Gabriel stared at her in silence. Amelia continued to smile politely. The Duke remained entirely unmoved by it.
“And that is a bad thing?” he asked after a pause.
“No, not entirely, but it has meant that I have not had the ability to be useful and live a life with purpose. I only exist to be presented to potential suitors and nothing more,” she answered.
His expression grew noticeably flatter, as though the concept of her explanation had physically exhausted him. Amelia considered that a small but genuine accomplishment. She could not help but notice how his eyes sparkled just a little when a matter piqued his interest.
“And that is all the answer I am to expect,” Gabriel said.
Amelia shifted her stance and folded her arms, mirroring his posture with deliberate defiance. “You are remarkably nosy,” she observed.
Gabriel’s eyebrow rose slightly. “And you are remarkably evasive.”
Amelia felt her breath catch as he lifted that brow. Something about the manner in which he spoke to her made him seem much more attractive than before.
Keep focused, Amelia. Your freedom depends on it. Do not be distracted by those eyes.
This was precisely why she looked away instead of responding.
“What are your plans for the future?” Gabriel asked.
Amelia blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift. “My future?”
“Yes.”
She searched quickly for something that would sound respectable, structured, and entirely unconnected to her actual circumstances. Anything that did not involve fleeing an unwanted marriage or commandeering a carriage through questionable judgment.
“I am considering my options,” she said at last.
Gabriel’s expression suggested he had anticipated exactly that answer and found it entirely unconvincing.
“What options?” he pressed.
“Various options,” Amelia replied.
“Such as?”
She exhaled slowly, feeling the conversation slip further out of her control. “You would make a terrifying magistrate,” she muttered under her breath.
“I shall uncover the truth soon enough,” Gabriel said calmly, as though he were discussing the weather, “so you may as well tell me now.”
Amelia looked at him sharply. The certainty in his tone was infuriating. He spoke as if people’s private histories were simply another matter of estate management, something to be cataloged and resolved between more important duties.
“I am beginning to understand why everyone in this house looks nervous around you,” she said under her breath.
A faint flicker of annoyance crossed Gabriel’s face at that remark. Amelia noticed it immediately and, despite herself, considered it a small victory.
“You are being a rebel without reason,” Gabriel said.
“Like… Valerie, perhaps?” she suggested.
Before Gabriel could continue his relentless interrogation, a knock sounded at the door. A moment later, it opened, and a gentleman entered the study. He appeared several years older than Gabriel and carried himself with easy confidence.
“Ah, there you are,” the newcomer said as he stepped inside. “You sent for me.”
Gabriel nodded. “John.”
The gentleman turned towards Amelia and offered a warm smile. “Dr. John Hunt,” he said, bowing slightly. “It is a pleasure to meet you.”
