“Your Grace, I do not care about my reputation.” Her voice shook despite her efforts to steady it. “Please do not make decisions for my sake.”
Gabriel slowly turned towards her. Instead of answering, he merely fixed her with one stern, unreadable look that silenced every further protest.
Helen gave a satisfied little laugh as though everything had already been settled.
“How touching,” she remarked, adjusting one of her gloves with exaggerated care. She glanced towards Amelia with venomous sweetness. “It appears I shall soon become the new Duchess of Anderton.” Her smile widened. “And as the new Duchess, I shall be most generous.” Tilting her head, she added, “I shall endeavor to help you find employment elsewhere, Miss Shirley.”
Amelia barely heard the rest. She watched Gabriel escort Helen silently from the study, through the corridor, and towards the great front doors. Every step he took beside Helen felt like another fracture opening inside her heart. When the front door finally closed behind Helen, Gabriel stood motionless in the foyer for several moments before returning. He looked utterly exhausted. Without so much as glancing towards Amelia, he turned to his aunt.
“Aunt,” Gabriel said quietly, clasping his hands behind his back once more, “you will return to your room.”
Lady Provie opened her mouth to argue, but Gabriel raised one hand before she could speak. “I shall deal with you later.”
The Countess looked unusually flustered as she lowered her eyes. “Very well,” she muttered stiffly before retreating upstairs with considerably less dignity than usual.
Amelia remained where she stood long after Lady Provie disappeared from sight. Her stomach churned painfully as one dreadful thought repeated itself over and over.
Gabriel is going to marry Helen. Why should that thought hurt so much? He has never promised me anything beyond one stolen kiss and impossible glances.
She had no claim upon his future, no right to feel jealous, heartbroken, or frightened.
Yet as tears burned behind her eyes, Amelia realized that caring for this man did not require permission, and losing him would hurt all the same.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
How dare she return after everything she had done? How dare she threaten Amelia, frighten Valerie, and presume she could simply reclaim the children she had abandoned?
He pressed both hands briefly against the mantle and shut his eyes. His father had worn this same fury, though it had always ended in broken furniture, bruises, and frightened voices. Gabriel forced himself to breathe until the temptation to strike something passed.
I am the same as him.
The room had grown remarkably quiet. Amelia slowly lifted her head. Gabriel’s heart clenched painfully. Her blue eyes glistened with unshed tears while her brave little smile somehow made the sight infinitely worse. She was trying to comfort him when she was plainly the one who had been wounded.
“Your Grace,” Amelia began softly, twisting her fingers together, “I wanted to thank you.”
Gabriel frowned slightly and stepped closer. “For what?” he asked, unable to understand.
Amelia drew a slow breath before meeting his gaze. “For standing up for me,” she answered, her voice trembling despite her efforts to steady it. “You did not have to do that.”
He stared at her in disbelief. Amelia lowered her eyes again. “But Valerie and David matter more than I do,” she continued, forcing herself onward. “You cannot subject them to… to the monster that is Helen.” Her fingers tightened around one another until her knuckles whitened. “If not marrying her means I am ruined, then let me be ruined…” She could not finish.
Gabriel felt something twist violently inside his chest. She believed him. She genuinely believed he intended to sacrifice himself by marrying Helen. Worse still, she looked heartbroken by the thought. He recognized that expression because he felt precisely the same agony at the mere idea of her leaving. It struck him then with startling clarity that Amelia’s pain mattered to him almost as much as his own.
Without allowing himself time to reconsider, he crossed the remaining distance between them. Amelia looked up in surprise as he gently reached for her hand. Her fingers trembled within his own. He lifted her hand slowly, never breaking eye contact. Then he pressed a soft kiss against her gloved knuckles.
Amelia drew a tiny, startled breath. Gabriel lowered her hand carefully but did not release it.
“Listen to me,” he said quietly, his thumb brushing reassuringly across her fingers. “You are equally important now.” Amelia blinked rapidly. He gave the smallest shake of his head. “Not only the children,” he continued. “You.”
She stared at him as though she scarcely believed what she had heard. Gabriel’s voice softened even further. “And I have absolutely no intention of marrying Helen.”
The words hung between them for several precious seconds. Then he watched the tension visibly leave her body. Her shoulders dropped. She released a long, trembling breath she had evidently been holding since Helen’s arrival.
“Oh,” Amelia whispered, placing one hand against her chest.
Gabriel almost smiled. Color slowly returned to her face.
“I thought…” she began before giving a tiny, embarrassed laugh. “I truly believed…” She shook her head, unable to continue. Relief shone so openly in her eyes that it nearly undid him.
