Page 40 of A Hint of Scandal

“Mama,” Max said, his tone even more reproving than hers had been. “You are jumping to unnecessary conclusions, as usual. Miss Gilbert is a very young aunt, being only a few years older than her niece. Quite young enough to produce children.” As he said this last sentence, heat swarmed up his neck to his cheeks, impossible to control. Because there would be no children, as this was purely a business arrangement, and she didn’t want his attentions. She’d made that very clear.

His mother, her sharp eyes on his warm cheeks, harrumphed. “You are certain she’s not lying to you about her age?”

“Absolutely certain. Her father was married twice. The first marriage produced her brother. The second produced Serafina. She was a small child when her father died.”

“No mother?”

“No mother.”

“Gilbert. Let me see. I’m sure I know the name. Are they from Hampshire?”

“Berkshire. Her uncle, Sir Ogden, owns a small estate there. I believe it is called Milford.”

She stared past him towards the window, for a moment far away. “She can’t be related to Sir George Gilbert, can she by any chance?”

What was that wistful tone in her voice? Unsure, Max could only shrug. “I don’t know. She might be. Why?”

A smile crept over his mother’s face. “He was a young man I once knew, that’s why. When I was a girl. A long time ago now.” She shook her head but Max didn’t miss how misty-eyed she’d become. “I came out when I was just seventeen and he was one of my many admirers.” She patted her graying hair. “You might not think it now, but at seventeen I was considered quite a beauty.”

“I’ve seen your portrait, don’t forget. And Arabella takes after you.” He paused. “And of course, you’re still a beautiful woman now, Mama. You know you are.”

“Age leaves its indelible mark, Max. I’m no longer a girl of seventeen. But when I was, one of the young gentlemen who came calling at my father’s house was called Sir George Gilbert. Older than me of course, but devastatingly handsome with his auburn hair. Hidden under a wig, back then of course, and cut very short, but given away by his beautiful brows.” She chuckled. “I quite fell for him, I confess, my heart being that of an impressionable girl. And he for me. But your own dear papa was also pressing his suit, and of course, my parents preferred an earl to a mere baronet for me. In those days, one had to do what one’s parents instructed, not like the lax approach nowadays.” She shook her head again, eyes even more misty at the memory. “Don’t mistake me. I had a very happy life with your papa, but I’ve never forgotten George and his auburn brows. Never. That must be where the young Gilbert hussy gets her striking coloring from.”

His mother so infrequently revealed anything about her inner feelings that Max could find nothing to say in return. That she might have married Sir George herself was a revelation, but if she had, they would all have been different people.

His mother reached out and took his hand. “I think you should invite your Miss Gilbert to call on us. I would very much like to find out if she is George’s daughter and see if there’s anything about her that reminds me of him.”

Max nodded. “Maria was before you in this. I believe she’s already issuing an invitation.” He sighed. “However, I fear we’ll receive not just Serafina but also her brother and his wife.”

His mother looked pleased. “Wonderful. I should very much like to meet them if they are related to Sir George. I wonder if the present baronet is as handsome as Sir George was?”

She was going to be sadly disappointed when she met Ogden, and Max couldn’t help thinking she might also be disappointed in Serafina. Yes, he could see beneath the plain exterior, and she had beautiful eyes which perhaps she’d inherited from her father, but she was nothing like her pretty niece. It seemed more than likely that there was a close relationship between his mother’s old beau and Serafina’s family, but that did not mean they were going to please her.