A Gentleman’s Vow

by Heather Boyd

  He laughed heartily at her observation, eyes twinkling with mirth. “I’m glad. Now, about these plants of yours. We’d better get busy saving them, yes?”

  “Yes, Giddy.” She drank in his smile. “Thank you for helping me.”

  Chapter 6

  Gideon sighed. “I see there is no escaping gossip.”

  The Duke of Stapleton wagged a finger at him and then sat himself down in his usual chair in the Stapleton library. “You should have told me about this yesterday. I wasn’t pleased to be the last to know. Napier took great pains to shove the hint in my face when I met him outside the church.”

  “You did have company yesterday. I could not speak freely,” Gideon protested, glancing about the familiar room for anyone lurking about. “And there is nothing to tell.”

  He’d not actually seen the duke alone since his return to the estate. Revealing his new acquaintance with Mrs. Beck wasn’t a pressing issue anyway.

  “Tell me more about Mrs. Beck,” the duke pressed. “She’d left the chapel before I heard about her.”

  “There’s not much to tell. Mrs. Beck is a widow, and she’s been living with the Napiers since April began.”

  “Poor woman,” Stapleton murmured. “And you’ve been seen walking out with her.”

  “Our paths have crossed several times in recent weeks,” Gideon corrected. “I’m not courting the woman.”

  “And yet everyone thinks that you are. You hosted a dinner the other night. She was there, wasn’t she? You’ve only held three dinners, to my memory.”

  “One for every decade of my adult life,” Gideon agreed with a laugh. “I thought it was time to brush off my hosting skills once more. I’m quite rusty; I quickly discovered.”

  The duke grinned. “Is she pretty?”

  “Who?”

  Stapleton raised one haughty brow, waiting on an answer. It was a look he used to intimidate many.

  Gideon, long used to his habit, laughed instead. “I suppose she is.”

  “It is past time you married, you know,” the duke suggested. “A wife would do you the world of good. So would children.”

  “That again,” he complained. “You know my feelings on the subject.”

  “Now don’t dismiss the notion out of hand again, sir.” The duke, rarely one for serious discussion, appeared affronted. “Were you not the one who decided I should marry again and played a hand in matching me with my Gillian?”

  Gideon grinned widely. “It seemed the best and most honorable solution, given the way you were mooning over her night and day.”

  The duke pulled a face. “I was not mooning. I was admiring with restraint,” he said with great indignation. “I would have gotten around to pursuing her eventually,” he grumbled.

  “After Jessica had children of her own, no doubt.” Curiosity about Jessica’s time away in London grew in him. She was not happy, and so very little had been said about Jessica’s first season or her suitors.

  The duke shrugged. “I’d like to see her settled with a family of her own, and children too.”

  “That would be best,” Gideon agreed, but the idea of Jessica moving away had always unsettled him. Jessica was special; he’d always believed that. She needed a good man as her husband. Someone who would look after her, protect her and the children they made together.

  As if summoned by his thoughts, he spotted Jessica standing just outside the library. She glared at him so angrily, he blinked in surprise.

  The duke swiveled around in his seat. “Ah, Jessica,” the duke called. “Was there something you needed?”

  “No.” She wet her lips, and then smiled so normally, he wondered why she hid her feelings from her father. “Can I come in?”

  The duke sighed. “For a little while but only if you help me tease Gideon.”

  She moved into the room and sat in a straight-backed chair between them, facing the fire. “Why would I do that?”

  “Because Mr. Whitfield may not remain a bachelor after all.”

  “Of course I will.” But Gideon shifted in his chair, uncomfortable that Jessica be involved in any discussion about Mrs. Beck. It was not proper to discuss his love life, or lack thereof, with her in the room. Considering the appeal of one woman over another was something he did not do around her.

  The duke rose to take his glass and refill it at the sideboard, and he took the opportunity to set the matter straight. “I’m not courting anyone,” he whispered.

  Jessica, a high color in her cheeks, shook her head. “But you are kissing someone,” she whispered back, her eyes accusing.

  His eyes widened, and he had no response to give. Had Jessica been spying on him? The cheek of the girl!

  Her eyes dropped, demure once more as her father returned. The subject of Mrs. Beck was thankfully dropped in favor of more amusing topics but the damage was done. Jessica did not believe him. She’d seen them and would not take his word at face value.

  “Are you interested in a visit to Rafferty’s tomorrow, sir?” The duke asked. “We thought to take the Garlands on a tour of the district.”

  Jessica cleared her throat. “I asked Mama if I might remain behind, but she said I must ask you for permission.”

  “You don’t want to come to Rafferty’s with us? But you loved trying your hand at fishing last year.”

  “I liked it but I was younger then, Papa,” she chided. “If I stay behind tomorrow, there will be more room in the carriage, and the boys will not have to share fishing poles.”

  “There could be fewer squabbles that way, too,” Gideon added, hoping to be helpful and supportive of Jessica’s wishes. “Unfortunately, I have other plans for tomorrow, too.”

  Children enjoyed fishing a great deal, and while Jessica had excelled at the sport, perhaps she had outgrown the desire to participate in rough pastimes.

  “That’s a shame.” Stapleton moved across the room and dropped a kiss to Jessica’s forehead. “I sometimes forget that you’re all grown up now.”

  “There is a lot of that going around,” she grumbled softly.

  Stapleton sat, looking at his daughter with surprise written all over his face. “Oh?”

  She looked at her father steadily for a long time. “Pretty soon, I won’t be the youngest anymore.”

  Stapleton sighed. “She told you?”

  Jessica looked at her father with a disappointed expression. “She didn’t have to. I can read the signs as well as any woman.”

  Gideon looked between them. “What is this?”

  The duke smiled slowly. “Apparently, I’m to be a father again. I hadn’t expected, not at our age, but…”

  Gideon burst to his feet and shook the duke’s hand vigorously. “My God! Congratulations, my friend. Congratulations indeed.”

  The duke seemed to be blushing though as he accepted Gideon’s congratulations. “It’s early days yet. Best to keep it quiet for now.”

  “Father, the household staff already know,” Jessica warned him. “They were plumping every pillow when Gillian came down this morning and offering to fetch her anything she needed. You should have told me yourself. Neither of you thought much of me.”

  The duke appeared suitably abashed. “Ah, sorry, pet. We thought, with your season and all, that it might be best to wait to share the news after you’d made your choice. We didn’t want to influence your decision.”

  Jessica stood suddenly. “A baby does change things. Gillian shouldn’t return to London, so we’re not going back this year.”

  The duke gaped, but Gideon understood instantly. Jessica thought more of Gillian’s comfort than her own ambitions for a husband. The trip back to London would be tiring for a pregnant woman and the rigors of the season an added strain. As far as he knew, Gillian had never had a child. Her first, at her age, might be a delicate time.

  He was so proud that Jessica’s first thought was for the comfort and welfare of the new mother.

  “We thought perhaps Fanny might consent to chaperone you for th
e rest of the season,” the duke suggested.

  Jessica’s expression grew outraged. “No! I’m not leaving Gillian. She’s not been well and might need my help to manage Stapleton later.”

  Her father appeared stunned. “Don’t you want to return to London?”

  “Yes, one day but not now. Not this year.” She glanced toward Gideon and away quickly. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you two gentlemen to do what you usually do at night.”

  “Good night, sweetheart,” the duke said as she swept out of the room.

  Jessica paused just outside the door and looked back at Gideon when he said good night, too. He knew that expression well. She wanted to talk to him in private. Tonight.

  When she turned in the direction of the long gallery, he guessed where he’d find her when he was free. She’d once waited for hours just to ask him to explain a joke that had gone completely over her head.

  “She’s upset,” the duke murmured.

  “But not about the baby,” Gideon noted, setting his drink aside.

  “No, not about that.” The duke frowned. “I always thought the next child I held might be hers.”

  Gideon tipped his head back against the chair, imagining Jessica holding her own babe. She would make a good mother. She was kind and sweet and playful. Her husband would be a lucky man.

  He glanced across at the duke. “You never said either way, but was there no one she favored in London?”

  “Not that we ever noticed. Truth be told, Jessica seemed disappointed in her season. I fear it was a mistake to bring her out.”

  “It wasn’t a mistake. When Jessica is ready for a husband, we’ll all know it.”

  The duke smiled. “Sometimes I forget how well you understand my daughter. You’re always the first to suggest patience and speak up on her behalf.”

  “Years of steering her away from trouble,” Gideon added.

  “You are the brother she should have had.”

  “Brother?” He snorted. “I softened the snubs her siblings caused. They were always too busy to include her, too important to play and answer her questions.”

  “But not you.”

  “I suppose not, but I don’t think of her as a sister,” he said, chuckling at the thought. He was an only child. Glad of it, too, since any siblings he might have had were spared the experience of his father’s harsh punishments. Despite the problems Stapleton’s offspring had caused, the duke had never harmed them. The Westfall children had experienced a gentler upbringing than Gideon had ever known was possible.

  The duke looked at him with an odd expression. “How do you think of her?”

  “A friend,” he was quick to clarify.

  The duke grunted. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  “Why?” But then he suddenly knew exactly what the duke was about to suggest.

  “With the duchess increasing, I want to stay close to my wife as much as I can. Jessica will need someone to watch over her when I’m busy elsewhere.”

  Gideon didn’t find the idea disagreeable. He’d been protecting her since she’d been old enough to crawl into fireplaces. “You can count on me to keep an eye on her.”

  The duke’s smile was immediate. “Thank you. Now if you would excuse me, I’d like to find out if my wife has managed to keep her dinner down tonight. I’ll return in a little while.”

  “Take your time.” As soon as the duke departed, Gideon jumped out of his chair and went in search of Jessica. He found her not in the long gallery, but outside it in the garden, staring up at the stars.

  “There you are,” he murmured quietly. “What are you doing out here alone?”

  “Did Father ask you to convince me to stay with Fanny in London? You can save your breath. I shan’t be going anywhere.”

  She’d been listening for a while then. Gideon was not unduly alarmed by that. Jessica had always liked to know what her father talked about. “We didn’t speak about the matter of your season again. But he wants me to keep an eye out for scoundrels who might take advantage of you while he stays close to Gillian.”

  She laughed softly. “All the scoundrels were left behind in London.”

  “Oh, there might be a few lurking about in the countryside still. You never know when they’ll make an appearance,” he teased. “Why else did you set me to dog Miss Hawthorne’s steps while you were away?”

  She turned slowly, her expression unreadable. “Are you one of them? A scoundrel.”

  “Me? Good God, no! Why would you ask such a thing?”

  “You lied to Papa. You are having an affair with that woman. Mrs. Beck.”

  Gideon reeled that she would be so blunt. It did not sound like Jessica was pleased that he might be courting, either. Jessica hadn’t much exposure to the romantic side of adult life, but she was his friend, and idealistic. She may have thought a single kiss meant he really was enthralled. “It is not an affair.”

  She shrugged.

  “It is not.”

  She put one hand on her hip and glared at him. “Then why did you kiss her?”

  “She kissed me, and I hope she will not do so again.”

  “I heard all men want women to kiss them.”

  “Some do, I suppose.” He raked his fingers through his hair, feeling uncomfortable with the topic. “It was unexpected. I hope to remain friends with her.”

  “Friends?”

  “Allies is perhaps a better term.” He sighed, knowing he must reveal a little about Mrs. Beck’s situation. “Do not spread this about, but she likes the peace of Quigley Hill and her boys like that there are few rules. She’s been here less than a month, and her brother-in-law has already suggested she’s a burden on his household and to consider marrying again.”

  “You feel sorry for her?”

  “She’s not had an easy life, or will not have, being entirely dependent on Mr. and Mrs. Napier’s dubious support.”

  Jessica frowned. “But you do admire her?”

  “Only enough to wish her an easier future. The school was my suggestion, a way she might be mistress of her own home again. I have been very clear about my views on marriage, so she cannot mistake my offer of assistance as romantic in nature.”

  Jessica’s frown cleared and she looked up at him. “Well, if you are not courting her, I would like to ask for your help, too.”

  “Of course, anything.”

  She wrung her hands. “I let Natalia believe that I had been kissed in London, and she will want to talk about it when she returns for luncheon tomorrow. Help me! I can’t very well describe something I’ve never experienced.”

  He almost laughed but when her words sank in, he sobered very quickly. Gentleman should have been lining up to capture her. Kiss her. He’d expected that. “Surely that cannot be true?”

  Her head dipped even more as she nodded.

  Oh, it was always bad when she dipped her head that low. “But you were courted?”

  “My dowry was,” she whispered, turning away.

  He grabbed her shoulders and turned her back to face him. He made her look up by slipping his finger under her chin and lifting it. “Jess?”

  “I’m so humiliated.”

  “I’m so sorry.” But Gideon’s temper rose. Trust those fortune-hunting noblemen to spoil her season. He was offended on her behalf. “You’ll have to lie to Natalia, or tell her the truth.”

  “You know I’m no good at lying and the truth is too horrible to repeat again.” She turned away, brushing at her cheeks. “I want you to kiss me so that I might save face. I cannot be the only young woman in the district who hasn’t been kissed! I’ve had a season in London, and I’m not going back this year. It’s expected that I’m more experienced than I am.”

  She lifted her big beautiful eyes to him, and his usually sane heart urged him to agree to her request. His mind, however, controlled his tongue. “No.”

  “Please, Giddy! I’d be forever in your debt. It’s either you or ask Charles Henderson.”

  �
��The hell you will!” He nearly shook her but made himself release her and calm down. “Your father would skin the Henderson boy alive if he touched one hair on your head, and then he’d lock you up in your room forever.”

  “So you do it. He wouldn’t hurt you. Or perhaps you could just agree to let me kiss you.” She sighed softly. “I’d much rather make a fool of myself with you than anyone else. No one needs to know.”

  “I’ll know.” But dear God, he was in trouble, judging by the look of determination in her eyes. He’d seen that expression on her face too many times to easily dismiss her request. It wasn’t a whim, and she wouldn’t forget. She might ask someone else to do it the moment his back was turned too. “This is a bad idea.”

  “No, it is not. I know you wouldn’t want to trick me into marrying you if we did. You’ve made your feelings about that very clear.”

  He considered his options. He should refuse…but to have her kissed by a local man, someone course who might force her to wed them, wasn’t the least bit palatable.

  Or Gideon could kiss her his way, which could never lead to marriage.

  He glanced around to make sure they were still alone and then held out his hand, palm up. “Remove your glove.”

  “What?”

  “Just do it, or I’ll leave you right now.”

  “But…”

  There was an adorable crease between her brows, and he hardened his heart against doing what she’d really asked for. When her hand was bare, he gently cupped the back of it with his, holding hers palm up. “Close your eyes.”

  She did, and then her chin lifted, and her pink lips pouted toward him.

  Ignoring her mouth, Gideon worked his own glove from his fingers with his teeth and shoved it in his pocket. He looked down at Jessica’s hand laying so perfectly still in his grip. She had delicate fingers; pale, almost translucent skin. She was soft in all the ways a woman born to wealth should be. Jessica had never known a day of hardship in her life, and he was determined to keep it that way.