“Ah, yes. My servants seem to leave the door answering duty to chance. I only have a footman, a maid, the cook, and my valet. They are...” he looked around nonplussed for a second before shrugging and continuing on to his study. “I don’t know where they are or what they are doing, so I opened the door myself.”
“I see. Are the finances still tight? I thought you said the estates were doing better.” He didn’t want to pry, but Gabriel had mentioned that his father had left the estates in ruin and he was working hard trying to restore the family fortunes. The financial disaster his friend had inherited made his own inheritance troubles look like child’s play. If Gabriel needed help...
But the other man waved a hand, dismissing his concerns. “No, the finances have improved. I just have not bothered to hire any staff.” He shrugged. “I live here by myself and don’t entertain, so I don’t need more people to tend to me.”
They were walking down a corridor towards the back of the house and Colin could see as they passed several rooms with the furniture under holland covers. At the end of the hall, Gabriel opened a door to what looked like a small library or a large study. Regardless of the proper definition, the room had a comfortable, lived in atmosphere.
There was a massive desk in the middle of the room, the wall at its back covered by floor to ceiling bookcases. Opposite the desk there was an unlit fireplace flanked by more bookcases and with two deep comfortable chairs in front of it. On the wall opposite the entrance, a set of double glass doors led to a terrace and the gardens beyond.
“Welcome to my headquarters.” Gabriel said, encompassing the room with the wide sweep of his arm. “Make yourself comfortable.”
Gabriel strode to a low credenza next to the fireplace and picked up a decanter. “Whisky?”
“Please.” Colin nodded, lowering himself to one armchair.
Gabriel poured two generous glasses and came back to the chairs before the fireplace, plopping himself on the one opposite.
“Now, tell me, what brings you here? Does it have something to do with your fight at the park earlier today?” He said, saluting with his glass.
“You heard about that already?”
Gabriel snorted. “Within minutes of it happening. I had it from my valet, who learned it from the footman, who heard it from a lady’s maid who was at the park with her mistress. I reckon that in another hour or so, your performance would have reached every household in Mayfair and beyond.”
“Bloody hell.”
“You shouldn’t worry about it, though. The scandal will die out soon enough. Everybody knows about Quimby’s belligerent attitude, so he is not well liked. They are likely rejoicing over his well-deserved punishment, even if they won't say it.”
Colin twisted his lips. “Quimby and society are the least of my concerns. They can go hang, for all I care.”
Gabriel raised his brows at this. “What is the matter, then?”
Colin sighed and leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes as he organized his thoughts. He hadn’t told Gabriel all the details about his marriage and its terms, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to discuss such private matters. But he needed to talk to someone, and damn Wang had decamped. “It is my wife. My marriage. I’m afraid I’ve made a mess of things.”
“Ah! Yes, love has a way of complicating our lives. I am surprised, though. I have seen you and your wife together, and you seem to get along very well.”
Colin’s mouth twisted in bitterness. “Yes, we get along well. We are always so bloodyamiable.”
Gabriel raised his brows. “And what is the problem? I’d have thought that’s a good thing.”
“But what if I want more? I want her passion, her desire, her... love.” He took a gulp of the fiery whisky because a knot was forming in his throat and he refused to break down in front of Gabriel. The man might be his friend, and had seen him at his lowest, but he still had some pride left.
Gabriel took a careful sip of his own drink, studying him with a puzzled frown. “Why don’t you have those?”
Colin looked away from Gabriel’s too perceptive gaze. “Ours is not that kind of marriage. I proposed to her as a matter of convenience. Her first husband left her destitute, and she was acting as companion to my father’s second wife. I needed a wife and heir, but loathed the idea of entering the marriage mart to look for a wife. She was already living in my home and I found her attractive, so I proposed an advantageous arrangement for both of us.” He shrugged. “My title, money and protection for the possibility of an heir. It seemed like a good idea.”
“I see.” Gabriel nodded, a frown forming between his eyes. “It is a common arrangement, but I gather it no longer seems like a good idea. What changed?”
“The most stupid and inconvenient of complications. I fell in love with my wife.” Colin took another sip of the whisky and leaned back, closing his eyes as the liquid burned his throat and warmed his insides.
“And she doesn’t feel the same way about you?”
Colin gave a bark of laughter at that. Short and awful. “No, she doesn’t.”
“How do you know? She seems fond of you. Has she said so?”
“Not in so many words. But... there are signs.”
“Well then, make her fall in love with you.” Gabriel said, leaning forward on his seat, his elbows resting on his knees, the glass clasped in his hands. “You aremarried.You have the rest of your lives to court her and win her over.”
