Who would have thought that finding a single gentleman of good fortune and breeding, who was neither a maniac nor a depraved cad, would turn out to be like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack?
But Gemma was determined.She would find him.And when she did, this thing with Hal would be over.
ChapterFifteen
Three weeks and five suitors later…
“This is the one,” Gemma declared, rushing into the kitchens with Lucy hot on her heels.“I can feel it.”
“That’s what you said last time,” Bess panted, a bowl of egg whites in her left arm and her bundle of twigs going nonstop in her right.“About the viscount.And he turned out to be a terrible gambler!”
“Which we only discovered because Hal agreed to the game of hazard the viscount kept instigating and took all his money, his carriage, his horses, and his sapphire signet ring.”
“He took everything but the poor gentleman’s eye patch,” Bess agreed merrily, holding the bowl upside down over her head to check if the meringue was ready to bake.“Which it turned out he didn’t even need!He was a card sharp and confidence trickster all along!”
“Hal gave it all back,” Gemma reminded them crossly.“When I told him he had to.”
“Only so the supposed viscount could use his own coach and six to leave here, still single,” Lucy mumbled under her breath.Gemma cast her a look and Lucy shrugged her slim shoulders.“What?It’s true!”
“Well, at any rate, it no longer signifies because I am telling you, I’ve found him.The man I’m going to marry.William Brighton, Earl of Stonehaven.”
“Already?He’s only been here a few days.Sometimes they don’t show all their idiosyncrasies and oddities straight away,” Lucy pointed out as she put together a tea tray.
Gemma noticed that she was using the tea set their mother had become fond of, that they often reserved for Henrietta.
“I knew the earl in Town, somewhat,” Gemma said distractedly.“And he isn’t odd, only a trifle…unusual in his pursuits.”
Lucy and Bess exchanged another look and Gemma frowned at the tea set, reminded of exactly how fragile her mother’s recovery still felt.“Is Mama unwell today?”
“No, she’s painting again,” Lucy said happily.“We took a long walk this morning, and she was inspired to work with her oils this afternoon, so I said I’d bring tea up to her so she wouldn’t need to pause.”
A warm rush of relief filled Gemma’s heart.“That’s wonderful!Now, Bess, I was wondering if there might be anything at all special we could offer the earl for tea?”
“I’ve already set aside a plate of strawberry scones and cream,” Bess said easily, spooning the stiff, sugared egg whites into a piping bag swift, expert motions.“Made with those lovely little berries Lucy found on her walk with Henrietta yesterday.”
“You’re turning into quite the forager,” Gemma teased her sister.“I had no notion you were such a dedicated walker.”
“Mama wants to walk, so I walk.And anyway, how else am I meant to keep an eye out for the Gentle Rogue?”Lucy asked.“I’m determined to be the one to unmask him, you know.”
“Please don’t,” Gemma laughed.“We can’t afford to lose the business he brings in by haunting this stretch of road.Right before Lord Stonehaven, I gave a room to another pair of ladies who said they were on their way to Bath, but spent the entire time I was with them asking questions about the highwayman.”
“What a lot of fuss over a common criminal,” Bess tutted.“Honestly.Only rich people would think it great fun to be robbed.”
Lucy opened her mouth, most likely to argue that her pet highwayman was a mostuncommon criminal, indeed—she seemed to have forgotten that she, herself, had made up his most interesting attributes out of whole cloth—but Gemma forestalled it by raising a hand.“Do either of you know where Hal is?”
Bess and Lucy exchanged knowing looks, which Gemma elected not to notice.“Wouldn’t your time be better spent attending to your earl?”Bess asked gently.
“Absolutely, except the earl expressed his intention to take a short rest before venturing out for a ramble.I should like to accompany him.He is of a scientific bent, you know, and seems very interested in studying our local…rock formations, or some such.I confess I did not catch it all.”Gemma waved that away impatiently.“But the point is, I must speak with Hal and warn him to stay away!I won’t have him interfering with this one.”
What she needed was to tell Hal it was absolutely, positively over between them.And this time, she had to stick to it.
She’d found her needle in the haystack, an actual good, decent, kind,richearl who showed every indication of wishing to court her.She could not afford to let her reckless, irresponsible heart hold any further sway over her actions.
Her family’s future depended on it.
“The Earl of Stonehaven is going to make me his countess,” Gemma vowed, no longer certain who she was trying to convince, “and then we will all be able to go back to London and resume our lives.”
Her ungrateful wretch of a sister rolled her eyes and turned to Bess.“Can I have some of that bread from yesterday, with the seeds in?And a hunk of cheese?I thought I’d walk toward the next village and see if I can glean any clues—the Gentle Rogue was spotted in the area just last night!”
