“If you married Gabriel, you’d once again become an English citizen. And since he has excellent family connections”—he gave his brother a direct look—“we’d use those connections to put pressure on the government to delay.”
“Delay!”she exclaimed. “What good is delay? If I understand you correctly, in the end, you will still have to hand my son over to a murderer!”
Nash gave her a shocked look. “Princess, I assure you, the English government may be riddled with imperfections, but in matters of creative delay we are unmatched.”
She bit her lip and considered his statement. “How much of a delay do you think you could manage?”
“Until forever,” Nash said with pride.
She gave him a doubtful look. “Forever?”
He made a careless gesture. “At least until your son is of age.”
“Or until Count Anton dies?” Gabe asked.
Nash inclined his head. “Indeed.” He narrowed his eyes at his brother. “But not if you murdered him, Gabriel. That would complicate things enormously.”
She looked at Gabe anxiously. “I don’t want you to commit murder.”
“Then your only alternative is to commit matrimony,” Gabe responded.
She flung him a resentful glance, cornered and desperate.
Gabe felt for her…almost. He was determined to convince her. Now that they were in London he wouldn’t put it past her to simply disappear. Her notion of staying at a hotel had given him a jolt that had shocked him.
He had to get her to promise to marry him. A promise would hold her. “If it will save Nicky, is there really any choice?”
“I don’t know. I can’t think. I need time,” she said unhappily.
Gabe looked deep into her eyes and saw she was terrified.
He wondered yet again what her husband had done to her to make her so fearful of marrying again. He had to reassure her. He wouldn’t hurt her, he would treat her tenderly…
“It would be purely a matter of convenience,” Nash said, and Gabe had the urge to strangle him again.
“If that was what you wanted,” Gabe amended quickly with a hard look at his brother.
Nash’s brows rose. He said coolly, “Don’t think of it as a marriage; think of it purely as a legal maneuver, like a chess gambit. A marriage between you and my brother would block Count Anton’s petition for custody of the boy and mire it in legal arguments, thus giving our government an excuse to delay.” He waited a moment and added, “It’s my considered opinion that it’s the only way to keep your son with you.”
He rose. “Gabriel, you were right about the fly in the ointment. I’ll leave you two to discuss it in private. It seems to me that there are matters between you two that need to be settled before any agreement can be made. I’ll see you at dinner, which is in—” He consulted his pocket watch. “—fifteen minutes.”
“What did he mean about the fly in the ointment?” she demanded as soon as the door closed behind Nash.
“Nothing. Just a beautiful fly with lovely green eyes. And the most sweet-smelling ointment,” Gabe said soothingly. “Do you remember the smell of the ointment? We have fond memories of ointment, you and I.”
She gave him a flat stare.
“Or at least I do,” he finished hastily. She was obviously not in the mood for seduction.
“You see, this is why I have such strong doubts about any agreement we might make,” she told him. “You don’t take women seriously.”
“I do take women serio—”
“You take women like Mrs. Barrow seriously. You took your great-aunt Gert seriously, but not me. You never listen to me.”
“I do—”
“You ignore my expressed wishes and ride roughshod over my decisions and I cannot and will not put up with it.”
