The disbelief that she had spoken that way was written on their faces and would have made her laugh if her insides were not boiling.
“Now if you will excuse me, I will have a tray in my room. Suddenly my appetite has gone. I wish to compose myself before Dimity arrives for my lesson.”
“Abby, wait. How dare you speak that way!” Gabe got to his feet. “I demand you apologize at once!”
“For what?”
“Saying what you did about our activities.”
“Is it not true, then?”
He didn’t lower his eyes, but she saw the guilt.
“Be warned, Gabriel. If you remove Dimity from my life, I will make you pay.” The words hung ominously in the air as she left the room, closing the door softly behind her.
Chapter 6
“Why am I escorting you around the park when you have a husband who is perfectly capable, Thea? Your note said you had urgent news, which I may add is the only reason I am now seated beside you promenading, which I assure you I loathe.”
He was in an open carriage in the park at the time of day everyone was trying to be seen. It was his worst nightmare. Yet his sister-in-law’s words had a desperate ring to them, even on paper, so of course he’d come. She was someone he respected greatly. Not many could tame the beast that had been his brother, but this woman had achieved that and more.
Oliver, or Ace, depending on how you had become acquainted with him, had been a man determined to leave the poverty of his childhood behind. He’d worked himself hard, believing that was his lot in life. Thea had convinced him otherwise. Oliver had fought against the love he felt for her simply because he believed he wasn’t worthy. She’d won. So his eldest brother was now married to the daughter of a duke.
“Oliver is taking Harry to the Egyptian exhibition.”
“He is four. Surely an ice and a romp in the park would have been better?”
Thea had soft gray eyes and hair the color of a night sky. She was every inch a duke’s daughter until she saw her husband and children; then she was just Thea. She was loyal and honest and the most forthright person he’d ever encountered. If she felt something needed to be said, then she said it, no matter the consequences.
“And you could find no other poor soul to accompany you? None of your sisters- or brothers-in-law were available?”
“I wanted you to accompany me?” She waved as a carriage passed. “I enjoy your company, Daniel.”
“As I do yours, however, why do I believe there is an ulterior motive? In fact, you duped me, Thea.”
“Daniel, I’m hurt you would believe that of me.” Her sly smile told him he was onto something.
“Okay, let’s hear it. The fact that I am seated beside you while society preens around us is making my skin itch.”
“Charming. I have no idea why you loathe society so much.”
“I don’t loathe it; it is just not for me. Now tell me why you wanted me here with you today.”
“There is nothing sinister in my invitation, I assure you. I merely wanted to invite you to accompany us to the Wither Estate on Friday.”
“Why?”
“You are family, and we enjoy your company.”
Daniel tipped his hat as a horse and rider passed.
“I enjoy your company also, Thea, however I rarely if ever enter society, and I happen to know that there will be a picnic at Wither Hill with many of society’s finest present.”
“Oliver said you’d say that. He added that you may not walk in society, but you know a great deal about its movements.”
“Many of my clients are there.”
“But you will enjoy a day out with us. Many of your friends will be there.”
“I know what you are about, Thea. You will desist in trying to marry me off. My mother and sisters have yet to succeed, so I doubt you will.”
“I know.”
Daniel laughed at her deflated expression.
“Please don’t tell me you and your sisters-in-law have been putting your heads together about this?” A shiver of awareness travelled through Daniel as his eyes settled on two ladies strolling away from him. There was something familiar about the shorter one. Could it be her?
Abby.
“We want you happy.”
“As I am, Thea.” Daniel dragged his eyes from the woman and focused on others promenading around her. Was this to be his lot in life now? Was he to see her everywhere he went? Would he see the curve of a cheek or hear a laugh and think of Abby?
He had to find her.
“Daniel!” Thea tapped his hand.
“Sorry, I thought I saw someone I knew.”
“We wish to see you happily married, and there is no reason that the right wife for you is not of noble blood. They are not all silly, surely?”
“Not all, no, I’ll give you that, but I have no wish to wed one,” Daniel said, hoping that was the end of the discussion yet doubting it would be that simple. “I will know when the time is right, and I assure you, it is bound to be someone of my class rather than yours, Thea. You and my brother are the exception, not the rule.”
He’d dreamed about Abby last night, and when he’d woken, his first thoughts had been for her.
Had she arrived home safe?
“Dear lord, what are they up to now?” Thea was looking at the group of four men approaching on horseback.
“Who?”
“The Deville brothers. Each handsome and intelligent in their own right, but they know how to cause a disturbance. Your brother says they are good men, but only because he has business interests with them.”
“I know them. They are shrewd, and we have had a few dealings. Each does seem a fair man, but I do not know them in a social capacity,” Daniel said, looking at the men riding toward them. “Oliver and I helped them with an investment several months ago.”
A person could not
