The Unexpected Marriage of Gabriel Stone (Lords of Disgrace 4)

‘It is the most respectable option,’ Tamsyn pointed out with annoying reasonableness. ‘And the safest. Housekeepers have some status in the establishment so they are less at the mercy of predatory males in the household than governesses are and companions are very likely to become general dogsbodies.’

‘Even so.’ Gabriel waved a hand to encompass Caroline’s face, hairstyle, figure. ‘She looks far too young.’ And vulnerable. And tempting. And she should be kept away from men like him. Men who had no model of a decent marriage, men whose very blood was tainted. Blood. The picture swirled back from behind the locked door. His father’s broken body, the blood on the marble. His father dead, the death itself the scandal of the area because Gabriel had failed in his duty to those who depended on him.

‘A cap, a pair of spectacles with plain glass and a severe manner,’ suggested Tess, her head on one side, eyes narrowed, as she studied Caroline. ‘Add a sensible wardrobe, a chatelaine... There is nothing like a bunch of keys rattling at the waist to give an impression of gravitas. I made Alex an admirable housekeeper.’

Her husband snorted. ‘I would be interested to see the slightest evidence of gravitas, my lady.’

‘I still do not like it,’ Gabriel said, attempting to ignore their exchange of adoring looks. What the devil was he doing? He had brought Caroline here so his friends could help her and they were. It was not as though he had any brilliant ideas himself. They would help protect her from Woodruffe and her father and they would protect her from him, the man who wanted to taste that innocence at the same time as he wanted to guard it.

All three women sent him exasperated looks, Alex regarded the ceiling and pursed his lips in a silent whistle and Cris observed, ‘If you do not marry Lady Caroline, her options are very limited.’

‘Lord Edenbridge’s wishes in the matter are irrelevant,’ Caroline said, very pink in the face. ‘I have no intention of marrying him. Grateful as I am to him for rescuing me, he is not, I am sure you would agree, suitable husband material.’

‘I never suggested that I was,’ Gabriel retorted. But if I was, would I be courting you, Caroline? Would I want that smile and those lips, that loyalty and that passion, for myself? Oh, yes.

‘Luncheon is served, my lady.’

‘I’m sure we’ll all be in a much better frame of mind for planning when we have eaten,’ Tess said, getting to her feet and leading the way to the dining room.

* * *

‘How did you meet?’ Cris enquired once they were all seated with food in front of them.

‘My father lost an estate in Hertfordshire to Lord Edenbridge. It should have gone to my younger brother. I explained the situation and Lord Edenbridge kindly agreed to keep Springbourne in trust for Anthony until he is of age.’

The words He did what? hung unspoken in the air.

‘Remarkably generous of you, Gabriel,’ Cris eventually remarked.

‘Remarkably unlike you,’ Alex added.

‘I am not in the business of robbing innocent striplings of their inheritance simply because their parent is a fool,’ Gabriel retorted. ‘I would never have accepted the stake if I had known. Lady Caroline saved me from an unwitting blunder.’

‘It was brave of you to approach someone with such a wild reputation as Gabriel, Caroline,’ Tamsyn said. ‘That would have been at Lady Ancaster’s soirée, I imagine.’

‘No, I went to his house before then,’ Caroline admitted calmly.

Surely she was not going to tell them about that outrageous offer? His conscience, unused to scrutiny in the harsh light of day, was still tender on that subject.

‘I explained the circumstances frankly and Lord Edenbridge was very...accommodating.’

‘I am still not clear when Gabriel realised you had a further problem, or quite what he was doing in Hertfordshire,’ Cris said as he buttered a roll. ‘From a fleeting allusion he made when he was down in Devon, I gather you had met some time in June, yet here we are in early August.’

‘We had some limited correspondence about the estate,’ Gabriel said, choosing his words with care. ‘I suspected something was wrong and when I discovered that Lord Knighton was looking for a hermit for his park I thought it would be amusing to see if I could fool him an

d check on Lady Caroline’s well-being at the same time.’

‘A hermit?’ For once he had the satisfaction of seeing Cris’s jaw drop. He made a quick recovery. ‘Hence the appalling length of your hair, I assume,’ he drawled.

‘It went beautifully with the beard,’ Caroline remarked demurely. ‘Lord Edenbridge grewa most impressive one and spoke with a Welsh accent.’

‘Yes, and please do not do it again.’ Alex gave an exaggerated shudder. ‘My dear fellow, one must make every effort to assist a lady, but really, there are limits.’

‘I doubt you could produce a beard that would cover your features in under a month, Tempest,’ Gabriel retorted.

‘I’d advise a severe and fashionable crop as well,’ Cris said. ‘Just in case Knighton comes storming up to town and recognises his missing hermit. I’ll get my valet to cut it for you.’

‘The things I do for you, Lady Caroline,’ Gabriel said, trying to recall the last time he had had a haircut that might have been thought severe and fashionable.