"And does he want you?"
You're important to me.Her chest warmed; the time for self-doubt was over. "I rather think he does," she said.
"I mean in a respectable way. Has he proposed?"
"Not yet. But I have a feeling the topic may come up this evening." If Gavin didn't bring it up, Percy told herself she would. She was no longer a powerless girl to wait for what she wanted. Gavin had given her the confidence to reach for the stars—even if it meant a shift in her universe. "Charity, if I'm to become the wife of a gambling hell owner," she said in a tremulous tone, "would you still be my friend?"
"Of course. We're to be bosom companions for the rest of our lives, remember?" Charity came to sit beside her. "You told me so that first day at Mrs. Southbridge's when I was standing there, frightened and alone. I don't know what I would have done without you all those years."
"Nor I you," Percy said.
"And now you are about to embark on the grandest adventure of all."
Hearing the wistful edge to her friend's voice, Percy said, "You could have an adventure too. If you wanted, you could search out your own destiny—"
"Papa needs me. And you know I've never been a dreamer like you."
"Youdohave dreams, Charity," Percy said. "You used to talk of opening your own shop, remember? And of getting married and having your own household."
"You know I can't leave Papa. Not when he is so alone." Charity picked up her embroidery again. Her gaze focused on the fine cloth, she said, "Have you seen Mr. Fines since earlier this week?"
Percy studied her friend a moment longer before sighing. "I haven't. And I hope I did the right thing in giving him more money."
"What else could you do, dear?" her friend murmured.
"Well, Mr. Hunt has a better idea. He is getting Paul barred from some of the clubs—doing this at no small risk to himself, I might add." Craftily, Percy said, "Even you have to admit that is noble."
"Perhaps. Or perhaps Mr. Hunt has given you the skirmish with the intention of winning the war." Charity put in another stitch. "If he loves you, why doesn't he simply set your brother free?"
Though she now knew Gavin's true history, Percy did not feel free to divulge it.
"He has his reasons," she said softly. "Suffice it to say, I understand why it must be difficult for him to trust his feelings."
I wouldn't either if my mother abandoned me, if I was imprisoned for a crime I did not commit.Yet why did she feel a niggle of doubt? A shadow of fear, as if there was something more that Gavin hadn't told her...
"Have you prepared what you'll tell your family when they return?"
Percy bit her lip. She'd received a letter from Mama; it had been sent over a week ago from the port in France. Which meant her family would be back any day now.
"I'll think of something," she said.
Charity's smile did not quite hide the worry in her eyes. "You always do, Percy."
To lighten her friend's heart, Percy said, "By the by, I am making excellent progress on my novel. Miss Priscilla is getting into all sorts of scrapes these days."
"Not stuck anymore?"
"No. In fact, I have a new beginning." Lowering her voice to a dramatic whisper, Percy began, "Once upon a time in the dark, shadowy catacomb beneath a haunted castle..."
Her thin cheeks curving, Charity continued to sew as the story unfolded.
* * *
"Goodness, you do know how to sweep a girl off her feet," Percy said breathlessly.
Her windedness was due in part to the way Gavin had insisted on carrying her over the threshold into his apartments. The other part had to do with what they had been doing during the carriage ride over.
"I try," he said.
