Page 30 of A Devious Secret

Chapter Five

Gemma was happy that she’d made the decision to come to London. She had enjoyed the time immensely with her family and she found that she was in no rush to return to Hawkinge. There was something liberating about being away from Henry. He was kind to her and ensured she was taken care of, but she had grown tired of his constant presence in her life.

As she descended the stairs, she heard the sound of infectious laughter coming from the drawing room. She wondered what was so amusing.

She saw Balfour at the base of the stairs and she approached him. “May I ask who is in the drawing room?”

“Lady Hawthorne’s sister, the Marchioness of Haddington, called upon her nearly an hour ago,” Balfour replied.

Another bout of laughter came from the direction of the drawing room and Gemma decided it would be rude of her to interrupt their lively conversation.

A knock came at the door and Balfour went to open it. He stood to the side as Mr. Wycomb stepped into the townhouse.

When Mr. Wycomb saw her, he stopped, removed his black top hat and bowed. “Good morning, Lady Hawkinge.”

She dropped into a curtsy. “Mr. Wycomb,” she greeted. “How are you this fine morning?”

“I am well.” He turned towards Balfour and extended his hat. “Is Lady Hugh available for callers?”

Balfour accepted the hat and replied, “I shall find out at once, sir.”

Once Balfour started to walk away, Gemma gave Mr. Wycomb a nervous smile. “I would invite you into the drawing room for a cup of tea, but I’m afraid it is occupied at the moment.”

“You do not need to concern yourself over me.” Mr. Wycomb patted his stomach. “Besides, I do not think I could stomach another cup of tea this morning.”

“That is not very British of you to say,” she teased.

“I’m afraid I did not drink much tea on my ship,” Mr. Wycomb shared. “It was a commodity that was hard to acquire when at sea.”

Gemma clasped her hands in front of her. “Do you miss the sea?”

A myriad of emotions crossed Mr. Wycomb’s face and his next words seemed very contrived. “There is a time and a place for everything and I’m afraid my time serving in the Royal Navy was up.”

“I do thank you for what you have done for King and Country.”

“I didn’t sign up for the Royal Navy to be thanked,” Mr. Wycomb said. “I did it because I wanted to command a ship.”

“And you succeeded in your efforts.”

Mr. Wycomb clenched his jaw. “Had I known what I know now, I would never have left English soil.”

“Surely you don’t mean that?”

“I saw far too much death in my many years in the Royal Navy,” Mr. Wycomb said. “Deaths that I could have prevented.”

Gemma felt compassion towards Mr. Wycomb and attempted to convey that by asking, “Is death not a part of war?”

“Try telling that to the families that lost their sons,” Mr. Wycomb replied, his voice curt.

Marielle’s voice came from behind her. “Stephen,” she said sternly. “I do hope you are behaving yourself around Lady Hawkinge.”

Gemma turned towards Marielle. “We were just having a lively debate.”

Marielle eyed her curiously but, thankfully, she let the matter drop. “We should all adjourn to the drawing room.”

“Lady Hawthorne is visiting with her sister,” Gemma informed them.

Stephen stiffened. “Lady Haddington is here?” he asked as he glanced over at the drawing room. “Perhaps I should go.”