Page 31 of Miss Kimble Bites Back

Sebastian exhaled in relief. But he didn’t want Gabby exposed to the ongoing tragedy that was his sister’s withdrawal from the world. He wet his lips. “Perhaps encouraging my sister and your ward toward friendship was not a good idea.”

“Not at all. They are utterly different people and circumstances. Gabby likes Cordelia very much. I saw that from the start, and once she makes up her mind to befriend someone, there is no stopping her from giving them her heart and loyalty,” Kimble explained, one brow raised. “Leave the ladies to it. They will either get along or they will not.”

“Yes, true,” he said as he studied Kimble. “I must say you seem to have taken on the role of guardian very well. I can’t imagine it was easy to suddenly have the responsibility of a young cousin. For me, it was a struggle with my older sisters when I inherited. Suddenly being in charge of both.”

“I like to think of it as I’ve been blessed. Gabby largely takes care of herself, and she has always enjoyed running my household. The only time I’ve seen her truly nervous was the morning you came to call after your first dance.”

Sebastian raised a brow at that. “Was my reputation so fearsome?”

“It’s always the unknown that unsettles her. You are a duke, and I wonder what you really want with her even now. She has only a small dowry, a bit of land, and a tenuous connection to Lady Windermere.”

“Indeed,” Sebastian agreed. He gestured for Kimble to take a seat close beside the fire. “I have been thinking about what you said to me, about planning for the future.”

“It is always a good idea,” Kimble murmured. “Especially for a man in your exalted position.”

“You are not the only one to suggest that lately,” he said bluntly. “I would like us to come to an understanding.”

Kimble studied him for a long moment. “No.”

Sebastian was taken by surprise by the firmly voiced decline. “You don’t even know what I was going to ask.”

Kimble pursed his lips. “It is readily apparent that despite your invitation to me, it is Gabby who’s here to be approved of. I won’t have her led on like this.”

Sebastian shifted in his chair. “I can’t, won’t, commit myself to any woman who thinks ill of my sister.”

“Gabby is the last person who would do that,” Kimble said, eyes narrowing suddenly. “But it is you who perhaps thinks the worst of my ward.”

Sebastian tapped the arm of his chair before he spoke. “People have been unkind about Cordelia.”

“To you as well, painting you as a tyrant. Her gaoler. Calling you cruel,” Kimble suggested.

“I will admit that hurts,” he said.

“You are a duke. The ill-informed should never bother you,” the man chided.

Sebastian studied Kimble again. “If I may ask, how old are you?”

“Older than I look,” he said with a shrug. “Older than your sister by at least a year, I think.”

“Oh,” he said, noticing that Kimble brought up Cordelia again. She had become a point of reference in all their conversations.

“I want her to be happy. It is vital to me that my sister never again feels herself lacking. My parents treated her as chattel.” Sebastian pursed his lips. “And I know what I want now, but I’m not sure of your wards interests.”

The man frowned. “Why would Gabby, or any woman, not be interested in becoming a duchess?”

“In me,” he countered. “As you surely must know, she has long had her heart set on another.”

Kimble’s eyes widened. “Who?”

Sebastian winced. “I’d rather not say. But you can imagine it makes a man hesitate.”

“Yes, indeed it would,” Kimble agreed, and then stood up to pace the room. Sebastian left him to it. Kimble knew his ward far better than he did yet. But he did not know about her infatuation with Viscount Brookes, it seemed.

Kimble suddenly spun around to face Sebastian. “What are your intentions toward my ward?”

“Marriage in the end, but only if her heart is not otherwise engaged.”

“A sensible precaution,” Kimble agreed, nodding. “Very well, you have my blessing for a pursuit but…disgrace her, and you will live to regret it.”