“A private investigator,” Gabriel repeated evenly, as though restating something obvious.
John let out a short laugh, shaking his head as he adjusted his grip on the reins. “That is a bit excessive even for you,” he said, glancing sideways at him. “Miss Shirley seems harmless.”
Gabriel did not look at him. “No one is harmless. She may simply be skilled at appearing harmless.”
John exhaled through his nose, clearly unimpressed. “You distrust everyone.”
“Correct.”
John laughed. “At least you are self-aware.”
Gabriel chose not to dignify that with a response and instead kept his attention fixed on the road ahead, though his thoughts remained inconveniently occupied.
“I will not allow the children to stay near a woman we know nothing about,” he said after a moment, his tone sharpening slightly.
John considered this as they rode. The horses’ hooves echoed against the dirt track, rhythm steady beneath them. “Well,” he said finally, “you know her name.”
Gabriel’s jaw tightened faintly as he adjusted his hold on the reins. “Miss Amelia Shirley.”
“And?” John prompted, watching him now with open curiosity.
Gabriel frowned. “And that is all I know.”
John looked faintly amused by this conclusion, as though Gabriel had unknowingly provided him with something entertaining.
The fields opened wider as they neared the tenant farms. Gabriel was aware of John glancing at him occasionally, but did not encourage it.
Eventually, John spoke again, his tone more measured. “What if she is running from something?”
Gabriel turned his head slightly. “Running from something?”
John nodded once. “If you hire an investigator to start asking questions, whoever she is hiding from may discover she has been found simply by hearing that someone is asking about her.”
Gabriel said nothing at first. His gaze remained fixed ahead, but the rhythm of the horse beneath him felt suddenly more deliberate, as though the idea itself had shifted the ground beneath his certainty.
The possibility had not occurred to him.
That fact alone irritates me.
More irritating still was the knowledge that John had considered it without difficulty.
“Hm,” Gabriel said at last, as though the sound alone could contain his thoughts.
John made a faint sound of satisfaction. “Hm?”
Gabriel exhaled slowly, his patience thinning in a different direction now. “That is something I did not consider.”
John’s smile widened with clear, unrestrained triumph. “I shall cherish this moment for a very long time.”
“Do not,” Gabriel replied, his tone flat but edged with warning.
The tenant cottages appeared ahead. Several farmers were already waiting outside. As soon as they arrived, John dismounted and went to work. Gabriel watched as his friend examined patients, distributed tonics, offered advice, and reassured worried families.
The transformation was familiar. John ceased being Gabriel’s irritating friend and became an exceptional physician. The farmers trusted him completely. Children smiled when they saw him. Even frightened patients seemed calmer in his presence.
Gabriel admired that quality. As he watched John move from cottage to cottage, his thoughts drifted back to Anderton Manor once more. To David. To Valerie. And unfortunately, to Amelia Shirley.
One month. That is all. One month to determine who she truly is. One month to decide whether she can be trusted, unlike David’s mother.
