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The kettle whistled as she hesitated, and then she pulled a cafetière towards her and nodded. ‘OK. Shoot. You’ve got a cup of coffee’s worth of time.’
‘Seems fair. I suggest we go along with the press. Run with the story.’
Her hand jolted on the plunger at his words and coffee spilt onto the counter. Etta ignored it. ‘Go along with it? Run with the story?’ Her hands tipped in an exaggerated question. ‘Why? Why would we even do a two-minute walk with the story?’
‘Because as my girlfriend you can bring Cathy and move in to Derwent Manor with me. You can put together the family tree. In return I will pay you a hefty fee and keep you safe from Tommy. Win-win.’
This way he would get his family tree done by the expert he wanted, she would get the chance to complete a project he knew she wanted, and she would be safe from Tommy. He figured it was pure genius. Etta looked at him as if she thought it was sheer garbage.
‘That’s nuts.’
‘No, it isn’t.’
‘Yes, it is. For a start, how can you possibly guarantee our safety?’
‘I have a number of qualifications in self-defence and a variety of martial arts.’
Once Gabe had worked out that no one was going to rescue him from the horrors of boarding school and the ritual humiliation the other students felt a prospective duke deserved, he’d figured he needed to rescue himself. The best way to do that had been to learn self-defence—and as it turned out he had an aptitude for it.
Etta shook her head, clearly unimpressed by the claim as she mopped up the spilt coffee and poured the remains into two mugs. ‘You don’t get it. Tommy is a nutcase. He’s a street fighter. He got put away for an assortment of crimes—drug-dealing, armed robbery, and a hit-and-run whilst fleeing the scene of a crime.’
‘I’m not belittling any of that, and I’m not blowing hot air—I can protect you from Tommy. I didn’t just do a few classes and get a few belts. I’m the real McCoy. There is no way I would offer protection if I wasn’t one hundred per cent sure I could provide it.’
Her fingers drummed a tattoo on the counter, and her head tilted to one side as her brown eyes assessed him. ‘It wouldn’t work.’
‘Why not?’
‘You couldn’t protect both Cathy and me because we won’t be together all the time. Plus...’ Her voice trailed off.
Gabe stared at her as his mind trawled the brief time he’d spent with Cathy. ‘Plus Cathy doesn’t want to go on the cruise because she wants to meet her Dad, and that would make her difficult to protect?’ he surmised.
For a moment he thought she wouldn’t answer, and then she exhaled on a sigh. ‘Yes. Which is why the cruise is a good idea.’
‘You can’t keep Cathy on a ship in the middle of an ocean for ever.’
‘I know that. But right now it works for me as a strategy.’
‘I told you yesterday—running away is seldom a good strategy.’ He had a memory of his eight-year-old self—the sheer exhilaration that had streamed through his body as he’d escaped boarding school. The terrified but determined trek home to Derwent Manor, the blisters on his aching feet, the growl of hunger in his stomach. His ignominious reception.
‘Derwents do not run, Gabriel. You have let the Derwent name down.’
His explanation about the bullying had fallen on deaf ears.
‘Cowardice cannot be tolerated, Gabriel.’
‘This is a tactical retreat.’
‘Don’t kid yourself, Etta. A tactical retreat is a chance to move away so that you can regroup, because to stand your ground means certain defeat. You can’t regroup on a cruise ship.’
Her mug made a decisive thunk on the counter. ‘Enough. I’ve known you for less than twenty-four hours—I don’t need your advice or analysis. This doesn’t even make sense. There are other historians you could employ in a way that’s much more straightforward and considerably less dangerous. Why offer to do this at all?’
It was a good question. From the second he’d seen her with Tommy a protective urge had kicked in. Nothing personal, but born from his own childhood experience of bullying, the taste of helplessness, the shameful desire to flee.
‘My instinct tells me you are the right person for the job, and I don’t like men like Tommy so it would be a great pleasure to kick him round the block. Several times.’
Her expression warmed even as she shook her head. ‘That is a wonderful thought, but it won’t work. I need Cathy off Tommy’s radar.’
‘Fair enough.’ Turning, he paced the length of the counter. ‘How about you stay here and Cathy goes on the cruise? With grandparents or another family member? I’ll pay any difference.’
