Page 39 of Miss Devon’s Choice

“My sister is often on my mind as well,” she said, each word sounding nearly forced. “I hope you know how much she means to us.”

Christian half-bowed in acknowledgement of that remark. Something about the woman’s tone made him wary, like a growl coming just before a bite.

Rebecca interrupted them, moving to Christian’s side and putting her hands on his arm. Warmth spread from that point of contact to the rest of his being.

“Would you like to play a game of loo? I am sure we can convince Lady Felicity and her brother to join us. Christine? Would you and Thomas play?” She cast a hopeful smile to her sister.

Mrs. Gilbert’s expression softened when she gave her attention to her sister. “That sounds delightful.”

Is this how it is to be? We pretend nothing has passed between us? He watched Rebecca carefully, keeping his features composed. He could hardly confront her at present.

In moments, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert, Lord Sharpeton and his sister, and Christian and Rebecca were gathered at a table with cards and gaming counters. Mr. Gilbert elected to deal the cards; Christian sat between Rebecca and Mrs. Gilbert. The ladies at the table chatted as they played, tossing in chips on occasion, passing on others, and Christian soon realized that Rebecca and her sister were excellent players.

He hazarded a compliment to Mrs. Gilbert. “Excellent trick,” he said after she won the pot. “Is it luck or skill?”

She glanced up at him from the corner of her eye, her expression giving little of her thoughts away. “Something of both, I would imagine. Although I would much rather play spillikins.”

He couldn’t tell if she was jesting. “I cannot say I have played that one with any skill. Perhaps we should try it sometime.”

Mrs. Gilbert’s lips pressed together for a moment before she spoke again, her voice low. “Do you mean to actually associate with the family after your marriage, then? It seems to me you had no intention of having anything to do with us before the Calverts sent you an invitation.” She tilted her chin upward. “At Rebecca’s instruction.”

He hadn’t known the invitation had been Rebecca’s idea. It was his turn to play again, and he passed without much thinking about it. When the round was played out, Lord Sharpeton declared himself finished.

“I think I am too.” Mrs. Gilbert pushed away from the table, but when everyone declared their intention to try another game, she was talked into staying by her younger sister.

Whist was discussed and decided upon, but Christian asked not to be dealt in. Lord Sharpeton and Lady Felicity formed a partnership, and Gilbert—after taking one look at his frowning wife—asked Rebecca to join him in the game.

This left Christian and Mrs. Gilbert to watch, their chairs a little removed from the table.

Christian leaned to the side of his chair, trying not to appear too interested in the conversation at hand. “Mrs. Gilbert, I’m not certain why you think I would shun your family.”

“And what of our other sister, Julia?” Mrs. Gilbert asked, her tone lacking all genuine warmth. “And what if our connections prove unimportant to your business or politics? What then? You are a very private man, Lord Easton. No one knows anything about you, so I cannot guess at what you will and will not do. Especially in regard to my sister.”

He frowned and sat back in his chair. “I’m not a monster, Mrs. Gilbert,” he said quietly. “I wouldn’t intentionally harm your sister’s relationship with her family.”

He’d hardly looked for hostility from this quarter.

“The rumors that have reached us are not reassuring on that matter.” She didn’t even look at him as she spoke. “And given the very nature of your arrangement with our father, I cannot put my trust in your word.”

Christian, his mind spinning, tried to understand what she was saying. “What do you mean? If your father trusts me, what could be amiss in my character?”

She made a sound that was half scoff, half laugh, and finally turned to appraise him. Her brown eyes, so like Rebecca’s in color and shape, pierced him with accusation. “Absolutely everything. Monster you may not be, but going about this arrangement the way you have indicates there is something terribly wrong with you. And it angers me I can do nothing about it.” She snapped open a fan and stood, finally drawing the attention of the players at the table.

“Excuse me. I am in need of fresh air.” She turned and left the table.

Gilbert had frozen, midway to laying a card on the table. He looked to Rebecca, then to Christian. “Excuse me. I will have to forfeit this hand.” He put his cards down on the table and stood to go after his wife, who had fled the room entirely.

Rebecca sighed, watching her brother-in-law go. “Oh well. Thank you for the game,” she said to the brother and sister pair. “Christian, would you like some cake?”

This family is absolutely impossible to understand. One sister accused him, the other offered him cake. The one he’d argued with smiled as if they were the best of friends, the one he’d never met treated him like an immediate enemy.

He escorted Rebecca to the table on the far side of the room, where refreshments had been laid out for the party. Once they were at the table, their backs to everything else, Rebecca stepped closer beside him.

“What happened? Christine seemed upset when she left.”

He considered how to explain and decided on being blunt. “She holds me in dislike due to our situation.”

Rebecca’s eyebrows furrowed. “Oh, dear. I apologize. I have noticed that my sister has been out of sorts of late. I am sure it is nothing for you to concern yourself over.”