“How’s your mother, by the way?” Huntley asked while he raised his own cup to his lips.
The question threw Thomas completely off guard. “My, er... she’s very well, thank you.” He felt his eyebrows draw together with concern.
Huntley nodded. “Good. Good.” He set his cup aside.
Thomas’s frown deepened. He waited a second and finally exclaimed, “Oh for heaven’s sake, Huntley! Will you please tell me what this is about? I already—”
“Chaperone Amelia and Juliette for three weeks—four tops.”
Thomas almost spat his second mouthful of coffee all over the desk. Fortunately, he managed to keep it down with a slight cough and a wince. “I beg your pardon?What?” The last word came out strangled.
Folding his arms across his chest, Huntley looked back at him as though he hadn’t just made a preposterous request. “Gabriella and I haven’t really had much privacy since the wedding. She feels she has a responsibility toward Amelia and Juliette. In spite of the scandal, invitations have begun trickling in again, and preparing to escort them to these various events is taking up a great deal of Gabriella’s time.” He expelled a deep breath. “I’m ’opin’ to invite ’er on a weddin’ trip. If we can just get away fer a bit...” He scratched his head and offered Thomas a loopy smile.
As was oftentimes the case when his emotions ran high, Huntley had fallen back into the unrefined dialect he’d spoken during his life in St. Giles. Thomas arched an eyebrow. “I understand your reasoning completely, old chap, but ordinarily, one would ask a female relation to help with such matters. Certainly not a bachelor.”
Huntley frowned. “Gabriella’s mother and father remained in Gloucester after the wedding in order to have more time with Gabriella’s sister.” Having fallen from grace when she’d married a commoner who’d since abandoned her with child, Lady Victoria had made a new life for herself with Huntley’s friend Benjamin Thompson, the recently appointed caretaker of Huntley’s estate. “But Gabriella’s aunt, Lady Everly, is in residence, so we have naturally spoken to her. In fact, she has agreed to move in during our absence.”
“Excellent.”
“However...”
When Huntley paused, Thomas raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“Have you ever met Lady Everly?”
“Of course. She has an excellent sense of humor and is far more relaxed than her brother and sister-in-law. If I am not mistaken, I saw her smoking a cheroot once during a ball—didn’t seem the least bit bothered by how shocked people were by it.”
“Forgive me, but are ladies not allowed to smoke?”
“Not in public and certainly not in the middle of a ballroom. It is considered terribly gauche by most.”
“Which leads me to the point I’m about to make.” Huntley looked directly at Thomas without wavering. “As much as I like Lady Everly, I’m not entirely sure she will offer Amelia and Juliette the proper guidance they require. I worry they will get into trouble if she’s the only one supervising them. Which is why I am hoping you will keep an eye on them too—especially since it is my belief that their association with a respectable duke will be of great advantage to them.”
Pressing his lips together, Thomas puffed out a breath through his nose. He was beginning to understand why Huntley had asked about his mother. Clearly, he didn’t trust Lady Everly to make a success of his sisters and was hoping the Dowager Duchess of Coventry might fill any gaps that remained in their education. Taking a moment, Thomas considered the proposition with greater seriousness than he had earlier, and eventually asked, “Do Lady Amelia and Lady Juliette know about this scheme of yours?”
Huntley broke eye contact. “I thought I’d ensure your willingness to help before mentioning it.”
Thomas nodded. “I suppose that makes sense.”
Arching his fingers, Huntley gave him a frank look. “I actually think my absence might help them.”
“How so?”
“I’m still working on salvaging my reputation, but you are well respected. With your support and my absence, thetonmight start to view them in a new light. And with Amelia’s age taken into consideration, the time to find her a husband is limited. Another year and she might be firmly on the shelf.”
Thomas stared back at Huntley with increasing uncertainty. “In other words, you are not only asking me to chaperone your sisters, but to try to get them settled, as well?”
“Just Amelia. Juliette still has plenty of time.”
“I don’t know, Huntley. What you are asking of me is not only unusual. It is...” How could he continue that sentence without causing offence?
“Something of a challenge?” Huntley prompted. “Believe me, I am aware. The fact is that adjusting to our new way of life has been particularly difficult for Amelia.”
“More than it was for you?”
Huntley nodded. “Yes, I believe so.”
Shocked, Thomas sat back against his seat. It hadn’t occurred to him until that moment that being put on display would be more difficult for her than it had been for her brother. “I always imagined she would enjoy shopping for pretty things and dressing up for balls. Most young ladies do.”
