her, he’d wager she would volunteer if given the chance.
‘You may not feel that way when I tell you his name.’
‘Why should I show concern for such a person?’
He had an urge to beat Manning himself for the hurt this was sure to cause his wife. Instead he walked to the fireplace to take his anger out of the logs. As he jammed the poker into the flames, sparks flew up the chimney.
‘Gabriel, do I know this man?’ she asked, walking over to him.
From her expression he thought it best to place distance between Olivia and the heavy metal object in his hand, so he hung the poker back on the rack. ‘Mr Manning was informing the assassin of Prinny’s plans.’
She backed away from him. ‘That’s not amusing.’
‘It was not meant to be.’
‘John Manning would never do such a thing.’
Gabriel took a step closer to comfort her, but she took another step back.
‘You are just saying that because you do not like me sitting for him. You will find any excuse to prevent him from painting that portrait.’
‘That is not true. He was gathering information about Prinny while painting those within the royal circle. That information was given to someone who intends to kill Prinny. We have his confession.’
Her breathing became more rapid as she processed what he had told her. ‘He asked me to sit for that portrait. He said it was because only I...’ She stormed past him and grabbed the poker. ‘That weasel! And to think I recommended him to friends.’
By the time she had finished stabbing the logs, they would be tiny bits of ash. At least she had got over her shock and wasn’t a sobbing mess. He took a step closer just as she whirled around, waving the poker at him. He backed up just in time.
‘I hope he can no longer stand this morning.’ She turned back around and jabbed the logs. ‘What kind of person seeks the blood of another?’
Gabriel went to step closer and she yanked the poker out of the fire.
He froze.
‘He should be punished for this,’ she said through her teeth.
‘He will be. Once we have captured whoever is responsible for this, Manning will face trial. You should know that he was coerced into giving away the information. If he did not oblige, members of his family would have been maimed.’
‘He still should have found a way to get out of his predicament.’
‘Sometimes that’s not always possible.’
‘I don’t believe that. If you think clearly, you can always find a way.’
It was hard to imagine what it would feel like to be sheltered from the ugliness in the world. ‘Put the poker down, Olivia. You have successfully reduced the logs to ash.’
She narrowed her eyes at him and hung the poker on the rack. Dusting off her hands, she turned her head towards his desk. ‘Why do you keep your desk locked? Is that where you hide your secret papers?’
He knew she would never have simply forgotten all that she suspected. Taking off his ring, he adjusted it so it formed the key to his desk. Her surprised expression brought a smile to his lips. ‘Open it and you will see,’ he said, handing her his ring.
She crossed the room as if she were heading to her own execution and pushed the chair away from his desk. The key stalled momentarily in the lock before giving way with a click. There was a slight hesitation before she cautiously slid her hand inside.
There were only three things Gabriel kept in that drawer. Apparently she had no interest in the pistol. She took out the stack of papers, but once she saw they were blank she returned them to the drawer. Then she removed the small box and placed it on top of the desk. She stared down at it as if it would devour her where she stood.
‘Open it,’ he commanded softly into her ear.
Holding her breath, she raised the lid and picked up the lover’s eye. It took a moment before she almost dropped it.
‘I had Cosway paint it from your wedding portrait. The jeweller who set it brought it to me the day after Nicholas was born. I wore it for a year before I realised there was no hope for reconciliation between us. It sat there unopened for years until yesterday when I found you in my study. Now you have uncovered the secret of my locked drawer.’
She looked back at the small gold brooch in her hand. ‘You wore this?’
‘Every day for a year.’
‘How did I not notice?’
‘You barely looked at me and even if you did, you would not have seen it. I wore it under my coats. I’ve missed you, Livy. I hadn’t realised how much until recently.’
She searched his eyes as if gauging his sincerity. Finally her lips curved into a small sad smile and she placed the pin back in the box. ‘I have missed you as well.’
‘I want you as my wife, in every sense of the word.’
‘I want that, Gabriel, I do, but I will not take you back into my life knowing you will run to Madame LaGrange to satisfy your needs. Most women would look the other way. But I cannot. I would rather we lived here as strangers than to have a marriage like that.’
For years Madame LaGrange would trust only him with the intelligence she had gathered. She knew the danger she was putting herself in and he could not blame her for wanting to have only one person as her contact. But what if he could convince her she could also trust Andrew? Then he would no longer have to see her and there would be no danger of Olivia believing the worst. They could begin again and put the past behind them. ‘I won’t. You are the only woman I need. There will never be another.’
All this time he had not been alone in missing what they had. He cradled her neck in his palm and lowered his lips to hers. What had started out as a kiss of mutual affection turned into much more. He poured out everything he couldn’t say to her—didn’t know how to say to her—into that kiss.
As if she needed to be as close to him as he did her, Olivia worked the buttons of his tailcoat and then his waistcoat. He picked her up and settled her lovely bottom on the surface of his desk, all without breaking the kiss.
He needed her and needed to be inside of her to reassure himself she was his. The silk of her gown glided over his hands as he skimmed his fingers up her soft, warm legs. Her breath caught within their kiss as his hands moved higher and higher.
A soft knock stilled them and Gabriel looked at the door. Olivia pushed against his shoulders, but with one hand he grabbed her about the waist and the other hand remained on her thigh.
‘Yes?’ he called out, sounding as if he had spent the day in a loud debate within the House of Lords.
The handle of the door turned halfway before the lock prevented it from making a full rotation. ‘Your guests have arrived, sir, and are waiting in the Green Drawing Room,’ was the muffled reply from Bennett.
Gabriel and Olivia looked at one another in mutual confusion, until they both recalled they were having dinner with his family. Olivia pushed harder against Gabriel and this time he let her go. Stepping away from the desk, he buttoned his waistcoat and began to tidy his clothes.
‘Tell them we will be there shortly,’ he called to the closed door.
‘Yes, sir,’ was the muffled reply.
When he turned back around, Olivia was adjusting the neckline of her gown.
‘May I help you with that,’ he asked with a grin.
‘I believe you have done enough for now.’
‘I’d like to do more.’ Visions of entering her were not going away. ‘It is unseasonably warm this evening,’ he said with an arch of his brow.
Her hand stilled from shaking out her skirts and she looked up at him. ‘Perhaps we should venture out into the garden when our guests leave.’
It was uncanny how quickly she could follow his train of thought. ‘Perhaps we should.’ He took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her skin. ‘I haven’t been in the walled garden in ages. Are we still in possession of that sun dial?’
The tip of her tongue ran over the dip in her upper lip. ‘We are, but it won’t be of much use in the dark.’
‘It will be most useful when I bend you over it and take you from behind.’
Her brown eyes darkened and he knew she was picturing it just as he was. If he made it through dinner without dragging her out of the room and into the garden it would be a miracle.
Olivia was the first to look away as she flattened out her skirt. ‘Do I look presentable? I don’t resemble a doxy who has just had a tumble?’
He laughed and shook his head. ‘I assure you my family will have no idea what we’ve been doing.’
Her eyes widened as she glanced at the door. ‘Your family... Gabriel, we cannot keep them waiting.’
Grabbing his arm, she propelled him towards the door. When they reached the door, he spun her around and kissed her one last time. Then she pushed him away, turned the key in the lock and before Gabriel was able to say another word, she was practically running with him down the hall to the Green Drawing Room.
Aside from their heavy breathing from running through their house, Gabriel thought they had disguised their activities rather well. That was until his mother, Andrew and Monty turned towards them from where they had been sitting near the window. His mother’s eyebrows rose into her hairline, Andrew’s right brow arched with a knowing look of amusement and Monty’s mouth had opened so wide he resembled a fish.
Gabriel glanced at Olivia. Not a hair was out of place. So what was causing such a reaction?
Olivia dropped his hand.
It suddenly felt cold and empty. She looked at the buttons of his tailcoat with a pointed stare and he re-buttoned them properly. No one uttered a word. The awkwardness of the moment would not do. Their family should know they had reconciled and, in a short time, so would all of London.
He tugged Olivia closer and kissed her knuckles slowly. Her eyes softened at the gesture. A discreet cough came from the sofa. When they both turned their heads, his mother smiled.
‘We were beginning to worry that something was amiss with Nicholas. Now I see it was nothing dire at all.’
‘Nicholas is well, I assure you,’ Olivia said, tugging her hand back and walking towards his family. ‘He will be down after dinner and you will be able to see for yourself.’
His mother kissed his cheek. ‘It is lovely to see you, Gabriel.’ Her wise eyes scanned his wife’s face. ‘You look well, my dear. I dare say you have a bit of a rosy glow. Are you well?’
‘Yes, I am. Thank you. I just had a bit of difficulty with my gown this evening and Gabriel was kind enough to wait for me.’
‘He did,’ his mother said, eyeing her son from his shoes to his cravat as if she were looking for a strand of Olivia’s hair on his clothing.
‘I thought it would be the proper thing to do. We did not anticipate it taking as long as it did.’
‘I suppose that comes with age,’ Andrew mumbled through a smirk.
‘What was that?’ their mother asked, narrowing her eyes at his brother.
‘I said it must be difficult to gauge,’ he replied, looking at Gabriel with laughter in his eyes.
His mother glared at Andrew and Gabriel was certain, if his brother had been sitting closer, she would have rapped his knuckles with the fan she was tapping against her thigh.
‘I understand dinner is ready to be served,’ Olivia said, her gaze narrowed on Andrew as well. ‘Andrew, would you please escort me to the dining room?’
Bowing to Olivia, Andrew flashed her a devilish smile as if he was preparing to charm his way out of trouble. ‘Of course, the honour is mine, sister dear.’
‘Monty, some day Andrew will find a bride and you will not have to walk into dinner alone,’ Olivia said sweetly.
‘And when will that be, Andrew?’ his mother prodded. ‘Each day I move closer and closer to my grave.’
‘You are not even sixty years of age, Mother. I believe you are far from your grave.’
‘I hope she isn’t bookish,’ Monty interjected from the back. ‘I should hate to be forced to talk about literature or some other nonsense when we are together.’
‘What would you like to discuss?’ Gabriel asked.
‘I don’t know. Olivia is easy to speak with. Perhaps, Olivia, you know someone just like you that you could introduce to Andrew.’
‘There is no one else like Olivia,’ replied Gabriel, turning his head and catching her eye. ‘Besides, the only lady Andrew would find interesting would need to have extensive knowledge of pugilism and ale.’
‘Oh, dear Lord, I think I feel faint,’ his mother said.
‘At least she will probably be of a hardy stock,’ Olivia interjected over his mother’s shoulder.
‘That sounds perfect to me,’ Monty said. ‘Do find her soon, Andrew, or I might be married before you.’
‘That suits me, brat. Why don’t you find a lady and keep out of my affairs.’
‘Affairs?’ Olivia asked in a conspiratorial whisper. ‘Are you having an affair?’
Andrew cleared his throat. ‘That is not what I meant and you know it. Do not encourage them. I thought I was your favourite?’
‘You are.’
‘But you told me I was your favourite brother,’ Monty said petulantly.
‘And you are as well.’
‘You cannot have two favourite brothers,’ he replied.
‘I am a woman. Of course I can.’
‘That does not make any sense.’
‘The longer you are around women, the more you will see it makes perfect sense, brat.’
They reached the smaller dining room used for intimate meals. The conversation around the table was lively and pleasant. Knowing he would spend more evenings like this made Gabriel smile.
His mother wiped her mouth delicately with her napkin. ‘So, I understand Mrs Siddons will be coming back to the stage at Drury Lane. With your appreciation of the theatre I imagine you will be attending, Olivia.’
Olivia’s smile brightened the room. ‘Yes, I’ve been looking forward to tomorrow night for quite some time.’
‘I know Prinny adores her performances,’ his mother continued. ‘Goes on about them for days. I expect he will attend.’
‘We had discussed it just the other day,’ Olivia said smiling, as if she was recalling a rather pleasant conversation. Then her brow creased and her expression darkened. ‘However, he has been suffering terribly with the gout. I do not know if he will attend.’
Gabriel did not miss Andrew’s side-glance at the mention of Prinny attending the theatre. If Olivia knew he had been planning to attend the theatre, had she discussed it with Mr Manning? Did anyone else know of Prinny’s partiality for Mrs Siddons?
‘I will go with you.’ Gabriel knew full well his statement sounded like a command.
Everyone at the table turned to him in surprise.
He kept his eyes focused on Olivia. ‘I think it is time we announce our reconciliation.’
‘You do?’
‘I do. I can think of no better way to do so than to arrive together to a performance a good portion of London will be attending.’ He raised his brow expectantly for her agreement.
Her smile warmed him. ‘I would like that.’
‘Excellent. Would anyone else like to accompany us?’
Andrew began to say something when he suddenly looked down towards his leg and let out a muffled cry. Their mother, sitting next to him, smiled sweetly.
‘Did you want to join us, Andrew?’ Gabriel asked.
His brother shook his head, while he sunk his teeth into his lower lip.
Gabriel turned to Olivia. ‘It appears it will just be you and I.’
