Page 146 of A Devious Secret

“I wasn’t trying to impress you,” Stephen responded.

“No?” her father asked. “Do you think Gemma would appreciate your lack of composure?”

Stephen glanced at her and she could see questions in his eyes. She offered him an encouraging smile before turning back towards her father. “Why are you here?”

Her father frowned. “To ensure you were safe.”

“Well, I am home now,” Gemma responded. “You may go back to Kitty.”

With a shake of his head, her father said, “You are not home. You need to come live with me and Kitty.”

Gemma let out a disbelieving laugh. “You cannot be in earnest?” she asked. “Kitty was the reason I was abducted. If it wasn’t for her, I would have never gone into the gardens.”

“Kitty was just trying to help you,” her father attempted.

“Henry was trying to force me into marriage. How was that trying to help me?” Gemma demanded.

Her father sighed. “I knew you would be difficult about this.”

Gemma’s mouth dropped open. “You think I am being difficult?” she asked. “I almost died tonight, and Kitty played a role in that.”

“You must see that Lord Hawkinge would have been a better fit for you than Mr. Wycomb.” Her father paused. “Where is Lord Hawkinge?”

“He is dead,” Gemma replied. “He was shot while trying to kill me.”

Her father pursed his lips together. “That is most unfortunate. Now we will need to find you another suitor."

"There is no need for that.” Gemma walked over to the main door and opened it. “I want you to leave, and never come back.”

Her father stared at her in surprise. “Surely you don’t mean that.”

“I do,” Gemma said. “It is time that we both move on, without one another.”

“But, Gemma…” His voice stopped and he pointed his finger at Stephen. “This is all your doing!”

Stephen put his hands up. “I may think you are a terrible, vile person, but this is not coming from me.”

Gemma interjected, “My whole life you made me think that I wasn’t good enough. But I am good enough. Stephen has helped me see that.”

Her father adjusted his cravat as he said, “I do believe recent events have muddled your thinking. Once you are in your right mind, we can speak again.”

“There will not be another time,” Gemma insisted. “I am going to live my life how I see fit.”

“If you marry Mr. Wycomb, then you will be a social outcast,” her father declared. “Do you want to live your life on the outside of the life you were born into?”

Gemma took her hand off the door and approached Stephen. “I feel bad for you, Father,” she said. “I don’t believe you have ever experienced love.”

“Love?” her father scoffed. “Love has nothing to do with marriage in our circles.”

“Love has everything to do with marriage,” she asserted. “I have loved two men in my life. The first died by Henry’s hand, and the second is an honorable man that rescued me in more ways than one.”

“You will be a shipbuilder’s wife. Have you no shame?”

She boldly reached for Stephen’s hand. “Goodbye, Father.”

Her father glanced down at their hands and his face went hard. “If you marry Mr. Wycomb, then I will disown you. I will leave you nothing in my will.”

“That is your choice, not mine.”