Page 67 of A Gentleman's Reckoning
If only he had not set himself up to be so pious, to have her then discover he cheated his friends and cheated on his wife, likely killing her in the process from an overmastering grief. Geny couldn’t help but look differently upon Gabriel now, knowing what she knew. But she decided it was not her place to tell him who his father was. She would disclose it to neither Gabriel nor Matthew, but it made her determined to see Gabrielsettled and in a good position. He was, after all, her half brother, even though he was not her mother’s son.
She appeared in her father’s study, from all outward appearances calm and collected. She assumed he wished to speak to her once again about having breached his space. He had been right in his rebuke, but the information that she had learned during her trespass left Geny with an ambivalent attitude. She no longer longed for his approval.
“How do you know Mr. Aubin?” Her father was standing by his desk, his expression unusually severe.
This was the one question she had not expected, and it left her feeling exposed. “Why, I knew Mr. Aubin at the orphanage. He was acting as steward there.”
“The steward hired for the foundling asylum was a man by the name of Mr. Rowles. I specifically remember Mr. Peyton informing me of that.”
Geny lifted her chin. “That was the name of his birth father. Aubin is the name of his stepfather who adopted him. His purpose there was to look for ways to expose you, Father. He wished to regain the reputation he lost when you had him shunned from society.”
“And I suppose you support him in that endeavor?” her father asked severely.
“Of course I do not. He and I are no longer in contact. Once I found out he was there under an assumed name, I told him to leave. However, while he was there, we worked together for the good of the orphans and became friends.”
“Friends?” her father said with heavy irony. “He announced that he loves you. You must have been more than friends.”
It was as though a sudden roaring in Geny’s ears prevented her father’s words from reaching her right away. When they did, she felt as though the blood had drained out of her upper body and pooled at her feet, all while her heart soared through her chest. Her words could only come out in a whisper.
“When did he tell you that? When did you see him?”
Her father looked down at his desk and closed the open ledger with an audiblethump, revealing a glimpse of his anger.
“He had the audacity to come to the mill that I’m building in Manchester. I saw him there. You may be sure that I gave him orders to stay away from you.”
“Father, while I do not support his having deceived me, or his efforts to expose you, any decision of whom I see or whom I marry is entirely up to me. I am of age.”
“You had better rid yourself of that modern notion,” her father snapped, all vestige of control gone. She was seeing him thus for the first time. “You will have nothing from me if you marry him—and what is worse, you will not see Matthew again.”
Geny didn’t care about her financial prosperity, but she did care about Matthew, and she did not doubt that her father would put his threat into action. Any hope that had arisen in learning that John loved her dissipated with the threat of losing Matthew, and in its place—bleakness. The silence between them grew loud.
Until she rebelled.No!She would not allow her father to blackmail her.
“You have deceived my mother and have very likely deceived investors. You have all the appearance of goodness, and yet your actions speak otherwise.” Geny paused only to catch her breath. “But even if that is so, I do not believe you would do this to me or to Matthew. I do not believe you would sink so low as to tear apart a brother and sister who share not only blood ties, but also those of affection.”
She turned on her heels and left her father’s office without waiting for his reply.
Geny and her father did not see each other again that week, except for a brief encounter one morning when they both started toward the breakfast room at the same time. She turnedand went back to her room. Charity informed her soon afterward that the earl had gone to his club, taking his valet with him. Despite that the house would once again be silent, it would be better than walking on tenterhooks.
Margery had been coming more often to see how she was faring, even if it meant she had little time to dress for her evenings out with her mother, and now Mr. Thompson. This time she threw down her bonnet and sat beside Geny on the sofa, scarcely waiting until the butler left the room. Her expression was filled with concern.
“I came to find out if you have heard the news. I am afraid you might not have, since you’ve been keeping to your house.”
“What news?” Geny knew Margery enough to know she would not bring her some ordinary gossip, for she understood that Geny was not interested in such things. This must be something else.
“Your father has been ruined by scandal.” Margery’s eyes were worried. She reached out for Geny’s hand. “He is being talked about in all the circles. I am sorry. I only know this because Mr. Thompson told me. He knows how important you are to me, and you may trust that it was with great reluctance that he shared the news with me.”
Geny had only thought about her father’s iniquity in terms of how it affected their family—her mother. But now, it seemed the whole world must know about it. She sat, frozen in place.
John must have had his way, then. He must have discovered evidence that was damning enough to expose my father.Despite the cold relationship she had had with her father lately, she did not wish him ill. And she wished to break down in tears at the idea that John had been the author of such revenge. He had told her father he loved her, but it must not have meant enough.
“What have you heard? What has transpired?” she asked as soon as she found her voice.
“It was the Duke of Rigsby who exposed him. I don’t knowwho told him, but he discovered that your father had been encouraging his son to invest in one of his schemes, only to find out that the money had been misappropriated. Mr. Thompson heard that the duke’s public rebuke caused the earl to leave White’s in a cloud of shame.”
“Oh, heavens.” Geny sank her face into her hands, a little sorry for her father but trembling with relief that it had not been John who had exposed him. Then she remembered her brother who was his heir and looked up again. “I only hope this does not affect Matthew at school. Boys can be cruel.”
“I hope so indeed.” Margery was quiet for a moment, then hugged her. “The sins of the father should not be brought upon the son, but sometimes it is unavoidable. And Matthew is such a pure-hearted child, I am sure he will rise above any gossip, especially with a sister who has so much integrity.”
