“What? Why?” John asked at last, his tone controlled but visibly strained. “Gabriel,” he said slowly, as though speaking to a man standing too close to the edge of sense, “have you abducted the girl against her will?”
Gabriel nearly dropped the glass he had been holding. He set it down on the side table with more force than necessary, the sound sharp in the quiet room. “Do not be absurd, Doctor,” he snapped, his patience thinning.
John raised both hands in a gesture of calm defense. “I am merely trying to establish the facts.”
“The facts,” Gabriel said darkly, his gaze fixed and unyielding, “are that Miss Shirley accepted employment.”
“Employment?” John repeated, his tone suggesting the word itself required scrutiny.
“As David’s governess.”
John stared at him again, longer this time. Gabriel noticed the pattern and found it increasingly irritating; people had developed an unfortunate habit of staring at him whenever he made a decision they did not immediately understand.
“She is a governess now?” John asked finally.
“Yes,” Gabriel replied flatly.
The physician dragged a hand down his face, exhaling through his nose. “I do not believe she is one.”
Gabriel’s eyes narrowed slightly. “She accepted the position.”
John gave a short laugh, disbelieving. “That does not magically transform a lady into a governess.”
“It does if she agrees to perform the duties.”
“I suspect society would disagree,” John said mildly, watching him with growing caution.
Gabriel sighed. Society, in his experience, disagreed with most things of practical value. It was one of its more consistent and tedious habits.
“Fortunately,” Gabriel said at last, turning towards the door, “society does not govern this house.”
John followed him into the corridor without hesitation. “No,” he agreed as they walked, “you do. Which is often equally alarming.”
Gabriel did not respond to that remark, choosing instead to ignore it with practiced efficiency. His attention shifted to the clock as they passed beneath it, its steady ticking marking time he felt was being wasted unnecessarily.
“We are wasting time,” Gabriel said, already moving forward. “You came here for a reason.”
John frowned slightly as he adjusted his pace beside him. “I did,” he admitted, “though I am beginning to suspect I have been diverted from it.”
Gabriel’s expression hardened at that, his patience tightening further as they continued down the corridor.
“The tenant farmer with the lung infection,” he reminded him. “We are riding out to see him.”
“Right,” John said. “Theactualreason I came is not your worry over the young lady.”
Gabriel groaned at that but did not respond. Together, they made their way outside. Stable boys already waited with their horses prepared. A cool breeze swept across the grounds as Gabriel mounted his horse in one smooth movement. John climbed into his saddle less elegantly. Soon, they rode away from the manor at an easy pace.
For a while, neither man spoke as their horses moved at an easy, unhurried pace along the country lane. The countryside stretched wide around them in soft green fields broken only by hedgerows and the occasional distant farmhouse, while birdsong drifted lightly through the morning air as though the world itself had no interest in urgency. Gabriel kept his gaze forward, his posture steady in the saddle, though his mind did not remain still for long.
It returned, uninvited, to Amelia Shirley.
Annoying woman. Interesting woman. Suspicious woman.
He found all three assessments equally unsatisfactory, which in his experience meant none of them could be safely ignored.
“I intend to hire a private investigator to look into Miss Amelia Shirley,” Gabriel said at last, the words cutting cleanly through the quiet as they followed the lane towards the tenant farms.
John, riding beside him, immediately turned his head. “You intend to do what?” he asked, his tone already carrying a tone of disbelief.
