“You best dress in your finest to face him, Mr. Kendrick,” Jem said. It was good advice, and besides, the footman kept the cheeky amusement lurking in his eyes to himself.
Gideon washed briefly and let himself be dressed. Jem stared openly when he was shirtless. For the first time, he commented on the vicious curve in Gideon’s spine. “The amazing thing is, it doesn’t seem so bad when yer dressed.”
Gideon didn’t respond. “Wait while I shave.” He still didn’t trust the footman completely, though his relationship with Marshall had softened. Jem seemed to find that amusing as well. The footman finished him off with an elaborate cravat and pronounced him ready to “visit the old lion in his den.”
“The green drawing room?”
“Aye.”
His lurching gait took him to the family stairs, the formal marble stairway that swept down to the central hall. He squared his shoulders to the extent he could and descended slowly. He found Fillmore in the hall, arguing with Felton Tavernash and his mother. The two interlopers hadn’t run from the contagion after all.
“If Viscount Clavering has come to visit, my son ought to be the one to greet him, not some horde of servants!” Lady Tavernash’s strident voice echoed off the walls.
“As I’m certain Fillmore has informed you, madam, it is not a social call,” Gideon declared. He turned his back on the lot of them, left her sputtering, and closed the door to the green drawing room behind him.
“You!” Clavering roared, rising from his chair to glare at Gideon.
Gideon made a proper bow. “Good afternoon, Clavering. I apologize if you’ve had cause to worry. Your daughter is much improved, and your niece is no longer on the brink of collapse.”
Outside of Clavering’s line of sight, Marshall raised his brows and gave a cocky salute. Mrs. Morrit stood in one corner, hands clasped, knuckles white, mouth in a tight line.
“You—You—” Clavering sputtered.
“I assure you neither young woman came to any harm,” Gideon responded.
“So this woman told me,” he said, pointing at Mrs. Morrit. “But your reputation will do them no end of harm. What’s being said—”
“Has there been gossip about Miss Selwyn—either of them?” Gideon asked.
“Not yet, but—”
“May I suggest you speak with them yourself?” Gideon said. “Mrs. Morrit, would you please ask Miss Euphemia Selwyn to join us? Her cousin is well enough to be left alone for a few moments. Then I’d like a private word with the viscount.”
Mrs. Morrit and Marshall left with all haste.
Clavering glared at him, studying Gideon as if searching for the horns he expected to see sprouting from his head. He looked like a man working up to an explosion.
Gideon swallowed and took a deep breath. “I’m prepared to offer for Miss Euphemia Selwyn, with your permission, if and only if the lady herself is willing.”
“Not my Selina?” Clavering demanded.
“I realize it wasn’t quite proper to enter the sickroom, but your daughter was perfectly safe with her cousin to guard her. She also had Kerr.” It wasn’t exactly a lie, though Kerr had been in no position to guard anyone’s reputation.
Judging from Clavering’s expression, he wasn’t mollified. A miserable frown replaced his fury. “But you. The things I’ve heard. The duke—”
“I am well aware of the lies my father told and the malicious gossip. I gather the festering stories have taken wing since I arrived. That doesn’t make them true. My brother doesn’t believe them.”
“What proof do you have?” the viscount demanded.
“None, and the situation is not ideal. But Miss Euphemia’s reputation and power to contract a marriage have suffered. I owe her recompense,” Gideon said.
“Euphemia has a maternal great-aunt. A Methodist prune of a woman. She’d probably take her,” Clavering said, misery pooling in his eyes.
What a horrible fate!“If you send her away, you’ll confirm that there is shame. Talk will flourish about both of the Misses Selwyn. On the other hand, no one will think anything about Miss Selina, if Miss Euphemia contracts a respectable marriage with the supposed villain of this farce.”I hope.
“Out of the pan, into the fire?” Clavering said.
“She ought to at least be given an opportunity to decide for herself which fate may be the least distasteful. You may ask her about my behavior. If she is repulsed or reluctant, she shouldn’t be forced.” Gideon wouldn’t have her bullied or abused by some maiden aunt.
