Page 94 of A Devious Secret

Chapter Fourteen

After learning of her father’s dire condition, Gemma found that she was in no mood to converse with anyone. All she wanted to do was retire to her bedchamber and be left alone with her thoughts. Voices drifted out of the drawing room as she crossed through the entry hall. There would come a time that she would need to discuss what had been said between her and her father, but now was not the time.

As she placed her foot onto the first step, Nathaniel stepped into the entry hall and acknowledged her with a tip of his head. “Gemma,” he greeted.

“Cousin,” she responded.

Nathaniel stepped closer to her and lowered his voice. “Stephen mentioned in passing that he told you I was aiding him in his search for his first lieutenant.”

“He did.”

“I would prefer if you would keep that to yourself,” Nathaniel said.

Gemma cocked her head. “May I ask why?”

“My mother would not be pleased if she discovered that I was visiting gambling hells,” he replied.

“But not Dinah?”

“Dinah already knows how I spend my time,” Nathaniel shared. “We have no secrets between us.”

“That is admirable and a rarity amongst theton.”

“There was a time I kept secrets from Dinah, before we were married, and I quickly discovered that my wife is not one to tolerate being left in the dark.”

“Is any woman?”

Nathaniel chuckled. “Touché.”

Gemma bit her lower lip before asking the one question that she dreaded the answer to. “Do you think I would be foolish to marry a man so far below my station?”

“I take it that Stephen has offered for you.”

“He did, but I declined it.”

Nathaniel grew pensive. “I see,” he said. “And why did you do that?”

“I was angry that he hadn’t told me about the duel or how he visited a gambling hell,” Gemma replied.

“I was with him when he visited the Scarlet Lady and I can testify that he was entirely out of place there.”

“I believe you but engaging in duels is illegal.”

“That doesn’t stop them from happening,” Nathaniel said. “To a man, honor is everything. It determines if one is worthy of respect and admiration.”

“Did Stephen tell you why he fought the duel?”

Nathaniel shook his head. “The reason doesn’t matter to me. I know Stephen to be an honorable man and I wouldn’t hesitate to be his second, assuming he asked.”

“You cannot be in earnest,” Gemma stated.

“Sometimes the good outweighs the bad,” Nathaniel said. “A courageous man will not stand by and let fear win. He will do what is right, every time, without fail, no matter the consequences.”

“And you believe Stephen is a courageous man?”

Nathaniel lifted his brow. “You don’t?”

“I just want to make sure I am doing the right thing,” she admitted.