Her hands were clasped at her waist, the knuckles white. He closed the distance between them and placed his hand over them. “She’ll be shocked, but young children are better able to take these things in stride.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath and nodded.
He dropped his hand. “It is my understanding that Holbrook wasn’t a father to her. Is that correct?”
“He never saw her after he sent us away. She had no reaction when she learned about his death. I don’t think the concept of him as a father was ever real to her.”
That eased his fears somewhat. “Then lead the way.”
Chapter 10
She’d gone over this decision countless times. Gemma was still young, only eight years of age. She wouldn’t fully understand just how much her life was about to change, but Abigail believed it would be for the better.
And Cranston. She glanced at him again as she led the way upstairs to the large room at the back of the house that was used as a schoolroom. The tense set of his jaw told her that he was nervous about this meeting.
Gemma would be finished with her lessons and had wanted Abigail to join her and Miss Phillips for their afternoon walk. Abigail hadn’t exaggerated when she said that Gemma loved meeting people. She also loved surprises. Abigail only hoped she would come to accept Cranston as her father just as easily.
Abigail took a deep breath when they reached the door and opened it. Gemma was sitting at a table, drawing, and she looked up with a wide smile at her mother’s entrance.
She dropped the pencil and ran to her mother’s side. “Can we go for our walk now, Mama?”
Abigail crouched so she was level with her daughter. “In a few minutes. But first I would like you to meet someone.”
Gemma’s eyes had been trained on hers, but now she looked up at the man who had entered the room behind her.
“You’re the man who visited the other day.” She dropped into a curtsy.
“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” Cranston said with a formal bow. Then he grinned at the girl and Gemma giggled.
Abigail’s heart lightened as she took her daughter’s hand and led her away from the doorway. She turned to Miss Phillips. “You can meet us downstairs in ten minutes.”
The governess dipped her head in acknowledgment and turned to leave. But Abigail caught the curious glance she cast at Cranston.
And so it began. Soon the entire house, and then all of London, would know the truth. She hoped they could protect Gemma from the speculation, but society wasn’t normally kind when they discovered a juicy bit of gossip. While her daughter wasn’t illegitimate, news that Abigail had passed another man’s child off as belonging to her husband would soon be on everyone’s lips. At least most of society had already quit town. She only hoped that another scandal would already be making the rounds when the next season started.
Abigail led Gemma back to the table where she’d abandoned her drawing and sat next to her at the table. Cranston remained where they’d left him, just inside the doorway, and she appreciated the way he was allowing her to take the lead. Another man would have blustered in, full of demands. But then again, she never would have given her heart to that type of man. Gideon had been kind and thoughtful, and she was happy to see that his years away at war hadn’t erased that young man completely.
“I have happy news to share. This is Baron Cranston. We knew one another many years ago when we were both younger. And…” She licked her lips, uncertain how to proceed. Gemma didn’t need to know all the details, but Abigail had to tell her something that would explain why they were getting married so quickly.
“And we were in love.”
They both looked at Cranston, who had come to join them. He crouched so he was looking Gemma in the eye. “Your mother and I were in love with each other, but things happened and we were separated. She married another man and I joined the army.”
“Yes,” she said, her voice cracking on the word. “But now he is back, and we have come to realize that we would like to marry. Soon. Next week.”
Abigail’s eyes roamed over Gemma’s face, trying to decipher what her daughter was thinking. The little girl looked away for a moment, and Abigail was almost afraid she’d have one of her rare tantrums.
“I hope that meets with your approval. I asked your mother to marry me, but now I am asking you, as well, if you’ll agree to it. I can wait if you want to get to know me better first, but I’d very much like to become a family.”
Abigail’s heart threatened to crack. The expression of earnest hope on the man’s face had her realizing, yet again, just how much she’d taken from him.
Gemma’s eyes narrowed on Cranston. Then she raised one hand and brought it to the corner of one of his eyes. “Are you my real papa?”
Abigail sucked in a breath, stunned. She searched for something to say, but Cranston took over.
“Would that make you happy?”
Gemma nodded. “I know that Father wasn’t my papa. The servants would whisper about it.”
