Page 75 of A Devious Secret

He bowed. “Lady Montfort.”

An uncomfortable silence descended over the group and Stephen knew it was time for him to remove himself.

Turning towards Gemma, he asked, “Would it be permissible if I called upon you tomorrow for a carriage ride through Hyde Park?”

Gemma nodded. “I will be looking forward to it.”

“Wonderful.” He tipped his head at Lady Montfort and said, “My lady.”

As he walked out of the drawing room, he knew he was in trouble. He had no doubt that he could easily fall in love with Gemma because he was already halfway there.

Judging by the way that her aunt was looking at her, Gemma knew she was in for a lecture. Not that she didn’t deserve it. She had been too familiar with Stephen and she even had waywardthoughts on what his lips would feel like pressed against hers. She closed her eyes as she tried to imagine it. His lips would be warm and soft as they met hers.

“Dear child, are you even listening to me?” her aunt asked in an exasperated voice.

Gemma gave her a sheepish smile. “I’m afraid you caught me woolgathering.”

“One does not need to be a mind reader to know what, or should I say ‘whom’, you are thinking about.” Her aunt shook her head. “You may be a widow, but you must still follow the rules of polite Society.”

“I am trying to.”

“You were alone with a man,” her aunt pointed out. “Why did you not ask Balfour to send in a maid to act as a chaperone?”

“I was rather distracted.”

“With what?”

Gemma frowned. “My stepmother made an unexpected call this morning,” she shared. “Apparently, my father has come into some money and wants me to move back home.”

Her aunt slowly lowered herself onto the settee. “What did you say?”

“I told her that I had no intention of ever moving back in with my father and I asked why he hadn’t come himself.”

“What did she say to that?”

Gemma waved a hand in front of her. “Supposedly, our estrangement has taken a toll on my father and my stepmother is worried about him.”

“How thoughtful of her,” her aunt muttered.

“I took no issue with sending her on her way, especially after she admitted to being my father’s mistress when my mother was alive.”

“That is no surprise there since he married her one month after your mother died.”

Gemma walked over to the settee and gracelessly dropped down next to her aunt. “When I was younger, I always used to hope that my father would take notice of something good that I had done, but he never did. Not once,” she shared. “My father no more wanted me in his life than he wanted a thorn in his boot.”

“That is not true,” her aunt attempted.

“Please do not insult me by saying that he loved me in his own way,” Gemma said. “That is what my stepmother tried to do.”

Her aunt reached for her gloved hand. “You have had a rough go of it, but you don’t need to rely on your father or Lord Hawkinge anymore. This is your home now.”

Gemma smiled. “Thank you.”

“But your uncle and I do expect you to behave appropriately for a woman of your station,” her aunt said. “No more clandestine meetings with Mr. Wycomb.”

“It was hardly a secret since we were in your drawing room.”

With a knowing look, her aunt asked, “Can you imagine the scandal if one of my friends had come to call and witnessed how familiar you and Mr. Wycomb were with one another?”