Page 68 of A Match Made On Duchess Square

Hearing his sister’s name was like nails across a chalkboard. “Good grief, I know that.”

“Do you?”

“Yes.” But he shifted uncomfortably because he might have been treating Gwendolyn as though she were as delusional as his poor sister.

Worse, he had asked her to marry him and yet neglected to be honest with her about Cordelia. She deserved to know the truth about his sister before she willingly accepted to marry him. Well, her acceptance of his marriage proposal was in serious doubt because of Andrew Clement’s supposed reappearance.

Whether his return was a fabrication in her mind or whether he had truly returned was irrelevant, because either way, that bounder still exerted control over Gwendolyn’s heart.

“You must believe her, Milbury. If Gwendolyn said she saw him, then he must have been there. We’ll need to do a little investigating to get to the bottom of this.”

James rose to come around to the front of his desk. “We?” He already had his reliable Bow Street man, Homer Barrow, digging into Clement’s past in London and did not need his stubborn neighbor starting a new investigation here in Brighton.

Fiona cleared her throat again. “Well, you ought to be the one to investigate. And you need to bring Gwendolyn along with you. She needs to know that you believe her.”

“I believe that she sincerely thinks she saw him. But I do not believe she actually did see him.”

“So, that’s it? You’re going to let the matter drop?”

“What am I supposed to do? Walk through the streets of Brighton shouting his name?”

“Yes, if that is what it takes.”

“Be serious, Fiona.”

She shook her head. “Go back to that café and press the proprietor for information. You cannot let her do this alone. She is not going to give up. I know she wants your help. In fact, she needs it quite badly, because that bounder is likely to rip her heart to pieces and you need to be there to protect her.”

He rubbed a hand across the nape of his neck. “I’ll kill him if he dares break her heart.”

“But you won’t know what he’s doing to her unless you are there by her side. Knowing Gwen, she will never let on about how badly she is feeling.”

“Is that so?”

Fiona frowned at him. “You know it is so. She holds all her feelings inside and never lets out the hurt, so it eats away at her insides. Not that you would notice or care. I’m sure she cried herself to sleep last night.”

“Fiona, stop. I care for her very much, just as you expected I would when you conceived of this scheme of yours to find a perfect match for me. You could have just told me what you intended instead of having me go through the farce of hiring Gwendolyn as my matchmaker.”

Fiona slumped into one of the leather chairs opposite his desk. “You both would have resisted had I simply introduced you and said to go get married because you are perfect for each other and obviously going to fall in love.”

“Blessed saints, do you always interfere in other people’s lives? I suppose you do this to Durham, too. He must want to throttle you daily.”

“He adores me, as you well know. But we are getting off the point.”

“Which is?”

“You have to believe Gwendolyn and investigate this Andrew sighting with her. I would do it, but I have my son and husband keeping me busy. I cannot take off for Brighton at the drop of a hat.”

“So I must do it?”

“Yes, because you love her and you are going to lose her if you do not get off your prideful arse and show her that you trust her and are willing to fight for her.”

He crossed his arms over his chest as he met Fiona’s stubborn gaze.

She was right. In all the time he’d known Gwendolyn, she had been nothing but sincere, intelligent, and honest in her outlook. Perhaps he did not believe she had seen Andrew Clement, but it must have been someone who resembled him closely. More important, it was someone who had entered Marchand’s establishment and then disappeared into a back room instead of walking into the dining area.

Why had Marchand lied about that?

James gave a curt nod. “We’ll be heading to Brighton tomorrow to pick up the house party invitations. I’ll take her back to the Crab & Cod and press the proprietor for answers.”