Page 18 of Lily and the Duke

Primarily by refusing to marry at all and so not allowing herself to be forced to suffer the disappointment of living with such unhappiness.

“What were you talking to Lily about so earnestly at the ball yesterday evening?” Chloe prompted as she and Gabriel enjoyed breakfast together. “It caused quite the scandal, you know.”

Gabriel tapped his daughter playfully on the nose. “A gentleman must be allowed to keep some secrets from his daughter.”

Chloe’s eyes widened. “A secret? Oh, do please tell me, Papa.” She clapped her hands together in her excitement.

Gabriel might have done so if he had any idea what that secret was!

But he freely admitted, to himself at least, that he had no idea what he was talking about. It was his intention to spend the morning at the boxing salon, then fencing at his club and practicing with his sword—possibly as a reaction to Hellsmere’s claim to outdo him in both those skills—in the hope that he would be so thoroughly exhausted in both body and mind later today that he might actually be able to sleep tonight.

A mind which, the previous night, no matter how much Gabriel tried to divert it, had refused to stop thinking of Lily. Of wanting to be with her again. It refused to do so still.

“I know what it is!” Chloe announced triumphantly. “You and Lily are conspiring to arrange a surprise for my birthday in two weeks’ time.”

Gabriel wished that was the case. He would gladly take any situation that began with “you and Lily.” But with no other explanation in his mind, Chloe’s explanation would do as well as any other. It would also, he hoped, be reason enough for him to see Lily again.

He arched a mocking brow. “Is the purchase of a new gown not present enough?”

Chloe giggled. “Stop teasing me, Papa!”

“I will if you agree to cease asking me questions on the matter,” he encouraged affectionately.

Chloe beamed. “Lily thinks of the best birthday surprises!”

“She does…?” Gabriel prompted curiously.

“Oh yes. Last year, for Rose’s birthday, she arranged for us all to go on a picnic at Vauxhall Gardens. On Georgiana’s birthday, we all attended the theater and sat in the Earl of Truro’s box. On Juliet’s birthday, we visited the animals at a private zoo. Juliet is particularly fond of wild animals.”

“Yes, yes,” Gabriel dismissed, having heard enough of the treats Lily had arranged for the benefit of others. Treats, he noted, which would not have cost her money but were nonetheless both thoughtful and kindly tailored to the recipient. “What surprise did you all give Lily for her birthday?”

“We—” Chloe broke off with a frown. “Now that you mention it, I do not believe we gave her anything.” She winced. “Her birthdayis in December, you see, and so we were all with our individual families rather than together.”

This lack of consideration for Lily made Gabriel once again wish that he could mention Chloe’s thoughtless excitement the previous week regarding the ordering of her new gown. But to do so would reveal that he had been in the library at the same time as the group of young ladies, that he had heard all they had to say on the subject of marriage.

So he must remain silent on the subject of Chloe’s new gown, but that did not mean he had to remain silent regarding this other situation. “Chloe, I cannot tell you how disappointed I am to learn that none of you have been as generous a friend to Lily as she obviously has been in the past, and continues to be now, to all of you.” A generosity, now that Gabriel was aware of it, he fully intended to return on Chloe’s behalf.

He would call upon his lawyer today before doing anything else, with the intention of asking Harold Atherton to check deeper into the financial situation of the Earl of Truro.

Gabriel did not care about the lack of funds in the earl and countess’s account. But he intensely disliked Lily having to go without those other frivolous pleasures in life that her friends so easily enjoyed. Both Mariah and Chloe had told him of the simple joy of being able to choose and own a new gown.

Chloe looked suitably chastened. “I am sorry, Papa.”

He gave her a stern look. “It is not me you should be apologizing to.”

“No,” she acknowledged sadly. “I realize now that we have all of us behaved very selfishly.”

He nodded. “Then might I suggest you discuss this situation with your other friends and decide how you might all do something this year to return Lily’s generosity.”

“Of course, Papa.” His daughter eyed him curiously beneath her lashes. “Why do you sometimes call her Lady Tremayne and at others only Lily?”

Gabriel cursed under his breath at his lack of caution when speaking of Lily. Hellsmere’s accusation had been a correct one, in that Gabriel really was not adept at hiding his interest in that particular young lady. Even from his own daughter.

“I am of an older generation to all of you, and so might do as I wish,” he teased.

“You are notthatold, Papa,” Chloe protested with affection.

“Thank you for that.” He gave a derisive smile. “But the real reason is that I thought you would prefer it if I were not so formal toward someone of whom you are obviously deeply fond,” he excused. “When I forget to do that, I call her Lady Tremayne.”

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