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Gabriel slowly got a hold of himself now that Eleanor was back to her usual self of arguing with him about nothing, and for the briefest moment, his eyes flickered to her lips.

“I remember someone warning me not to be looking over their shoulder the entire Season and that they could take care of themselves. I was warned about interfering.”

“No, don’t start with that.” Eleanor pointed at Gabriel but quickly dropped her arm. “You can’t just go from one extreme to the other.”

“I can do whatever I like,” Gabriel reminded her.

“You’ve abandoned me and your promise to my brother. I won’t have it.”

Gabriel stood up from behind his desk. “What I won’t have is you coming in here shouting at me and accusing me. How about you calm down and explain the problem to me?”

“I won’t calm down,” Eleanor told him.

“You will stop shouting,” Gabriel warned, staring her down. “Tell me what happened and I can fix it. Something related to turnips, I presume?”

“Well, it’s too late now, isn’t it?” Eleanor threw her arms up in the air again and turned from him.

Gabriel sat back down at his desk and picked up the document he had been trying to read. “Then we don’t need to discuss this any further.”

Eleanor ignored the comment, walked over to the chair closest to the table the duke sat at, and slumped into it, staring at him and shaking her head.

“Do you know the virtues of the Norfolk Four-Course system and how rotating wheat, turnips, barley, and clover prevents soil exhaustion and promotes the growth of turnips?” She folded her arms across her chest. “No? Because I know far more about it than I ever cared to know. How about the great old argument around horse manure versus sheep droppings? Of the innovation behind the seed drill? Are you well versed in any of that?”

Gabriel looked up from his papers and did all he could to hold back his smile.

“I see you are educating yourself in farming so you can better engage with the young lords at this Season’s events.”

Eleanor pursed her lips tightly and struggled to overcome the smile threatening to break through.

“No,” she exclaimed, balling her fists. “I had to sit through a two-hour lunch with Mr. Edwin Carlisle as he spoke about all of that at great length, and those were the most interesting parts that I remember. I believe I fell asleep on at least two occasions.”

Gabriel took a breath. “I can’t imagine how you survived all of that alone.”

“No,” Eleanor warned. “No, you don’t get to make light of this. I’ve had callers coming around to the house with gifts and to spend some time with me, and I have no idea if they are reputable or not. Then, at Lady Whitmore’s garden party, I had gentlemen all around me, and I would not have survived that at all if Lord Fairfax had not taken me elsewhere to save me.”

Gabriel sat up straighter in his chair. “Lord Fairfax took you somewhere?”

Eleanor’s expression changed as if she were happy to finally get a reaction from him. “Don’t worry, he didn’t take me somewhere private and try to have his way with me.”

Silence descended over the room. Gabriel gritted his teeth. He glared at Eleanor as she sat in the chair, looking pleased with herself.

“It is my duty to keep you safe, but it is also your duty as a lady and a debutante not to put yourself in a position where someone can take advantage of you.”

“Well, perhaps if you had been there, that wouldn’t have happened.” Eleanor got up from her chair and walked over toward Atlas.

“And what will happen the next time I’m not there?” Gabriel boomed, also standing. “You say that you don’t need me watching your every move, and then you prove that’s exactly what you need. Your second event, and you are already being shepherded away by Lord Fairfax. What would you have done if he had taken you to a private room?”

Eleanor snorted. She turned back to face him. “Lord Fairfax is not like that.”

Gabriel stepped closer to her. “Isn’t he?”

“I mean…You know him,” Eleanor stammered. “You know what he’s like, don’t you? He wouldn’t…Would he?”

“You tell me,” Gabriel stated. “You seem to have everything figured out.”

“It doesn’t matter what I say or do, does it?” Eleanor complained. “I am always wrong, and you are always right.”

“You say it as if it’s an accusation just because you don’t like it.” Gabriel closed the space between them. “I don’t like to be wrong, Lady Eleanor, and I am not often wrong. You don’t like to be wrong either; that much is clear, but you are still young, and this is your debut Season. You don’t have the experience or wisdom yet to know when you are wrong.”