Scandals of Lustful Ladies: A Historical Regency Romance Collection

by Meghan Sloan

  “I do know that.” Derek shook his head, “I’m not going to force my son to not be in contact, but you cannot meet him at the house. You’re not welcome there.”

  “Then I’ll arrange to meet him elsewhere.”

  They glared at each other. Gabriel felt like he could hold his own against other people, but not his own father. Derek was a formidable man who didn’t suffer fools. The only fool who got the better of him was Gabriel himself, and even with his own children Derek had a limit.

  Gabriel had found that out and now it had cost him his position as heir, his allowance and his family. It was a very bitter thing to swallow, knowing that it was his own doing. At times he thought Derek had gone over the top, but now Gabriel knew his father had given him an adequate punishment. It was going to take something big to get himself out of this.

  “You seem to be coping fine here.” Derek wrinkled his nose at the garden, “Although you and Allen aren’t exactly good with gardening. That does need straightening out.”

  “We’re learning as we go.” Gabriel glanced towards the cottage. “This place is smaller than I thought, and it took two weeks to get rid of the mould inside. But it’ll do.”

  “It’s all you’re going to get. You’re lucky I let you stay on the estate.”

  “That I do understand, Father.”

  Before he was thrown out of the family, Gabriel was a little more brazen with his behaviour towards his father. Derek hadn’t liked it at all, and he told Gabriel off like he was a little boy. Now he was faced with an uncertain future over his own actions, Gabriel looked at his previous behaviour with a grimace. He hadn’t really grown up, and he took far too many liberties. It was a wonder he hadn’t been cut off long before then, but Derek’s patience had been incredibly stretched.

  “Allen says you’ve not had many female visitors,” Derek adjusted the sleeves on his jacket before folding his arms, “except for Miss Gibson. I thought I told you she was not welcome on the estate, even if it was here and not in the house.”

  “You make it sound like l asked her to come here.” Gabriel frowned, “I hope Allen also told you that I sent Miss Gibson away. Several times. I’ve told her that I don’t want her around.”

  “It’s a pity you didn’t think about that before you started…”

  His father broke off, his face going bright red and he looked away. Gabriel rolled his eyes.

  “We’re both grown men, Father. You can say it.”

  “Believe me, I can’t,” Derek sighed. “At least you’re keeping out of trouble. No more gambling?”

  “How can I when I have no money?”

  The urge was still there, but not as great. Gabriel was beginning to realise that his urge to gamble his money away was directly tied to the amount of money he had at his disposal. When there was nothing there, it backed down. Now he really had virtually nothing, Gabriel saw how childish he had been throwing his money away. And it had cost him dearly; more than just his allowance. His inheritance was gone.

  Hopefully, this situation wouldn’t stay so dire and his fortunes would change.

  Derek cleared his throat, adjusting his coat. Then he stepped around his son, not making eye contact.

  “Just remember what I said about Percy. Don’t come into our house again unless you have an invitation.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  Gabriel watched his father leave, heading across the path and across the fields. For the first time in months, since being thrown out of the family, Gabriel wanted to cry. Every time his father walked away, it was like he was turning his back on his son. As someone who had looked up to his father as a child, this hurt. A lot.

  #

  Gabriel hadn’t planned on coming down to Ipswich again, especially when he’d spent most of the day before in town, but he was eager to tell Norman what he had planned. Maybe his friend would be able to give him some more advice on how to deal with Cassandra Seton. She was a bright, beautiful woman and she needed to be reeled in slowly, away from the family business. Norman knew her, and Gabriel wanted to make sure every part of his plan was covered.

  There were moments when he thought this was not going to work and he was being ridiculous about it, but then Gabriel pushed it aside. He wanted to own Montgomery Hall, no doubt about it. And to get the better custom in and be more successful, he had to knock Seton Hall off-balance. If their key to success was Seton’s own daughter, then Gabriel needed to take her out of the equation.

  It sounded cold and cruel, but Gabriel really wanted this. He knew business wasn’t as cut and dry as others believed, and people could go low to take out the competition. This wasn’t exactly taking out the competition; it was more like trying to get on an even footing.

  He needed to stop thinking about how this could go wrong and how Gabriel could be outed as a cad. In his head, he was doing his brother a favour finding a wife and he would be able to focus on getting the gambling place up to how it should be and pay Norman back in the process, without worrying about Seton Hall taking away their custom.

  This was what Gabriel wanted. Hopefully, there would be no broken hearts in the process.

  Gabriel was permitted upstairs to Thomas’ office. Norman’s office. Even though he had no desire to run the place, it was now Norman’s office until he sold the place. Hopefully he wouldn’t be considering any other offers because Gabriel was going to take it. They just needed to sort the paperwork out and then Gabriel would give Norman his payment.

  It had sounded so simple when he’d thought it up in his head. Hopefully, it would stay as simple in the coming days.

  Norman was at the desk, head bent over a thickly bound book, when Gabriel entered the room. He looked up and sat up in surprise.

  “Gabriel. I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing here?”

  “I’ve got an idea, Norman.”

  “Oh?” Norman closed the book and sat back. “About how to pay me for this place? Or are you still going with what we agreed on?”

  “The latter, but this idea is going to help me pay you back faster.”

  “And just how are you going to do that?”

  Gabriel settled into a chair across from Norman and sat forward.

  “By getting Cassandra Seton away from Seton Hall.”

  Norman blinked. Then he groaned.

  “I’m beginning to wish I had never suggested anything. You have to be mad to even contemplate targeting a young woman.”

  “You set the ball rolling,” Gabriel pointed out, “by saying that the best way to get ahead was to distract their mastermind, which is Cassandra Seton. And I have a good idea how to distract her.”

  Norman shook his head. He rubbed his hands over his face.

  “I really wish I hadn’t opened my mouth. Go on, then. Tell me about this plan, and you had better not be doing something to ruin Miss Cassie’s reputation.”

  “You’re that concerned about her reputation after what you suggested?”

  “I have respect for her. I don’t want to see her dragged down by you.”

  Gabriel scoffed.

  “I wouldn’t do that.”

  He laid out his plan, explaining each part. As he talked, Norman looked more and more bewildered, his eyes widening. When Gabriel finished, Norman was still staring at him like he had gone mad.

  “So, not only are you going to distract Cassandra with something that has failed before, but you’re bringing your brother into this mess?”

  “It’s not a mess.”

  “It sure feels like it,” Norman frowned. “Does Percy know what you’re up to? He won’t like being used as a pawn.”

  Gabriel sighed.

  “I’m not using him as a pawn. Mother and Father want him to get married now he’s the heir and Percy is not good at talking to women. I’m just acting as a go-between for two people who believe they want to be introduced to the other person.”

  “So, in essence, you’re going to facilitate a match where neither knows about the other unless you mentio
n it.” Norman shook his head, “I never thought you’d be so cold as to do this, Gabriel.”

  Gabriel snorted.

  “It’s not cold. It’s practical. Business.”

  “Not from where I’m standing.” Norman pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “I said the competition from Seton Hall is because of Cassie’s work and ideas, and you would have to work hard to pay me off if you buy it as we’re agreeing. I didn’t say you had to take the competition out.”

  “I’m not going to kill her.”

  “Maybe not, but you’re still playing around with a woman’s emotions. And you’d better be careful around Cassie because when she finds out, she’s going to be really angry.”

  Gabriel chuckled.

  “When she finds out. She won’t find out.”

  “I know she’ll find out. Cassie’s not going to be fooled. Her mind is sharper than ours, and then some,” Norman tapped the side of his head. “Ernest Seton raised his daughter to be clever, and she certainly is.”

  “I won’t argue with that.” Gabriel sat back, realising that he was smiling. “She’s a remarkable woman. Cool and collected but there’s a fire in her eyes that makes you sit up.”

  “You’ve met her, then.”

  “I went last night to see what the competition was like. And I’m glad.” Gabriel felt a stirring in his belly and cleared his throat, pushing that down. Not now. “She’s...not like any other woman I’ve met. I watched how she handled a disruption and stood up for her staff when they were...manhandled. There’s a lot of respect for her, and she can certainly hold her own.”

  “I’m glad you noticed that about her,” Norman sighed. “There was a time a short while ago when I thought I might be in with a chance of courting her. We get along well enough, and she’s good company. I like a woman with a bit of fire in her.”

  That had Gabriel sitting up.

  “You tried to court her?”

  Why did that make his stomach turn into a knot hearing this? Norman gave a slight smile and a lopsided shrug.

  “Tried being the operative word. When I approached her about it, Cassie simply smiled and said it would be a conflict of interest. We’re on friendly terms, but anything more she shies away from.”

  A guarded woman, then. From the way she had behaved around Gabriel when they talked, she had a sparkle in her eyes, but at the slightest push that sparkle turned to steel and she was a different person. Gabriel was curious about the change and liked that there was more emotion in a woman than just simple coolness or downright hysteria. There never seemed to be any in-between with a lot of women, so it was refreshing to see someone who wasn’t afraid to express herself.

  “I’m sure Percy can get through her defences.”

  “Just as long as you don’t go falling for her yourself.”

  “Eh?” Gabriel blinked. “Why would I fall for her?”

  “Because I saw the way your eyes lit up as you spoke about her. Your voice sounded...warmer.” Norman’s eyes glinted. “You find her attractive.”

  “I’m not going to deny that,” Gabriel shrugged, aware that his face was going red. “Who wouldn’t find her attractive?”

  “Granted, but you need to be careful, Gabe. If you’re setting this up for your brother and you end up falling for her yourself, things will be even messier for you.”

  Falling for Cassandra Seton himself? Gabriel wanted to laugh. That wasn’t going to happen. Many women had caught his eye, but none of them had caught his heart. And it wasn’t going to happen now. Cassandra was a beautiful woman, Gabriel wasn’t about to deny that. But he wasn’t going to end up giving in to any emotions. This was about business, pure and simple.

  It did give him a stab of guilt that he was playing on Cassandra’s feelings, but Gabriel pushed it aside. He wanted Cassandra distracted, and he wanted the Montgomery business. If it took getting rid of his competition to get on an even footing or become more successful, he was going to do it. People had done more awful things for much less.

  But falling for Cassandra Seton? That wasn’t going to happen. Gabriel was absolutely certain of that. She was just a means to an end.

  Chapter 9

  Gabriel’s stomach was growling as Allen placed his dinner in front of him. The aromas wafted past his nose and Gabriel took a deep breath. That did smell good. Allen’s cooking had been getting better in the last couple of months.

  “Thank you, Allen.” He looked up at his valet, “Are you not going to eat yourself?”

  “I’ll eat once I’ve dealt with everything in the kitchen.” Allen stepped back. “Will that be all right for you, Mr. Gabriel?”

  “I’m sure it will be.” Gabriel picked up his knife and fork and began to eat. He made an approving noise. “This chicken is delicious. I don’t think I’ve said before, but your cooking has really come along.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Allen practically beamed. “Mrs. Bailey’s taught me a few things over the last few months. She wanted to make sure both of us ate properly if she wasn’t able to feed us herself.”

  Gabriel grinned. His father’s cook was a sweet, kindly woman who had been in the family employ for nearly twenty years. She was a marvellous cook and Gabriel could never find anything wrong with her food. It was a shame he couldn’t bring her along as well.

  “Mrs. Bailey showed you, did she?” He grinned at Allen, “That’s all she showed you, was it?”

  “Are you trying to insinuate something, Mr. Gabriel?”

  “Well, she is a widow, and rather an attractive one,” Gabriel winked. “I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

  Allen swallowed, his face going red.

  “I don’t know what you mean, sir.”

  Gabriel bit back a laugh. He’d had his suspicions for a while that there was something going on with his valet and the cook. The servants gossiped a lot and their relationship seemed to be at the centre of most of the gossip.

  Mrs. Bailey simply rolled her eyes and flapped everyone away with her apron, while Allen simply went bright red and hurried off. Gabriel couldn’t blame him; Mrs. Bailey was a handsome, wholesome woman. Any man would be lucky to have her around.

  You prefer yours with a bit more fire and a bit younger. Someone who isn’t afraid to voice their opinion.

  Gabriel pushed that aside and focused on his meal. It was good, and he was hungry. Allen stood close by, occasionally moving back into the kitchen before returning. Gabriel watched him when his servant finally came back into the dining room with his own dinner and settled down across from his master. It was very unconventional to eat together, given their relationship, but seeing as Gabriel had been thrown out of his family and it was just the two of them, the two men had decided it didn’t really matter anymore.

  Gabriel had come to actually enjoy having conversations with his valet at times like this. He had come to know a lot more about Allen in the last few months than he had done in all the years Allen had worked for Derek. It was a surprising friendship that Gabriel was beginning to appreciate a little more.

  And this evening, Allen was a little more subdued. He often did a lot of the talking, but this evening he simply ate and munched through his food. Gabriel sipped his water.

  “Is something wrong, Allen?”