“No, really?” Dimity clutched her chest. “I had no idea. After all, I’m a simpleton who has only been visiting this household for four months!”
“Your employment is terminated!”
“No, it is not!” Abby stepped to Dimity’s side. “She’s the only person who understands me.”
Gabe looked like she’d slapped him. “We love you; of course we understand you.”
“Love is to care and protect, but also listen to a person. Love is equally shared. You control everything including me.”
His eyes went from her to Dimity.
“I want you out of my house!” Gabe turned his back and stormed away.
“Come on, Dimity.” She took her friend’s hand and walked back into her bedroom, closing and locking the door once more. “I have no wish to speak with him further.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen him that angry.” Dimity sat on the bed. “Are you all right, Abby? I heard in the kitchens that something had happened and the earl was roaring at you.”
She nodded, then waved a hand in front of her face. “Give me a minute.”
“He’s a stubborn-headed mule, that brother of yours, and the others take his lead where you are concerned. But they do love you, and that is why they behave as they do.”
“Perhaps, but I have no wish to continue living this way. But you need to know he didn’t mean half of what he just said to you, Dimity.”
“To be fair, he probably did, and likely I deserved it, but your brother has always annoyed me into speaking as I should not.” Dimity’s smile was gentle. “Care to tell me what brought about the turn of events I walked into?”
She told her friend what had happened.
“Daniel from the Duck and Goose?”
“Yes. We met in the park the other day, then again today. He wanted to take me to the theatre, Dimity.”
“Because he thought you were a companion?”
Abby nodded, feeling the wash of guilt.
“And that look tells me you wanted to meet with him also.”
“I did, but that will not happen now. He must hate me for my lies.”
“You know I can’t stay here now, don’t you, Abby, no matter how much you wish it. The earl has dismissed me, so I must go. After all, he is the head of this household.”
“I don’t know if I’ll cope without you, Dimity. Let me speak with him when he has calmed down.”
“No, you won’t speak with him, and don’t be silly, of course you will cope. For heaven’s sake, Abby, you’ve survived in a household with four strong-willed brothers. You can handle anything. We both know they love you desperately. They just don’t understand that you are now a woman and no longer a child.”
She looked into her friend’s eyes.
“But I don’t want us not to see each other, Dimity. I-I… We’re friends. I know Gabe will calm down.”
“Perhaps he will, but until he does, I will not be in this house. He provokes me, and I find it hard to hold my tongue. This is for the best.”
“For now,” Abby added.
“For now.”
“I will miss you, but I will make sure it is only temporary.” Abby knew Dimity was right; Gabe would be furious if she did not leave.
“We will always be friends, and I will make sure we see each other. There is the flower market you walk to weekly with Mrs. Sour Puss.”
“Will you meet me there?”
Dimity tapped her foot, thinking.
“We will have to trick her somehow. Hogan will help; I can get him to do most things.”
“That’s true, my footman does adore you.”
Dimity also had dimples, which she flashed rarely, but when they came out it was worth the wait. Abby felt her own lips twitch, even considering the thunderstorm waiting for her when she stepped outside her door.
“We’re a bit like siblings, Hogan and me. It’s a weird thing, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say he was a long-lost relative.”
“I like him, but he is distant from me.”
“Of course he is, he’s your footman. It would not do for him to chat with you.”
“I know what you say is right.” Abby fell back on the bed. “But sometimes I just wish I could be someone else.”
Dimity lay down beside her, and they both looked up at the ceiling, which was a rather nice shade of pale peach that she’d selected much to Gabe’s horror. He’d wanted cream.
“It is not easy out there in the world away from this cossetted life you live, Abby. Your brothers love you and that is why they seem overprotective and smother you. You just need to be stronger.”
“I know what you say is true.” Abby did not take offence, she knew her life was so much better than most.
“Dimity?”
“Yes.”
They both turned their heads, and their eyes connected. She’d felt close to this woman from the day they’d met. The differences between them had never seemed a barrier.
“I want to leave London.”
“And yet you cannot, as you very well know. This is because of your Daniel, isn’t it?”
“He is not my Daniel and never will be.” But lord, she wished he was.
“But you want him to be.”
Color heated her cheeks. “I know nothing about him and am unlikely to, considering my behavior.”
“I have always believed that if something is meant to be, then it will happen, Abby. Don’t lose faith in your Daniel.”
“He is not my Daniel, and we barely know each other. I did think him special, though, Dimity. He even made my tummy feel funny.”
“Well, then, he’ll be back. Tummy fluttering is a well-known indicator when identifying your one true love.”
“I won’t see you.” Abby nearly choked on the lump in her throat.
“I’ll visit Hogan every day to hear the news.”
“Then I will visit the kitchens.”
“Your brothers will not like that.”
“I care little about that but will not let them know so they do not try and intervene. I will also pay you what you were receiving. It is wrong that my brother turned you
