A Gentleman's Vow (Saints and Sinners 2)

“They would not have gone home without me,” she said in a worried tone.

“No, I imagine they would not. Perhaps they are playing hide and seek.”

Mrs. Beck drew close until her arm brushed his. “I wanted to thank you again for the pleasurable dinner last night. I almost forgot I was a widow and living with my sister and husband for a while.”

Last night’s early success had soured later on. “I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I did, too, but I am sorry that your brother-in-law’s consumption of spirits made him coarse when he spoke with you.”

She shrugged. “I will learn to ignore it in due time.”

He sighed. “I promised myself not to meddle, and I know it is none of my business, but after last night, I must ask how long you intend to live with the Napiers?”

“Forever, I fear. My pocket is more than a little empty at present,” she confessed with obvious embarrassment. “I have no other option.”

“You could remarry,” he murmured—and then he blinked. “Oh! Was that why you kissed me? To see…”

She tossed her head. “I can see now that I made a mistake.”

“I apologize if I have made you think I felt more for you than I do.”

She nodded, and then jutted out her chin. “No. The mistake was mine. Let us not speak of it again.”

He sighed and scanned the empty field again for the boys with a heavy heart. He had “bumped” into Mrs. Beck every day in recent weeks. He wondered, not for the first time, if she had planted herself and her children in his path quite deliberately. Natalia Hawthorne had suggested she might but until today they had never been more than just polite to each other. They hardly knew each other. “Tell me how Napier speaks to you at home?”

She shook her head. “There is nothing you can do.”

He shook his head, recalling Mrs. Napier’s recent flattery. “Is he the one urging you to seduce me or is it your own sister?”

“He never suggested it.” She shook her head. “Not directly, but it is plain as day that he doesn’t want us there.”

So not the brother-in-law but perhaps the sister was trying to push them together. Well, he wasn’t having that. “And the boys? How are they being treated?”

“Not well.” Her face contorted with grief but she managed not to shed a tear. “They are both very hard on them. Napier’s always shouting at them for one reason or another.”

“They shouldn’t suffer.”

“I know. There is no help for it. All I can do is keep them busy, away from him, and hope not for a repeat of last evening.”

He looked at her sharply. “What else happened last night?”

Mrs. Beck looked away. “My sons were punished for offering disrespect to Mrs. Napier.”

“I see,” he said. “Did they deserve it?”

“For rushing past her to say good night to me? No, they certainly did not. The punishment far exceeded what was needed to teach them to walk more slowly in the house,” she said through gritted teeth. “All they will learn from him is how to become a monster.”

He looked down at Mrs. Beck, shocked by her confession. “How badly are they hurt?”

“Enough. My brother-in-law has taken a dislike to my youngest son, since he looks most like my late husband.”

“I’d like to see their injuries.” Gideon’s stomach clenched with anxiety, though. He’d known the Napiers were hard people, but the youngest boy was barely six years old. “Should I have owned a cottage in the village, I would have been happy to offer it to you to live in. Since I don’t, I urge you to look further afield for new lodgings as soon as you can.”

She cleared her throat. “You really don’t think that you and I might suit?”

“No,” he said firmly to discourage her. He hardly knew Mrs. Beck, and he was certainly not falling in love with her. He felt compassion for her situation, concern for her sons to be growing up without protection. But he could not replace their father. “I prefer my solitary existence, but I do not mind the occasional interruption, such as their visit today. They are safe here, I assure you.”

She gulped and nodded. “I thought perhaps you might be lonely of living alone.”

He relished his solitude. “No.”