Page 39 of Lord Gabriel’s Undoing

Not a single person Phoebe recognized. Not that she was likely to recall the faces of any of the young gentlemen with whom she’d danced the other day. All their visages had merged into a blurry blob of humanity. All except Gabriel’s. If only he were here. Surely he would be. Surely it was due to him they’d received this invitation. She found her hands had clenched into nervous fists.

And, as if her longing had materialized him in the parlor, there he was.

He was standing beside the fireplace, one hand negligently on the mantlepiece and the other tucked into his sling.

Phoebe stared, transfixed by that moment of being able to observe him without herself being observed. Then his eyes raised from his companion, a pretty, fair-haired young lady, and met hers.

A smile lit his face, widening in recognition, and the young lady turned to look at who he was smiling at.

*

Gabriel, along with a reluctant Ambrose, had arrived early in Grosvenor Square in order to oblige his stepmother. Ambrose, who’d denounced anything organized by their stepmother as being ‘a boring assembly of boring people’ had already fortified himself from the ratafia being passed around by the footmen, which no doubt improved, for him, the appearance of the ladies present. Of course, Stepmama had not invited Lady Matcham. But if Gabriel knew Ambrose, her absence was not likely to curtail his enjoying a flirtatious few hours.

Cecilia, having a head worthy of a much more mature lady on her shoulders, despite her tender years, had prevailed upon her mother, whose head was decidedly empty, that she should be allowed to attend. And she had made a beeline for Gabriel as soon as she spotted him, for she, rather like her other brother, had already pronounced the gathering to be “the most boring party imaginable.” According to her, only Gabriel could render it more tolerable.

So when Phoebe and her aunt and cousin entered the parlor, he was standing beside the fireplace with Cecilia. Straightaway he saw how uncomfortable she was in such a crowded gathering. Her eyes scanned the crowd as though searching for someone. His heart did a little leap. Could she be looking for him? Or just any familiar face?

Then her gaze fell on him, and a sudden blaze of relief brightened her eyes, the look of fear retreating, and rendering her quite beautiful.

How lovely she looked. He could have used the word charming, but he had a strong feeling that was one word that didn’t quite fit Lady Phoebe Nicholson.

Guilt arose at the fear he’d surprised on her face. When he’d suggested the invitation of Lady Brockwood and her daughter and niece for tea, it hadn’t crossed his mind how many other people might be present as well. In fact, this was more of a party than just a simple tea invitation might have implied. Although Lady Brockwood looked as though she was delighted to be here. Miss Matilda Nicholson as well, whose expression was alight with pleasure. Not so the nervous Phoebe.

He turned to his young half-sister, although of course she was nothing of the sort. The idea that only he and Phoebe, of everyone in the room, knew this, was quite pleasant. It gave him a feeling of complicity with her that he liked. He kept his voice low. “That, my dear Cecilia, is my Lady Phoebe.” And he bowed to Phoebe across the room.

He glanced across at his stepmother.

How much Stepmama would love to discover her ducal husband really only had one son, not two. Not that any of her children had a chance of inheriting, as they were all girls, but it was possible she might be about to produce a male Wycliff this time. No doubt she’d been praying for a boy and a swift end to all the child’s rivals. Which included not just Ambrose and his as yet unborn infant, but also himself, as far as she knew.

The duchess had been engaged for some time now in a conversation with the Duke of Hexham, but as soon as she spotted her new guests, she made her excuses and swept across the room to greet them.

“There goes Mama,” Cecilia, who was not fond of her mother, muttered. “Off to bestow her presence on more poor unsuspecting victims.”

Gabriel smiled. “You have hit the nail on the head, little sister. Only I should remind you that they are the people I wanted her to invite.”

“Only she’s also invited everyone she thinks will hang on her every word.”

He hid a wider smile behind his hand. “She is a duchess. She considers she deserves everyone to do that.”

Cecilia sighed. “As she never ceases to remind everyone. Lady Phoebe is the smaller lady? The tall blonde is very beautiful but I think she’s someone who overvalues her own looks. I’m sure I’ve seen her peek at her reflection twice in the mirror on that wall since she got here, which isn’t above two minutes. What a good thing it’s the other young lady who’s caught your fancy. Much more your sort, I’d say.”

“She is,” Gabriel said, only afterwards wondering whether this had been some kind of confession. But Cecilia had either not noticed or chosen to ignore it. He took her arm. “Come along, I’d like you to meet her. She’s very shy and a trifle awkward, and I know you’ll make her feel at home.”

He and Cecilia made their way across the crowded parlor until they reached Phoebe’s side. Her aunt and the duchess were still engaged in conversation, so Gabriel put his hand on Phoebe’s back and steered her away from them. Miss Nicholson had already been accosted by Ambrose, which probably wasn’t a good thing, as his face was full of delight at encountering so beautiful a young lady at their stepmother’s party. As Miss Nicholson didn’t appear any less delighted, this was also not a good thing, Gabriel decided he’d have to speak to Ambrose later about that. Much good it would do him.

They moved towards one of the long sash windows that overlooked the rather dismal looking garden.

“Lady Phoebe,” Gabriel said. “I’d like you to meet my younger sister. She’s the oldest daughter of my father’s second wife.”

Cecilia chuckled. “Silly. What a roundabout way to put that. We are half-siblings, Lady Phoebe. We share the same father.”

Phoebe showed no reaction to this, although she must have realized this was peddling a lie. Instead, she smiled. “I had no idea Lord Gabriel had sisters. How lucky he is. I have always wanted a sister.”

Cecilia, who was not at all shy and could be relied upon to charm and chatter with anyone, nodded with enthusiasm. “Oh yes, he has four of us to date, for his sins.” She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Although Mama is currently in an interesting condition again, so we are expecting a fifth to join us. Of course, she’s hoping for a son this time, but I think that unlikely after four girls, don’t you?” She chuckled again. “And I don’t think we girls could cope with having a baby brother. We would much prefer another sister. A boy would be such a disturbance and give Mama all sorts of ambitious ideas.”

Phoebe politely nodded. She must be wondering why he’d introduced her to Cecilia, but it was all part of his plan and seemed to be going well.

“My cousin Matilda is like a sister to me,” she offered. “Both of us are the only children of our parents, you see. And between us we have only one parent left—my Aunt Fanny who is supervising our debut this Season. Are you out?” She raised her delicate eyebrows and Gabriel felt his heart give an unexpected lurch. Similar to the sort he usually got when he spotted some jewelery he thought he could fence for a good price—preferably after having spotted it around the neck of someone he didn’t like.