“But—” interjected Elise.
“In that case,” cut in Mr. Crewes—and now he leaned and kissed his wife, right on the mouth. “In that case, Lady Ryan will require Mr. Soames to accompany her, because I’m doubtful your cousin will accept her word that she’s now a married woman. You also come at this with a disadvantage because yours would be an unposted wedding.”
“Unposted?” asked Gabriel.
“No banns read.Rushed,” he explained. “There is legal paperwork that will take care of a special license, which we can speed along; but my point is that hasty marriages are, by definition, suspect. You’ll require either your own presence or Mr. Soames to argue the validity of the union to the cousin.”
“Even if I’m marrying her as Gabriel Rein and not the Prince d’Orleans?”
“Even if you marry her as Robin of the Hood, Prince of Thieves. But I should warn you, Finley Soames will be disinclined tolie for you.”
“Meaning?” asked Gabriel.
“Meaning he’s very talented and devoted to his clients but meticulously honest—rare for a solicitor, I know. So, if you marry, and if he comes here to build an argument that thwarts the imposter prince, the two of you will need toreally convince himof your affection for each other. Your loyalty. Your future together.”
“We will?” asked Gabriel and Lady Ryan together.
Elise seemed just as shocked. “They will?”
“Oh yes,” said Killian, turning away to show the baby something outside the window. “Absolutely. Your playacting will be crucial. After Maurice is sent away, you may do what you will with your so-called separate lives; but when Mr. Soames interviews you, he’ll need to believe the union is real. Remember, he must eventually prove that Ryan istoo marriedto be married again. If Gabriel doesn’t escort her to Guernsey, you’ll need to convince Soames of some plan to reunite in the future. You must prove to him that you’re devoted—a family. A real family.”
Now Ryan felt another rush of hot tears. She couldn’t look at Gabriel. She couldn’t look at any of them. She stared at her hands in her lap.
“For how long?” asked Gabriel. “For how long will we need to pretend?”
“Oh, he shouldn’t stay more than a few hours? The length of an afternoon at most. But it’s notthosehours that are crucial. It’s all the days leading up to his consultation. You’ll want to practice, and learn to behave like a proper couple, and cover up all evidence that you’re... well—strangers. You’ll want to get in the habit of appearing to be fond of each other—deeply fond, I should say. For the benefit of Mr. Soames. Between now and then.That’swhat I think.”
“And after he’s convinced?” asked Gabriel.
“After he’s convinced, Lady Ryan will return to Winscombe and you will return to Savernake Forest. Mr. Soames will return to London and travel to Guernsey in October when the imposter is due. It’s... it’s what you’ve said you want, no?”
For a long moment, silence held the room.
It wasn’t what Ryan wanted—not at all. She didn’t want to pretend to have affection for Gabriel; she wanted to show her real affection. She didn’t want to appear like a family; she wanted to be a family. And this said nothing of what Gabriel didn’t want. He hadn’t even wanted to leave his camp. Now he was living in the stables at Mayapple, pretending to be in love.
Ryan swiped her wet eyes with the back of her hand. She cleared her throat. “I think this is more than Gabriel was prepared to take on.”
“Well,” said Killian, “it’s less than marrying in earnestandproving he’s the Prince d’Orleans, which is what I would have done.”
“Oh yes,” scoffed Elise, “how eager you were to marry, darling. Spare me, please.” She rolled her eyes.
Mr. Crewes grinned. “Leave nothing to chance, I always say.”
“I’ll do it,” Gabriel said. “I’ll do anything to save Lady Ryan if it means I don’t have to cede control over my life to the d’Orleans princedom and to France.”
Ryan stared out the window. The dog bite on her leg burned. The abrasion on her neck stung. She hated Maurice, and the d’Orleans princedom, and the French Revolution. She hated all of it, so very much. She wanted her old life back—not the life she would claim as Gabriel’s not-really wife; but the life she’d known before she’d ever met him. Was that true? Was it better to have never known him than to meet him, and be touched by him, to pretend to love him, and not have him?
She didn’t know. And it didn’t matter, not really,because this was happening. She could feel the momentum of the plan building in the room. Mr. Crewes spelled it out so very clearly. They were rescuing her—rescuing all of Winscombe. How could she be anything but grateful?
“Lady Ryan?” Gabriel asked gently. “What do you think? Can you pretend to be married to me for the length of an afternoon?”
“Yes,” she said simply, turning to him. “I can pretend.”
Chapter Twenty
“Has it been difficult,” Ryan asked Gabriel later that week, “being away from the forest, engaging in manor house life?”
They were hunched over a stack of parchment, making notes about the fake story of their fake courtship they would tell the solicitor.
