“When you put it that way,” he said, “how can I resist?”
Her eyes went wide. “Do you mean that? Truly?”
“I mean that I will seriously consider it. But first I want to see all the financial details—to make sure you aren’t fudging the numbers to get what you want.”
“Me? Fudge numbers? Never!”
“Right. What was I thinking?” He shook his head ruefully, knowing that this wasn’t an argument he would win. “I also want to see the whole place from top to bottom before we even think of making an offer.”
“Of course! That’s why we’re here, after all.”
For the next two hours, she took him around the place, showing him the rooms and the impressive kitchen, with its new oven, and the garden in back. The only place they didn’t go was the servants’ quarters because Gwyn had said all servants’ quarters looked alike.
Joshua asked questions of the gentleman he’d initially thought was the owner but who was actually the agent in charge of selling the place. Then he asked questions of Gwyn about why she liked the place.
When they were done with the tour, she asked breathlessly, “What do you think?”
“I think it would suit us very well.”
She squealed and flung herself at him, then covered his face with kisses. “I was hoping you would say that.” She waved her hand at the agent, and he disappeared down the hall.
Joshua was just contemplating kissing her more thoroughly when the entirety of their two families appeared just behind her. “Good God, what are you lot doing here?” he asked.
“Two hours, Joshua,” Gwyn’s mother said as she brushed off her sleeves. “We were in the servants’ quarters for two hours. How long does it take you to decide where you wish to live?”
“I must say,” Beatrice remarked, “I agree with Aunt Lydia. There were spiders down there, for pity’s sake. I do not like spiders.”
“There was one spider and I killed it for you,” Greycourt said. “I had no idea that a woman as forthright as you could be felled by the sight of a spider.”
“At least you had somewhere to sit,” Thornstock complained as he dusted off his trousers. “Two hours is a long time to spend leaning against a wall.”
“You were drinking champagne, Thorn,” Sheridan said. “I don’t know why that was so awful for any of you. I quite enjoyed the champagne.”
Gwyn scowled at them. “The champagne was for our celebration!”
“You were that sure I would agree?” Joshua asked, amused when his wife colored.
“Of course not,” she said. “But I wanted to be prepared in case you did.”
Thornstock came up to clap Joshua on the shoulder. “Let me know when you want to look at the finances part. It’s as I told Gwyn—you can rent it or buy it. I don’t care which, as long as you decide soon. I’ve got two people already lined up to rent it if you don’t.”
“Wait a minute!” Joshua rounded on his wife. “Your brother owns this place?”
She smiled weakly. “I . . . I wanted you to see it without being biased, that’s all. And I did say I knew the owner.”
“Let me get this straight, Sis,” Greycourt said. “Major Wolfe said he didn’t want your dowry unless it was to go to your children. So you’re using your dowry to buy the place as an investment for your children, and you’re buying it from your brother, who is essentially in charge of providing the money for the dowry yet is getting the money back at the same time.”
Gwyn screwed up her face in thought, then nodded. “That’s about right. Assuming we buy and not rent.”
As they all laughed, Joshua shook his head. “You lot are mad,” he grumbled. “And you’d better not be counting on hiding in the servants’ quarters ever again. If I know Gwyn, she’ll want to put servants there.”
They all began to talk at once, telling Gwyn their impressions of the house and congratulating Joshua—for what, he wasn’t sure, because he’d had no voice in picking the place. But he had to admit it was ideal. It was easy to slip out the back and into the mews without being seen, even by the servants. It had enough rooms for raising a family, but not so many that they might not be able to afford it.
“By the way, Wolfe,” Thorn said, “did you ever figure out whether Malet was the one who paid that stranger in Cambridge to unscrew the bolts on our carriage’s perch?”
“He said it wasn’t him,” Joshua said.
“And I believe he told the truth,” Gwyn said. “He truly looked bewildered by Joshua’s accusation.”
Thornstock and Sheridan exchanged glances with Greycourt. Joshua walked over to whisper in Beatrice’s ear.
With a nod, she went up to Aunt Lydia. “I have to show you the garden, Aunt. I don’t think you saw it.”
“I didn’t!” she said. “That would be lovely, Bea, thank you.”
After they disappeared, Thornstock looked at Gwyn, but before he could say anything, she told him, “You’re not packing me off with the other ladies. I was there when that stranger tampered with the coach. I’m as concerned about it as my brothers.”
“Fine,” her twin said. He turned to the others. “The thing is, we were considering the possibility that our fathers were all murdered, and that it had something to do with Mother. But if someone tried to murder Mother and me and Gwyn, not to mention Joshua, that muddies the waters a bit.”
“Or it was a case of the villain not really caring who else got hurt,” Joshua said. “So it could still have something to do with your mother. The question you should be asking is, who has made her—or the entire family—the object of his anger?”
“Wolfe is right,” Greycourt said. “And not just this family, but Wolfe and Beatrice’s family, too. Whoever the murderer is, he set Wolfe up to be blamed for Maurice’s murder.”
“Ah, but that could just have been in order to throw suspicion off himself,” Joshua said.
“Or herself,” Gwyn put in. When her brothers all shot her a skeptical look, she added, “What? Women can be villainous, too.”
“She has a point,” Joshua said. “And it still could just have been a matter of highwaymen hoping to rob us after the carriage broke down.”
The others looked as skeptical as he felt. Then he noticed that Gwyn’s mother and Beatrice were returning. “I’ll tell you what. I’ll nose around in London, see what more I can find out after you lot return to the country. Then I will let you know what I learn.”
“Sounds good.” Thornstock offered Joshua his hand, and they shook. “Thank you.”
By then, their mother had returned. “I’m so happy to see you two becoming friendly. And I’m sure this house will bring you even closer.”
Joshua certainly hoped so. Thornstock had proved to be not quite what he seemed, and Joshua found that encouraging. Besides, Gwyn loved her brother. So Joshua should at least try to like the fellow.
One by one, the others said they were ready to go and left. Beatrice stopped on her way out with Greycourt to give Joshua a kiss on the cheek and tuck something into his greatcoat pocket.
As soon as everyone was gone, Gwyn sidled up to Joshua and took his arm. “I want to show you one other thing upstairs.”
They climbed the stairs together, both flights, and when they reached the top, she started toward the nearest door.
“I already saw the nursery, dearling.”
“I know. But I couldn’t say much about it in the presence of the agent.”
“Ah.”
He walked with her into the room, which also adjoined another room that could be used as a schoolroom—or a bedroom for a governess.
She placed both hands on her stomach. “You may not have noticed but—”
“You’re going to have our child.”
She gaped at him. “You did notice.”
“Of course I noticed. Did you think I was unaware of your breasts increasing or your throwing up your breakfast? I pay attention, my love. To everything, but, in particular, to everything involving you.”
>
That brought a beaming smile to her lips. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Honestly? I didn’t know what to say. I was giving you time to tell me. I didn’t know how you felt about it.”
“Elated, actually. I went to a midwife recommended by Lady Hornsby, and she examined me and told me she saw no reason for me not to have a perfectly normal child. But, she said, even if I lost the babe, it wouldn’t necessarily mean I couldn’t have another.”
“Did she say how far along you are?”
“She thinks it’s five months. Apparently the first time is the charm with me.”
“Five months. That’s good, isn’t it?”
“She thought it was.”
His heart leaped into his throat. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“At first I was waiting to be sure. Then I went to see her. I’d already been talking to Thorn about buying or renting this place, so I wanted to wait until I was sure that would happen. I wanted to surprise you.” She cupped his cheek. “It looks as if I waited too late for that.”
“Are you daft? You surprise me every single day. You surprised me when you chose me to be your bodyguard, you surprised me the first time you responded to my kiss, and you downright shocked me by agreeing to marry me. If anything, I should be trying to surprise you.”
He pulled out the rose Beatrice had plucked for him in the garden and offered it to her. “When we were taking the tour, I noticed that all the blooms on the exotic-looking rosebush outside had blown . . . except for this one. It’s a September rose. Like you, it holds on through thick and thin to end up triumphant later in the season.”
“Why, Joshua,” she said softly, “I do believe you’re getting very good at saying poetic things. That describes me perfectly.” She tucked the rose into the ribbon on her bonnet so she could pull him close. “But it also describes you very well. So I think as long as we stay entwined, we will bloom and bloom forever.”
He kissed her then, hard and long and deep. He’d been right all along: she had definitely had her pick of the men in London. And she’d picked him, thank God.
He was the bachelor no more.
Be sure to watch out for
the next Duke Dynasty romance from the
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
Sabrina Jeffries
WHO WANTS TO MARRY A DUKE
Chemistry is everything . . .
A past kiss with adorably bookish Miss Olivia Norley should be barely a memory for Marlowe Drake, the Duke of Thornstock. After all, there are countless debutantes for a reputed rakehell to charm beyond a young lady whose singular passion is chemistry—of the laboratory type. But Thorn has not forgotten—or forgiven—the shocking blackmail scheme sparked by that single kiss, or the damage caused to both their names. Now Thorn’s half brother, Grey, has hired the brilliant Miss Norley for her scientific expertise in solving a troubling family mystery. And the once-burned Thorn, suspicious of her true motives, vows to follow her every move . . .
For Olivia, determining whether arsenic poisoning killed Grey’s father is the pioneering experiment that could make her career—and Thorn’s constant presence is merely a distraction. But someone has explosive plans to derail her search. Soon the most unexpected discovery is the caring nature of the reputed scoundrel beside her—and the electricity it ignites between them . . .
“Anyone who loves romance must read Sabrina Jeffries!”—Lisa Kleypas, New York Times bestselling author
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The Bachelor Page 25