The excitement drained from his face so quickly that she wasn’t sure it had ever been there. “If you’re worried that I won’t be able to contain my desire, fear not. I think I can control myself long enough to hear you out. Besides, you know I would never force myself on you.”
“It’s not you I don’t trust—it’s myself.” Her face flushed with her declaration.
“Well then, we will both have to maintain control over our yearnings as best we can.” He gave a low chuckle and let go of her elbows, and she shuddered, causing the china to rattle again. A smile caressed his lips, and he looked pleased as Punch that he had affected her so powerfully. “I will excuse myself after dinner and meet you in my room. I promise my behavior will be respectful.”
Gaby nodded. “I must go before the tea gets cold,” she said.
For a moment, it crossed her mind that the last thing she wanted was for Jack to control his desire for her. If she was honest with herself, respectful was not what she wanted.
*
“There you are.”Emily glanced down the hallway and shut the door behind Gabriella. “I’ve been on pins and needles. Here, let me take this.” Relieving Gaby of the tray, she set it on the tea table in front of the fireplace.
“I was delayed by Jack when I ran into him leaving Cynthia’s room.”
Emily scrutinized her with as much intense focus as a mom about to grill her teenage daughter after catching her sneaking back home well after curfew.
“I think he’s in love with you, Gaby. If you could have seen his face when you fainted…” She fanned herself. “He snatched you up and carried you out of that cave like a superhero.”
“Really?” Gaby’s face heated, and she looked down as if somewhere in the richly colored magenta and gold carpet beneath her feet lay the answer to her future.
Emily tugged Gabriella onto the settee with her. She poured tea and handed Gaby a cup. “As for Cynthia, I suspect she’s no more in love with Jack than he is with her.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Okay, confession time.” Emily pulled an envelope from her pocket. “I saw this telegram in the basket where the post is left, and it was from London. I was worried it was about my kids or parents, so I picked it up and opened it. I didn’t realize I was reading a love letter until it got really racy.”
“Emily Christie! You are as irreverent as ever! And snoopy beyond words!”
“Well, maybe not quite.” She sipped her tea, teasingly holding back on any details.
“Okay, spill. I can’t take another second of this suspense.” Gabriella’s spirits were buoyed by Emily, being around her girlfriend was like coming home.
Her heart constricted. She missed her family so much, but knowing that her friends were here and hoping that Jack loved her as much as she loved him would give her the strength to stay.
“You’re not going to believe it,” Emily replied in a singsong voice.
“Give me the telegram, dammit. I’ll read it myself.” Gaby grabbed the paper that dangled from Emily’s fingertips. She couldn’t read it fast enough. When she looked up, her mouth hung open. “I have to tell Jack.”
“You can’t. I took Cynthia’s telegram, and should it come out that I pilfered it, Colin will be angry with me, and I can’t bear to cause him any more grief than I already do.”
“Okay, I understand, and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you,” Gaby said. “My lips are sealed, but there has to be a way to let the cat out of the bag. Think, Emily. No one is cleverer than you. I have to forewarn Jack that his cousin Beauford Bastion Broome, the man who schemed him out of his earldom, is on his way here. But the most unbelievable aspect is that Beauford is Cynthia’s lover.” She jumped up, unable to contain her nervous energy, and began to pace much the way she’d seen Jack do.
Emily gazed at the embers in the hearth, ignoring her, but Gaby knew the look on her friend’s face meant she was busy searching for a solution to the situation.
“I have it!” Em said. “We must convince Cynthia to confess all to Jack.”
Gabriella stopped pacing and regarded her friend with disbelief. “That’s insane. She’s a prim and proper woman.”
“Not that prim and proper,” Emily’s pursed her lips mischievously.
“No, but she does whatever the baroness tells her to do. Otherwise, why would they be here in the first place? The baroness wants Cynthia to marry Jack. Although I’m not sure why, given that he no longer has the title nor the estate. It’s all very odd.”
“Yes, it is. I’m sure it also has to do with Donatella’s obsession over Allegretto’s painting.”
“Yes, I noticed that too,” Gaby said. “Everything about the baroness is suspicious. She’s like a character from the game of Clue come to life.”
“Spot-on, Gaby!” Em giggled. “Maybe she already knew the painting was somewhere in this area. Stefano told us about the history of the painting and that it was thought to have been hidden somewhere in this area centuries ago… What if the baroness already knew the backstory?”
