by Jen Turano
“I would have to believe you’re here for the same reason I’m here—Clementine.”
“What does Clementine have to do with anything?”
He took a step closer to Temperance, a risky move if there ever was one because her green eyes had begun flashing. “Forgive me. I’ve seemingly jumped to the wrong conclusion regarding why you’re in Chicago. And while I know I should broach the subject of your cousin somewhat delicately, to save time, I’ll simply be direct and spit it out.” He drew in a breath and quickly released it. “Clementine’s been abducted, hence the reason behind my presence in Chicago. I’ve been set the task of negotiating her release.”
Temperance’s mouth made an O of surprise. She blinked, blinked again, and then she did the very last thing he’d been expecting—she dissolved into laughter.
It wasn’t a nervous laugh, the type a person releases when faced with unpleasant news, but more on the lines of a laugh that was filled with genuine mirth, which made no sense at all given the troubling news he’d just delivered.
A full minute later, Temperance swiped a hand over her watering eyes, gave a last hiccup of amusement, then beamed a grin his way.
“Oh, but this is marvelous, and certainly answers a myriad of questions I wasn’t afforded the courtesy of having answered by the inept members of the criminal persuasion I mentioned before.”
Gilbert frowned. “I don’t understand how disclosing the concerning fact that your cousin has been abducted can possibly be a source of amusement for you. I also don’t understand how learning she’s been snatched could possibly answer any questions you may have since you were evidently not aware of her abduction in the first place.”
Waving that aside, Temperance took him by the arm and propelled him directly toward the bakery, seemingly not bothered that his traveling bag was wedged in between them and kept bumping into her with every step they took. “Buy me a pastry, or three, and after I’ve eaten, I’ll be much more capable of trying to make sense of what has now turned into a rather unusual situation.”
Gilbert stopped walking. “Did you not catch the part of my explanation where I stated that your cousin has been abducted? I don’t feel as if this is exactly the moment to be enjoying pastries. We need to get ourselves back to Palmer House. I’m currently waiting to receive further instructions at the hotel, which will hopefully allow me to proceed quickly with the nasty business of securing your cousin’s release from her dastardly abductors.”
Increasing her grip on his arm, Temperance prodded him into motion again, but not in the direction of Palmer House. Instead she practically shoved him toward the bakery, emitting what sounded like a grunt in the process.
“And we’ll return to the Palmer House as soon as I’ve had something to eat. That’ll allow me to puzzle the situation out more sufficiently because you must remember how I think best when I’m not famished. It’ll also allow me to think while not attracting too much attention from the fashionable set roaming around the Palmer House lobby.” She brushed aside a strand of hair that was blowing in front of her face. “As you pointed out, I’m not in what anyone might consider a well-groomed state, which will certainly draw unwanted notice from the guests at the Palmer House, as well as make it difficult for me to concentrate on the curious business at hand.”
“But your cousin must even now be suffering from extreme anxiety due to her abduction. By us making a detour so you can enjoy pastries, we’re prolonging that sense of anxiety.”
Temperance stopped walking. “The only anxiety I fear dear Clementine might be experiencing is due to learning someone wanted to abduct her. If I’m right about what has happened, and believe me, I do think I am after what you’ve just disclosed, Clementine is still in New York, probably locked behind closed doors with an entire brigade of guards keeping watch over her until more is learned about what was clearly a bumbled attempt to snatch her out of New York and hold her for ransom.”
“I’m afraid you have me at a complete disadvantage.”
“I’m not surprised, but again, I’m about to faint straightaway from hunger. Further explanations will need to wait until after I’ve eaten because I fear I will not do justice to what amounts to nothing less than a riveting tale of abduction, coffins, and inept criminals.”
As they reached the front door of the bakery, Temperance waited for him to get the door for her, then breezed past him, turning to grab his arm again before she pulled him directly up to a glass counter filled with scrumptious-looking pastries. Turning, she caught his gaze, her eyes now sparkling with delight.
“Shall I order a variety for us and we’ll share, just like we used to do when our parents would take us on holiday to Sarasota Springs?”
Never able to resist Temperance when she was smiling and in a pleasant frame of mind, Gilbert nodded. Although now that he thought about it, he’d never been able to resist her even when she’d been in a mischievous and certain-to-get-them-in-trouble frame of mind either. He then watched as Temperance went about the business of choosing the perfect pastries.
Less than five minutes later, and seated at a small table tucked into the back of the bakery, his traveling bag and satchel stashed underneath that table, Gilbert shook his head as Temperance devoured pastry after pastry, quite as if she’d missed every meal for a week.
“You’re going to make yourself sick,” he finally said when she reached for a pastry stuffed with cherries. She used a knife to cut off a piece of it, then promptly stuck that piece into her mouth.
Swallowing, she shook her head. “You’re forgetting that I’ve always had an unusual ability of consuming vast quantities of food without having that consumption affect my figure.” She smiled. “My mother was always concerned that I would one day lose that ability and thus my slenderness, but that’s yet to happen so I’m perfectly willing to enjoy food to its fullest, at least until the day comes when I begin to grow overly plump. Although, because I have experienced times when food has not been available as often as I’d like, I’m not certain plumpness will be a good enough incentive to encourage me to abandon my love of a great dish.”
Gilbert leaned back in his chair. “When were you deprived of food?”
Wiping her lips with a linen napkin, Temperance shrugged. “That’s of little consequence right now, Gilbert, especially when we have more delicious topics to delve into.”
“Do not say you’re still hungry and would like me to fetch you more pastries.”
“I’m saving room for the dinner you’re certain to invite me to join you in later, so no, I’m not trying to angle for additional pastries. The deliciousness I’m referring to has to do with a matter of intrigue I’ve been involved in—one that centered around an abduction, although not Clementine’s, a stint in a coffin, and two peculiar members of the criminal class who go by the names of Mercy and Eugene.”
With his lips curving over that outlandish, obviously overdramatic, statement, Gilbert settled back in the chair. Popping one of the few pieces of pastry left into his mouth, he considered Temperance as he savored his treat. Swallowing, and then taking a sip of the milk she’d insisted he purchase along with the pastries, he shook his head. “I always wondered what would come of your parents encouraging that vivid imagination of yours, but a stint in a coffin?”
“It was apparently the only solution Eugene could come up with after he doused me too liberally with a sleeping potion and I became senseless for hours.”
Something uncomfortable settled in the pit of Gilbert’s stomach. “Someone doused you with a sleeping potion?”
Temperance nodded. “I’d started putting up a fuss, you see, after I was snatched straight off the sidewalk as I was making my way to Miss Snook’s School for the Education of the Feminine Mind.”
“Why would you have been going to a school that I’ve heard caters to working women?”
“I think you’re allowing yourself to become distracted with mundane details, Gilbert. In case you didn’t hear me, I just told you I
was abducted and drugged. Nevertheless, because I know it’s difficult for you to move forward in conversation when something had captured your interest, I teach classes in painting, sculpture, and music at Miss Snook’s school.”
“Since when?”
“Since Wayne Flowerdew decided I’d overstayed my welcome at his house and encouraged me to leave that house the day after Permilia Griswold and Asher Rutherford’s engagement celebration back in June.”
“While I’m sure I have no idea how you decided Wayne Flowerdew, a gentleman I’ve found to be quite pleasant, wanted you out of his house, allow us to first address the idea of you seeking out employment. Why would you have done that?”
Temperance’s shoulders sagged just the tiniest bit. “How is it possible you haven’t heard about the abysmal state of my finances?”
“Your finances are in an abysmal state?”
“I’m poor as a church mouse.”
“Since when?”
“Since the family fortune was lost due to a bad investment, a sad state I learned about not long after hearing that my parents were dead.”
He narrowed his eyes. “And why didn’t you notify me about your lack of finances the second you learned such distressing news?”
Temperance shrugged. “Considering you and I had not been in close contact with each other while I was on my grand tour, I had no idea where I’d find you. The last letter I’d received from you was months before my parents died, and at that time you’d been traveling through India, pursuing new business opportunities.”
“You could have sent word to my mother.”
“I do not have your mother’s current address, nor have I heard from her since before my parents died. Besides, my being rendered penniless is hardly the type of news one wants to impart in a letter.”
Gilbert frowned. “My parents and I were under the impression you’d elected to remain in Europe after your parents died. Although I did conclude you’d apparently grown weary of Europe, which I assumed was the reason behind you returning to New York and taking up residence with your cousins.”
“If I’d have known what was waiting for me back in the states, I may very well have stayed in Europe. But after I traveled from Paris to New York, which is where I learned I’d been rendered a pauper, I didn’t have the funds available to return.”
“You could have mentioned your unfortunate change in financial circumstance when we finally reunited this past June.”
Temperance waved that aside. “An engagement celebration was hardly the place to burden you with the woes of my life.”
“I’ve always thought of you as the little sister I never had, albeit a frequently absent sister. As such, I also expected we’d share the burdens of our lives with each other.”
“I didn’t want you to pity me.”
Gilbert reached over the table and took hold of Temperance’s hand. “You always were incredibly proud, so I can’t say I’m surprised by your reasoning. May I dare hope you found life with your Flowerdew relatives somewhat pleasant?”
“You obviously don’t have the true measure of my Flowerdew relatives because pleasant isn’t a word I’d ever associate with them.”
Gilbert rubbed his finger over the top of her hand. “Wayne Flowerdew lent me the impression he’s very fond of you. He made a point of proclaiming how much he missed you in Newport this summer season after he and his family repaired there.”
“I was not invited to travel to Newport with them, but was, instead, told to find another place to live while they were gone for the summer.”
“Surely you’re mistaken about that.”
Temperance withdrew her hand from his and looked a touch grumpy. “I’m not mistaken, and truth be told, it’s entirely your fault I was told to depart from the Flowerdew house with so little notice in the first place.”
“My fault?”
“Indeed.”
Chapter
Four
“I don’t believe the word indeed sufficiently explains how I’m at fault for your getting cast out of the Flowerdew residence,” Gilbert said, leaning back in his chair.
The edges of Temperance’s lips curved. “You might have a point, but further explanation will need to wait until we’re back on our way to the Palmer House. We have an abduction to figure out, and now that I’m sufficiently fed, I can lend my full attention to that disturbing situation.”
“I’m reluctant to admit this, but I almost completely forgot about the abduction, ransom, and why I’m in Chicago in the first place,” Gilbert said, rising from his chair to move next to Temperance. After helping her to her feet, he bent over, slung the strap to his satchel over his shoulder, picked up his leather traveling bag, straightened, and grinned. “I’ve also apparently forgotten that you and I tend to get distracted quite easily from matters once we get sidetracked by other riveting subjects, such as lost fortunes and evictions from residences that I’m evidently to blame for.”
Heading for the door, Temperance took Gilbert’s offered arm and moved through the bakery, stepping outside and onto the sidewalk. Turning in the direction of the Palmer House, she glanced to Gilbert and found him watching her expectantly.
“You really don’t have the least little idea of why you’re responsible for my being tossed out of the Flowerdew home, do you?” she asked.
“Will you get annoyed with me again if I admit I’ve been wondering whether you were asked to leave because of your questionable temperament?”
“I’ve never had a questionable temperament, although I will own up to the idea I was coddled and cossetted before my parents died.”
“Spoiled as well.”
She refused a smile. “Well, quite, but after I lost my parents, I adopted a more reserved nature, one that served me admirably as I took on the role of unwanted poor relation.”
“As I mentioned before, Wayne Flowerdew never lent me the impression he was anything other than fond of you.”
“Because it would not serve his agenda if he allowed you to believe anything other than that.”
“His agenda?”
Temperance stopped walking. “Do not tell me that you have yet to discern that Wayne desires for you to become his son-in-law, while Clementine is determined to become Mrs. Gilbert Cavendish.”
“Given that my mother drilled caution in me about young ladies and their schemes, as well as their matchmaking relatives from the time I could barely walk, of course I know Wayne, along with Clementine, are more than willing to have me set a matrimonial eye Clementine’s way.”
Temperance sighed. “Since you accepted Wayne’s invitation to spend time with them at their rented cottage in Newport, should I assume that you’re actually thinking about Clementine in a somewhat permanent and romantic way?”
“Perhaps I should have stuffed you with more pastries since you’re still not thinking clearly.”
Temperance considered that for all of a second. “If you’re not interested in forming a romantic alliance with Clementine, why in the world would you have accepted Wayne’s invitation to join them in Newport?”
“I thought you’d be there. We’d barely had any time at all at Asher and Permilia’s ball to catch up with each other. Because of that, when Wayne extended me an invitation to join him in Newport, I decided that would provide me with a most relaxing atmosphere to hear all about the adventures you enjoyed during the years we’d been apart.” He shook his head. “I was most disappointed after I arrived at Wayne’s cottage to learn that you’d decided to summer in Florida. I was also completely taken aback to discover you’d made that decision because of a certain young gentleman Wayne said had captured your heart—a gentleman you neglected to mention to me when we were first reunited.”
Temperance felt her mouth drop open. “You were not told that.”
Gilbert quirked a brow. “Should I assume there’s no young gentleman you’ve set your sights on down in Florida?”
“Since I’m hardly young, being almost twenty-five,
I doubt I’d set my sights on a young gentleman in the first place. But because I’ve been a little occupied these past few years with attending to Clementine’s every demand, I haven’t exactly had time to get a gentleman in my sights, let alone pursue one.”
“Well, good,” Gilbert surprised her by saying.
“How is it good that I’ve not had time to form an alliance with a gentleman?”
“I always assumed I would be part of the process of you selecting a beau. Frankly, I was a little disappointed when Wayne mentioned this apparently imaginary gentleman because I hadn’t been given the opportunity to share my opinion of the man with you, or . . . hire a team of Pinkerton detectives to investigate him.”
“When and if I do meet an interesting gentleman, you will not hire the Pinkertons to investigate him. However, the very idea Wayne went to such lengths to lie to you about where I was this summer and what I was doing explains exactly why I was told to remove myself from their house.”
“I might need a little more to go on than that.”
“Clementine and Wayne evidently concluded I was going to stand in the way of what they wanted—that being you.”
“I made it more than clear, especially to Wayne, that I was not in the market for a wife, even though, being the gracious gentleman my mother raised me to be, I did point out how delightful I found Clementine, even if she wasn’t for me.” He started walking again. “In fact, when I stopped by the Flowerdew residence just a few days ago, looking to see if you’d returned from Florida, I made it a point to reiterate my thoughts about marriage after Wayne kept pointing out all of Clementine’s many attributes, many of which I’m certain are somewhat debatable.” He smiled. “He was so determined about the matter that I fear I may have brought out the largest weapon I have at my disposal.”
Temperance returned the smile. “You brought out your mother.”
“Guilty as charged. But after I explained to Wayne that my mother is vastly opposed to me forming an alliance with a member of society, and Clementine is certainly a member of that illustrious club, he seemed to reconcile himself to the idea that I was not going to be joining his family. We spent the rest of our time discussing my business ventures and what plans my stepfather and I have for growing our exportation prospects.”