Page 119 of The Lyon Returns
Lady Harriet made as if to sit, then straightened, grinning. “I will add, I for one, am burning with curiosity. Oh, yes, and also, she has a serious problem on her hands that she needs our help with.” She sat.
Gwen cleared her throat and felt her cheeks throbbing with heat. “As to my marriage, it seems we are indeed wed.”
Amelia bounced in place on the sofa until she caught Lady Harriet’s silent admonition.
Gwen folded her hands in her lap. “The duke does not know of the previous ruse, and he is the one who devised the wedding. Gideon and I decided it would be best to proceed with the ceremony to prevent any raised brows.”
The ladies surrounding her no longer looked pleased.
Gwen’s embarrassment increased ten-fold. “I can see you are all concerned. Do not trouble yourselves on my account.” She lowered her gaze to her hands. “I think we shall suit, and if not, there is no reason one of us cannot relocate to one place or another.” All true. She need not worry them by admitting she had fallen head over heels in love with Gideon, especially when the reverse could not be said with any certainty.
With a deep inhale, she fixed a smile on her face and met each of their gazes in turn. She felt very brave indeed, until Georgina spoke up.
“Do not worry, dear Gwen. I believe Mr. Devereux has fallen equally in love with you. I am an authoress of romantic novels. I know the signs.”
Drat those romance-writer instincts.
“So it’s true?” Amelia asked with exuberance. “You are in love with the man?”
Gwen considered lying, but she was neither good at it, nor did she did enjoy the practice. Besides, she was among friends. Why should she hide who she really was? She’d done enough hiding for a lifetime. “I have. I do not know how he feels about me.”
Amelia’s blinding smile was back in full force. “All will be well, you will see.”
Only Charlotte continued to scowl. “Of all the weekends for my aunt to have planned a visit to Bath. I missed all the fun.”
“Never fear,” Margaret said. “With this lot, there’s sure to be more to come.”
That seemed to mollify Charlotte.
“Now, then, dear, why don’t you tell us what has happened that led you to call an emergency meeting?” Harriet suggested.
God bless Lady Harriet for turning the conversation from the perils of romance to the far-safer realm of open combat.
“Those blasted stakeholders are at it again. They’ve taken a giant liberty with a tiny section of the contract. According to them, I must reach a certain amount of profit by the end of the first fiscal quarter, or my ownership is null and void.”
“Dear Heaven,” Georgina bemoaned. “Can they do that?”
Gwen nibbled her index briefly. “I don’t know. I think so.”
“You think so?” Margaret asked. “Didn’t you avail yourself of Lady Harriet’s man-of-affairs?”
Gwen sniffed. “I did for the first round of negotiations. But never mind that. The thing is, despite costly renovations, upgrades, and other expenses, thanks to Lady Georgina’s upcoming release—which already has bookshops chomping at the bit to get their hands on copies—the margin for failure is quite slim. I’ve come up with a plan that I believe will sort matters nicely. It involves all of you, but primarily, Margaret and Lady Georgina.”
Gwen came homebrimming with excitement and anxious to share her ingenious plan with Gideon.
“Where is Mr. Devereux, Mr. Higgins?” she asked the butler as he assisted her from her pelisse.
“He is in his den. He has a visitor, ma’am.”
“Oh?” Disappointment swamped her. She did not wish to wait totell Gideon. She did not wish to be deprived of his company, period.
She supposed she better not start thinking he owed her his undivided time.
When did Mr. Devereux propose?
She believed Lady Georgina had verbalized the question that had perplexed her all the ride home, mainly for what hislackof proposing said. He might consider them well and truly married, and he might have gone along with the ceremony aware it would bind the two of them for life, but it was not as if he had posed the question.
Had he wanted to marry her? Or had he married her simply to please his father and avoid a potential scandal?
