The Duke's Temptation (8 page)

Noticeable unease broke through Gabe’s cloak of calm, making what he’d done for his daughter count for even more. He still had a long way to go before he embraced being a father, but Elizabeth would take it as a solid step forward.

If she hadn’t already been in love with him, she could easily find herself falling for him over again.

Chapter 8

Two days after the dancing lesson, Elizabeth glanced from the stack of references sitting on the desk to the young girl playing on the carpeted floor of the morning room. She couldn’t stop the smile that curved her lips as Phoebe fussed with the ever-present dolls.

Wherever Phoebe went, she toted the dolls. And good luck putting the child abed without Victoria and Jacqueline snuggled in with her. The strength of the attachment that had developed in such a short time said a lot about the tot’s emotional state. She obviously used the dolls as a source of security.

But Elizabeth understood. Even though Phoebe didn’t display overt signs of distress, there still were times when unhappiness flashed through her blue eyes. Other times, Elizabeth sensed a sorrow within Phoebe that echoed her own grief when she had lost her parents and her life had changed so drastically. Because of that, Elizabeth felt a kinship with the child. It couldn’t be easy for a three-year-old to move into a strange house filled with unknown people, but Elizabeth would take a few childish displays of displeasure and bouts of silence if it would help Phoebe through the transition.

It amazed Elizabeth how she’d grown to care for the tiny girl in such a short time. And if it continued, she was afraid the child would soon possess her entire heart. Then what would she do? How could she ever walk away from Phoebe if Gabe never returned her feelings? If anything, she was setting herself up for greater heartache.

Phoebe peeked at Elizabeth and gave a wide smile, then returned to her dolls. Too late. There would be no way to extract Phoebe from her heart. It only increased her resolve to ensure Gabe came to love her.

Her smile vanished. It had seemed so simple. All she’d needed to do was insert herself into Gabe’s life and he would come to love her as she loved him. A task that might actually succeed if she managed to ever be in the exasperating man’s presence.

After the day they’d danced and the ice had been broken between him and his daughter, she’d been sure he’d stop avoiding them. Except the opposite had happened. She saw even less of him. And she never thought that would have been possible.

If she didn’t know what he was capable of, she’d abandon him. But she did know and she wasn’t about to surrender and thus give up.

Elizabeth turned back to the stack of references. The same as yesterday, her eyes glazed over as she studied the first one. With the Season in full swing, there were not many highly qualified governesses available at short notice, and under no circumstances would she allow someone without impeccable qualifications to care for Phoebe. With so few prospects, the entire task was rather daunting.

Elizabeth retrieved the top letter, about to get on with it, when Wilkes appeared in the doorway. “My Lady, there is a Miss Dawkins here to see you.”

Her smile instantly returned. She hadn’t spoken to Emma since the Hampshire ball.

“Please send her in, Wilkes.”

Guilt ran through Elizabeth. Her days had been so consumed with Phoebe, she hadn’t had an opportunity to get word to Emma about her change in residence. With a life packed full of unabashed chaos, who knew what her friend’s creative imagination had concocted after not hearing from Elizabeth?

Emma entered the morning room. Always perceived as a proper lady, most would be surprised at the amount of spunk contained in Emma’s petite frame. After years of being her friend, Elizabeth was fully aware.

“You know I’ll be facing Father’s wrath if he finds out I visited the Duke of Wesbrook’s home.” A smile spread across Emma’s face. And the smile usually indicated trouble for someone. “Luckily, he rarely finds out about my transgressions.”

Emma’s mother had died in childbirth, leaving Viscount Sumpter, Emma’s father, with a young daughter to raise. Being an only child merely ensured Emma had her father wrapped even tighter around her petite finger.

Not that any of Emma’s so-called
transgressions
had ever crossed into scandalous behavior, but they would be enough to cause trouble for her with the strictest members of the
ton.

Elizabeth stood to greet her friend. “You know, one of these days, you will manage to do something you won’t be able to talk yourself out of.”

Emma crossed the room to stand by Elizabeth, her smile wider, lightening her brown eyes. “Yes, but until then, I’m going to enjoy life. Eventually my father will realize I’m not his little girl anymore, and when that happens, he’ll want grandchildren. The only way for that to happen is for me to marry. Something I’m determined to circumvent.”

Elizabeth observed her friend. She never understood Emma’s desire to avoid marriage. Whenever she tried to broach the subject, Emma would brush it off as nothing.

Elizabeth gestured to the sitting area off to the side, all the while aware Phoebe examined every move Emma made. Once they were seated, Elizabeth turned to her friend, pulling Emma’s attention from Phoebe. “How did you know I was here?”

“After not hearing from you for a few days and all the rumors that you were residing here, I called at your home. Marcus confirmed everything. Do you want to tell me why you are here or should I guess?” Emma cast a sidelong glance toward Phoebe.

Since Emma would persist until she found out everything, Elizabeth might as well reveal all. Besides, she needed the support of her friend. “Phoebe, sweet, come here, please.”

Suspicious of the new arrival, the child stayed where she sat.

“It is all right. I promise,” Elizabeth coaxed.

The girl’s expression remained skeptical but she still came to Elizabeth’s side.

“Poppet, I’d like to introduce to you to my friend, Miss Emma Dawkins.” Afraid of Emma looking at her with pity, Elizabeth hesitated a moment. “Emma, this is Miss Phoebe, my new friend . . . and Gabe’s daughter.”

Emma was rarely at a loss for words, but she remained silent as she peered at the child. Elizabeth wasn’t surprised when Phoebe did the same. She might be wary but she still had a boldness she’d undoubtedly inherited from her father.

Elizabeth never doubted Emma would accept Phoebe, but even so, her muscles relaxed when Emma spoke to the child. “It is very nice to meet you, Phoebe. You know, since Lizzy and you are friends and Lizzy has only the
best
people for friends, I hope you and I can be friends someday. Do you think that might be possible?”

The prospect of more playmates must have appealed to Phoebe since a smile lit her face. She didn’t answer but Elizabeth knew Emma had won her over just that quickly.

“Phoebe, Emma and I are going to talk for a bit. If you play with Victoria and Jacqueline until we are done, I’ll take you to the park.”

After Phoebe moved back to her dolls, Elizabeth gave Emma her attention. Her friend still watched Gabe’s daughter.

“It’s amazing. She looks just like Wesbrook,” Emma murmured.

“Yes, she does.”

Emma suddenly frowned. “Do you know what you are doing?”

Elizabeth gave an uneven chuckle. “Why does everyone ask me that?”

Concern etched deeper into Emma’s features. “It’s because we care about you and don’t want to see you hurt.”

“I don’t want to be hurt either, but if I don’t risk it, I could possibly lose something far more important to me.”

“If you are sure of what you are doing, you know I’ll always stand behind you.” Emma smirked. “Besides, if anyone is going to rush into a situation before thinking it through, you know it will be me.”

Elizabeth laughed. She could always rely on Emma’s support, probably because she had always returned the favor.

Emma settled back onto the settee. “Now, fill me in on all the details. And don’t forget any indecent parts. If I’m going to get into trouble for being here, it had better be worth it,” she said with a wink.

Being her confidant for many years, Emma knew of Elizabeth’s feelings for Gabe. But where to start? So much had happened the last few days, some seeming so strange that she wondered if she’d imagined them. Such as when Gabe’s hand had started to reach out to her the first day she’d arrived.

Her mind replayed the moment endlessly while her body relived the sensation of him so close. It had felt as if he surrounded her. She knew if he had reached for her, it wouldn’t have been with brotherly affection. Instead it would have been a touch between a man and a woman. The very thing her body craved.

To her horror, in that moment when all she’d ever hoped for was in front of her, she’d panicked. She hadn’t moved forward to welcome his embrace and thus taken what she’d only ever dreamt about.

No, she’d foolishly broken the spell by spouting mere words. Erasing any current of desire between them.

Gabe had returned to his aloof self, leaving her to question her sanity and if she’d fabricated the entire incident. Especially considering Gabe had never shown her anything but friendly interest before that day.

As for what to tell Emma, Elizabeth decided to start at the beginning, leaving out the moment that probably hadn’t actually happened. “The morning after the Hampshire ball, Gabe—” Elizabeth broke off when Aunt Millie entered the room.

From the doorway, her aunt glanced at Phoebe before addressing Elizabeth and Emma. “Good morning, girls. I’m sorry to interrupt your conversation.” Aunt Millie raised her voice a notch and sent a subtle nod to Phoebe. “I wanted to see if my favorite poppet would care to join me in the garden. Do either of you know who that might be?”

Before Emma or Elizabeth could speak, Phoebe sprang from the carpet and raced to Aunt Millie’s side. Excitement burst from every step she took. “Me! It’s me!”

Gently, with no indication of her age, Aunt Millie crouched and affectionately patted Phoebe’s cheek. “You are so right, precious. It is you.” She stood. “What do you say? Shall the two of us grace the beautiful flowers in the garden with our even lovelier presence?”

Phoebe giggled at Aunt Millie’s exaggerated tone and nodded. Millie glanced back to Elizabeth and Emma. “Then, it is settled. If any suitors call on Phoebe or me, you may inform them we are too busy to be bothered.”

More giggles erupted from Phoebe as Aunt Millie took her hand and they exited the room.

“I believe Phoebe has won over your aunt,” Emma said.

“My aunt was lost from day one. Phoebe’s appeal can be as devastating as her father’s.”

Emma’s laugh was light and free spirited. “So she inherited her father’s charm. Does that mean you are also smitten with the child?”

The answer to Emma’s question was so obvious to both of them that Elizabeth didn’t concern herself with responding.

“Will you now tell me how you came to be living with Wesbrook and his child?”

With a sigh, Elizabeth rose from the settee and walked to the window overlooking the garden. She spotted Aunt Millie and Phoebe strolling along the path, hand in hand, most likely planning their next undertaking. “I’m not exactly sure how it happened. I can only attribute my hasty decision to your influence. One moment I overhear Gabe talking to Marcus about being unable to locate someone to care for Phoebe, the next, I’m standing in the study, offering to do it.” She spun to face Emma. “So, here I am. Living with the man I love, taking care of his child, and he hasn’t given any indication he realizes I’m even here.”

Never one to be serious, Emma gave Elizabeth a weak smile. “You are right. It sounds like something I’d get myself into. What do you know of the child’s past? Her mother?”

“Not much. Gabe hasn’t been forthcoming with any details. I’m not sure I want to know. But the housekeeper did mention Phoebe had rarely resided with her mother. From the time she was a baby she’d been in the care of a nanny. After Phoebe’s mother died, the elderly nanny decided to move in with her sister instead of traveling with Phoebe to London. Not only is the child without a mother, she also lost the only stable person in her life.”

Just repeating the story caused her insides to churn the same as when the housekeeper had first told her. It made Elizabeth wonder more about the woman Gabe had fathered a child with. How could she abandon her baby?

“Poor child. What are you going to do now?”

Elizabeth crossed to the desk where the letters still sat. “I’m going to continue to look through these, find an appropriate governess, and while I’m doing that, I’m somehow going to make one stubborn duke see me as more than his friend’s little sister.”

“If you ask me, you need to do something to make him stand and take notice.”

Elizabeth’s brows rose. “Oh? And how exactly do I do that? I’m already living in his home.”

“Yes. In a house so large, two people could manage to avoid each other indefinitely.” A look filled with pure naughtiness broke over Emma’s face. “You, my friend, need to make it impossible for him to overlook you. Appear when and where he wouldn’t expect it. Think about it. You have access to his home, his domain. Even if he is gone during the day, he’s bound to return eventually. All you need to do is be there when he does.”

Elizabeth stared her friend skeptically. “Are you saying I should lie in wait for him to return at night?”

Emma leaned forward slightly. “Not simply wait, but wait in something enticing.”

“Enticing? Wh-What do you mean enticing?” Elizabeth sputtered.

Emma waved off Elizabeth’s concerns. “You make it sound shameful. I’m merely suggesting that after you are in your nightgown, ready for bed, you should suddenly remember you need a book from the study or a nightcap or some other somewhat plausible excuse. If that happens to coincide with Wesbrook returning for the evening, so be it. It isn’t like I’m talking about reclining in a chair, in his study, completely unclothed.”

After years of listening to Emma’s forthright language, she shouldn’t be shocked by anything her friend said. Yet Emma speaking so nonchalantly amazed Elizabeth the most, as if talking about sitting in a gentleman’s study naked was ordinary behavior.

That comment aside, Emma’s suggestion did have merit. If she did nothing while Gabe went about his business and managed to avoid her while doing so, what would she accomplish by being here—other than starting to care deeply for a child she had no right to love?