Wicked Earl Seeks Proper Heiress (The Husband Hunters Club 5)

He looked up at her, his eyes full of misery and helplessness. She hadn’t known him as a child—she’d only met her cousin when they were grown—but right now he seemed to have regressed to one.

“Averil, I know this is hardly the time, but . . . I am having difficulties with Baroness Sessington.”

Averil struggled to understand. “The baroness?”

Jackson sauntered past the open door, casting them a sideways glance, heading toward the common room. Averil was tempted to follow him and finally have words with him, but she could hardly leave Gareth in the middle of their conversation. A moment later Averil saw several of the women come hurrying past the other way, as though Jackson’s arrival was the signal for their departures. Surely that was wrong, she thought, but Gareth had reached out to take her hand in his, and she was forced to turn her attention back to him.

“It’s rather personal,” he said, and sighed. “Sit down, Averil. I need to explain to you.”

She sat down on the chair facing him, tense and uneasy. This was not the time to push him into a corner, so she began in a soothing voice that couldn’t quite disguise her concern.

“Gareth. I know you’re worried about the missing girl, but . . . well, you’re probably right and she just didn’t want to be here. And there will be others who do want to come to us. You work hard and—”

He shook his head and curled his hands into fists again. His eyes lifted to hers and she was surprised to see he had a rather sheepish look. As if he’d done something he was not proud of.

“Gareth, please tell me what is going on.”

“The baroness wants me to marry her.”

Averil’s mouth opened and closed.

Watching her, Gareth nodded. “Exactly,” he said.

Averil leaned forward, her voice urgent. “But can’t you say no? For heaven’s sake, Gareth, she is ancient!”

“You shouldn’t be rude, Averil,” he said, more from habit than with any real heart. “The baroness has done a great deal for me. And for the Home. I don’t know how we’d manage without her support, but if I refuse her . . .”

“She’ll redraw that support,” Averil finished for him.

Gareth nodded heavily. “In the circumstances, how can I say no?” he asked her miserably.

“Oh dear. Gareth. I don’t know what to say. You know, if you did marry her, it would cause a most dreadful scandal. Everyone would think you were marrying her for her money.”

“Of course they would, but would that be any worse than what they’re saying now?”

Averil remembered what Beth had told her. The gossip about Gareth and the baroness being more than friends.

“Gareth, are you . . .?” She didn’t know how to phrase it. Perhaps it was safer not to travel down that particular road.

His eyes widened. “No, I am not!”

“No, no, of course not.” She took a breath. “The decision is yours, of course. But would you be happy with such an arrangement? Could you live in such a situation?”

He thought a moment but it was evidently all too much for him. “Averil, I don’t know what to do. She says she is in love with me!”

As irritating as he sometimes was, Averil was fond of her cousin, and she felt for him now. She didn’t want him to be unhappy for the rest of his life. “If only I had my inheritance, I could help you and you wouldn’t need the support of the Baroness Sessington.”

“I a

m not eyeing off your fortune, Averil,” he said stiffly.

“Of course you’re not. But why don’t you allow me to follow up on this suggestion of Lord Southbrook’s? I know you prefer the Home to be here, but if we find somewhere else, away from the East End, we might be able to send some of the more difficult girls there, away from the rest. I think women like Molly may be stirring up the others to rebel against the rules. It couldn’t hurt to make inquiries, could it?”

It took some persuading but eventually Gareth gave his consent. He was a foolish man, and sometimes a very annoying one, but Averil couldn’t let him down in his hour of need. And Rufus’s offer might well be the way out of their troubles.

Besides, if you say “yes” then you’ll be able to see Rufus again. Soon.

Averil wondered if she was really so devious. No, of course she wasn’t. She genuinely wanted what was best for the women, but the thought of being in Rufus’s company was also a strong motivation. She still shivered when she remembered how he’d kissed her fingers and looked at her so intently. She’d felt as if she could lose herself in those dark, dark eyes. She’d wished, afterward, that she’d had the courage to throw herself into his arms and kiss his mouth, but now she was glad she hadn’t.