Caught by Surprise

by Jen Turano

  Having no choice but to trail after Harrison if he wanted to continue with their conversation, although he really thought one of his best friends should be a little more sympathetic to his plight, Gilbert nudged Blaze forward. “She’s deliberately ignoring the rules of decorum by refusing to marry me. They’re called rules for a reason, and as such, she certainly shouldn’t be treating them so willy-nilly.”

  “You just told me Temperance has agreed to continue on with allowing everyone to believe the two of you are engaged. She’s simply not agreeable to actually marrying you in the end.”

  “Society will not forget about this farce of an engagement,” Gilbert argued. “Why, I heard it from Tobias, a man I’ve recently hired on as my valet, that talk is already swirling about town regarding my engagement, and the social season hasn’t even begun yet.” He blew out a breath. “I shudder to think how much that talk will increase once all of society gathers at their nightly frivolities and ladies vie with each other to divulge the latest intrigues.”

  “How did your new valet hear about the talk swirling around the city?”

  “You’re losing focus, Harrison. We’re talking about Temperance and her refusal to take our engagement seriously.”

  “Yes, but aren’t you curious as to how Tobias came to hear of the gossip surrounding you?”

  Gilbert rolled his eyes, then ducked his head when he noticed a low-hanging branch that he’d almost run into, an oversight he would have never experienced if his thoughts weren’t being distracted by Temperance. “Tobias is a man with many talents, Harrison, one of them being the ability to fade into the background in any situation. That allows him to eavesdrop on the most delicate of conversations, a talent he apparently puts to use often.”

  “Don’t tell me you’ve begun hiring men of questionable natures, because that’ll find you dead in your bed some night for certain.”

  “Tobias doesn’t have a questionable nature,” Gilbert returned. “He simply used to be employed as an underbutler to my brother, but managed to annoy my brother’s wife, thus finding himself without employment in England. He arrived on my doorstep a month or so ago, and because I gave him a position on the spot, he’s now determined to repay me by going above and beyond the role of valet and putting his talent for eavesdropping to good use.”

  “Isn’t the role of valet a step down for a man who was once an underbutler to an earl?”

  “Since I already employ a butler and an underbutler, I couldn’t very well give those gentlemen the boot in order to give Tobias those particular positions. But, again, we’re becoming completely distracted from the issue at hand—that issue, if you’ve forgotten, being how I’m supposed to convince Temperance she wants nothing more than to marry me.”

  “I don’t think, because of her adamant refusal of your offer, that Temperance wants to marry you,” Harrison pointed out.

  “Well, quite, but you experienced reluctance from Gertrude at first. I thought, mistakenly so it now seems, that you’d be able to offer me invaluable advice that would have Temperance changing her mind.”

  “The only reason Gertrude changed her mind was because she came to the realization I was the love of her life and she didn’t want to live that life without me.” Harrison pulled Rupert to a stop again. “Do you think you could possibly be the love of Temperance’s life?”

  “Do you think she’d continue refusing my offer of marriage if I was?”

  Harrison grinned. “An excellent point, but tell me this. Is Temperance the love of your life?”

  “I’m not a gentleman inclined to embrace those particular emotions.”

  Harrison’s grin slid straight off his face. “Then that’s the problem right there. Temperance is what I would consider a whimsical lady, prone to dreams of a world that’s filled with, well, I’m not really sure, but I imagine that adorable puppies, fey creatures, and plenty of sweet cakes inhabit her dreams on a frequent basis. What you need to understand is that a lady prone to whimsy expects a gentleman to ply her with romantic phrases and gestures, so if you truly want to bring her around to your way of thinking, you’re going to have to change your unromantic ways.”

  “You think she’d change her mind about marrying me if I got her a puppy?”

  “How did you get that solution out of what I just said?”

  “Because I can’t very well get her some fey creatures since I’d have a difficult time of it trying to run some of those down, even if I knew exactly what type of creatures they might be. As for the cake, well, that seems too easy to obtain.”

  For a long moment, Harrison simply looked at Gilbert, then he gave a sad shake of his head and urged his horse forward again, this time at a bit of a gallop.

  “I suppose we should go after him, Blaze,” Gilbert said, and with a toss of his head, Blaze was lurching into motion, catching up to Harrison a few minutes later, but only because Harrison had pulled his horse to a stop again.

  “I do wish you’d remember that Blaze isn’t as young as he used to be and gets his feelings hurt when he’s shown up time and time again by Rupert,” Gilbert said, pulling up alongside his friend. “And, add in the fact that I didn’t prepare Blaze in advance for this jaunt to the park, only deciding to join you here after my appointment with a Mr. Ashwell was unexpectedly canceled today, he’s more sluggish than ever.” He gave his horse a pat, brushing aside a mane that was tangled more often than not because Blaze put up a fuss if anyone took longer than five minutes grooming him. “This poor old boy was eating some tasty oats when I went to get him saddled from the livery and refused to allow the groom to put a saddle on him until I promised him the treat of a few apples after our ride.”

  Harrison cocked a brow. “And you truly believe that Blaze understood that promise, and that he didn’t simply give in because he was leery of the groom who was probably glaring back at him in annoyance, a direct result of having to hold a heavy saddle in his arms until Blaze turned cooperative?”

  “I didn’t consider that scenario.”

  “Well, you should have, but tell me this—why do you continuously choose to ride Blaze during our rides in Central Park when I know you have younger horses at your disposal?”

  Gilbert gave Blaze another pat. “He’s always been my favorite, more friend than means of transportation, and I wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings by abandoning him to some obscure pasture simply because he’s old.”

  Tilting his head, Harrison considered Gilbert. “That’s actually rather encouraging to learn about you, especially with you recently claiming to be a gentleman in possession of limited emotional capacities.”

  “I never said I had limited emotional capacities.”

  “You claimed to not embrace the notion of love, yet you clearly love your horse, which means there’s hope for you yet.”

  Gilbert’s brows drew together. “If this is your idea of extending me sound gentlemanly advice, you’re not very good at it.”

  “You don’t want advice,” Harrison countered. “You want me to agree with you that Temperance is being unreasonable. But the more you say about the matter, the more I’m convinced she has the right measure of things and that the two of you might not be meant to spend the rest of your lives together.”

  “She’s always been a very dear friend to me.”

  “Do tell me you haven’t been bringing that up often as a way to convince her to marry you, have you?”

  “Why wouldn’t I bring that up? It’s the most compelling argument I have.”

  Steering Rupert off the gravel path, Harrison stopped underneath a tree that was beginning to turn a vibrant red. He swung out of the saddle, waited for Gilbert to join him, then together, they moved to the large trunk of the tree, both leaning their backs against it as the wind stirred fallen leaves around them.

  “Because you seem to feel I’m faltering in giving you solid advice,” Harrison said, pulling his attention away from leaves that were drifting to the ground. “Why don’t we begin again, and this
time, so I can better advise you, why don’t we start with you explaining why you’re so determined to marry her.”

  “I would think that’s obvious. We broke almost every rule there is regarding proprieties, and because of that, we have no choice but to get married.”

  Harrison crossed his arms over his chest. “You do realize you have this very concerning habit of adhering to rules, keeping schedules, and generally living your life as if there’s a list that needs to be followed, one where your hand might get slapped if you stray from it, don’t you?”

  Not knowing if he should be insulted or complimented, Gilbert frowned. “Adhering to rules allows me to avoid the chaos that can occur when rules are broken and lists aren’t made.” He held up his hand when Harrison opened his mouth. “And because I know your next question will be to inquire whether I’ve always been a stickler for rules, yes, although I do believe my preference for living a structured life solidified during my time at the Phillips Academy, a preparatory school I enjoyed attending. They demanded their students abide by the strictest of rules, and I’ve clung to that lesson well over the years.”

  “Perhaps you should consider abandoning that stance,” Harrison said. “It doesn’t seem to be aiding your case with Temperance, what with her being a lady who doesn’t seem to enjoy the idea of too many rules and all.”

  “Permilia Griswold is a lady who doesn’t enjoy rules either, and yet she and our friend, Asher, are soon to be wed. He, as you very well know, is quite like me in that he’s a most practical sort, as well as a gentleman who appreciates embracing a life of structure.”

  Harrison’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “Something he apparently learned at that school you both attended. However, I’m not certain if you’re aware of this or not, but Asher decided he was turning rather boring, what with his preference for keeping to a tight schedule, and asked me to assist him in changing his attitude, wanting to become a man who could enjoy nails for breakfast and bullets for lunch.”

  “You encouraged Asher to eat nails for breakfast?”

  Harrison grinned. “Well, no, but my point is that Asher, realizing he was falling in love with Permilia, but also realizing his dull attitude might not encourage her to return his affections, knew he needed to make a few changes in his life.”

  “I’ve never considered having to change the way I approach life to secure a wife. I certainly don’t think I need to change with Temperance since she knows everything about me, and yet has never led me to believe she finds me lacking.”

  “But she doesn’t want to marry you, so there’s obviously something holding her back from accepting your proposal. I believe that something is your lack of having even a single ounce of romance lurking in that too-sensible body of yours. That, my friend, needs to change if you want to claim her as your wife.”

  “Not likely.”

  “Then you need to accept defeat, embrace the idea Temperance has of allowing your faux engagement to simply run its course, and hope everyone will forget about it after a few months.” Harrison smiled. “Considering that even I’ve heard talk about you being eyed by numerous young society ladies, I have to believe society will be more than open to a broken engagement and will forgive you as long as you throw yourself into the midst of their societal world.”

  “I can’t break off my engagement to Temperance. She’ll be seen as a scorned woman.”

  “I wasn’t suggesting you allow society to think you ended the engagement. Temperance can do that, and save her reputation by . . . well, I’m not sure how that works, but she seems to be a clever lady. I bet with the help of Gertrude and Permilia, she’ll devise a plan that will see both of you unengaged and unscathed in the process.”

  The thought of not being engaged, even though he didn’t feel legitimately engaged in the first place, left Gilbert rather disheartened.

  At some point, he’d started to enjoy the thought of being married to Temperance, knowing that even though she was his opposite in every sense of the word, life with her by his side would never be boring. There would undoubtedly be moments when their opposite ways might cause a touch of friction, but . . .

  A blast of what sounded exactly like a gunshot rang out right as the bark on the tree he and Harrison were standing under exploded.

  Dropping to the ground, Gilbert yanked the pistol he often carried with him when he was in the city from its holster, moving backward across the ground to find some cover behind the tree.

  “Awfully bold of someone to try to rob us in broad daylight,” Harrison said, a gun already in his hand as he joined Gilbert.

  “One would have thought they’d demand our money first before shooting at us.”

  “Excellent point, which means it’s probably not a robber.”

  “Most likely it’s an associate of yours from the docks, one you’ve apparently annoyed.”

  Harrison released a snort. “You’re obviously confusing me with someone else. I don’t annoy people in general, especially associates.”

  “I distinctly recall that you were ambushed in this very park only a few months back, lending credence to the idea our attacker is more likely after you than me.”

  Harrison crawled a few inches to the right. “Asher was the intended victim that time, not me, and that has absolutely nothing to do with the situation we’re currently in, although . . .”

  Another shot rang out, and Blaze, not being an adventurous horse, nor caring for loud noises, let out a whinny right before he galloped away, moving faster than Gilbert had seen him move in years.

  “So much for making an escape on horseback,” he muttered right as he caught sight of a man darting between the trees. “See him?”

  “There’s another one five feet to the left,” Harrison said and with a nod between them, they rolled from their hiding spots and began shooting.

  Howls of pain implied at least one of their bullets had met its mark. Before they could investigate further, though, the sound of horses racing away suggested the shooters were already on the move, which seemed to also suggest that if a bullet had met its mark, it hadn’t done much harm.

  A second later, Harrison was astride Rupert and in pursuit, leaving Gilbert behind since Blaze was nowhere to be seen.

  Keeping his pistol at the ready, he scanned the surrounding area, finding not a single threat left. He did, however, discover a shrub that was rustling somewhat suspiciously, and one that had what looked to be the hindquarters of a horse poking out of it. Walking toward the shrub, he shook his head when he found Blaze hiding behind it, trembling like mad from head to hoof.

  “Sorry about this, old boy,” he murmured, smoothing a hand down Blaze’s side, which did absolutely nothing to alleviate the trembling. A second later, after the distinctive sound of another gunshot sounded in the distance, Blaze’s trembling increased, as did Gilbert’s concern for Harrison.

  Telling Blaze he’d be back directly, not that he was afraid Blaze was going to wander off since he’d moved further into the safety of the shrub, Gilbert turned in the direction of the gunshot and broke into a run, traveling no more than twenty feet before Harrison rode into view.

  “They got away?” he called as Harrison slowed Rupert to a walk.

  “One of the men fired off a shot at me right on the main path, one that was filled with ladies taking their afternoon stroll. I stopped the chase because I didn’t want any of those ladies to suffer an unintentional gunshot wound from criminals who clearly were desperate to get away.”

  Harrison pulled Rupert to a stop a foot from Gilbert. “I’m afraid I didn’t get a good look at either shooter, although if I were to hazard a guess, I’d say they were men for hire.”

  “Who’d want to hire someone to shoot you?”

  Harrison rolled his eyes. “I don’t believe I was their intended target.”

  “Well I can’t think of a single person who’d want to see me laid low.”

  “And while I would normally agree that you’re not exactly the type to draw s
omeone’s ire, I can think of three people, all of whom have the last name of Flowerdew, who are unquestionably put out with you because you laid waste to their plans.”

  Gilbert nodded. “Undoubtedly true, but I don’t believe Wayne, Fanny, or Clementine would resort to attempted murder. That seems a bit of an overreaction to what is really no more than a case of disappointment, although I wouldn’t put it past them to begin spreading nasty rumors about me.”

  Harrison swung down from Rupert. “I didn’t say I thought it was set in stone that the Flowerdews were behind our recent ambush. I was simply pointing out that they do seem to be furious with you, and . . . they were the first people to spring to mind. Add in the pesky notion you neglected to accept their invitation to call on them earlier this morning to discuss the matter of you choosing Temperance over their fair Clementine, and I’m relatively certain they’re beyond miffed by what they must see as an unforgivable slight.”

  “They should be counting their lucky stars that Temperance and I didn’t have them arrested for kidnapping and fraud. As for them being miffed about me not calling on them to discuss matters further, I was amazed at their audacity for even issuing me such a ridiculous invitation in the first place.”

  Harrison gave Rupert a pat before returning his attention to Gilbert. “While it does seem unlikely the Flowerdews were responsible for our ambush, it’s clear someone wishes to do one of us harm, unless we just experienced a case of mistaken identity. Because we are unable to prove that at the moment, I think we’ll need to adopt a sense of caution for the time being, along with warning those nearest and dearest to us that dangerous times might very well have come to the city again.”

  A sense of dread began trickling through him. “A most excellent suggestion, which means I need to get to Temperance as quickly as possible because danger does seem to be dogging her steps these days.”

  Chapter

  Ten

  Standing on her tiptoes, Temperance stretched over the scaffolding that allowed her to reach the ceiling in the third-floor ballroom, nailing a hook into the crease that connected the wall with the ceiling. She practically jumped out of her skin, though, when someone below her let out a scream.