Page 27 of Her Tempting Traitor
The lad had shrugged mulishly, frowning at the animal who now nudged Gabby’s hand, demanding more pets, but she ignored the llama.
Cassian forced himself to still, tolisten.
Treat it as a mission. A mission to learn what these two actually think of ye.
“Gus?” she prompted.
“He…” The lad shook his head and looked away. “He wants me to move away from here. He wants to build a house for just the two of us. Nae animals.”
“Ah,” Gabby murmured, turning back to the llama. “And you are, obviously, quite happy here. Can you guess why your father has made that choice? Because I am certain it is not because he wants you to be miserable.”
The lad’s slim shoulders hunched again. “I think…he doesn’t belong here. He doesn’twantto belong. Inverlochy is Uncle Dickie’s, and Aunt Zilphia’s, and my father doesn’t have a place like that. So he wants to build a place.”
“But you think your place is here, hmm?” Gabby stroked the llama. “Do you have a nickname for him?”
“He’s just Jerry.”
Her laughter returned. “No, not the llama; I meant your father. Do you have something special you call him?”
“Like what?”
She didn’t look at Cassian’s son as she hummed. “He calls you Gus. Do you call himDa?”
No, he doesnae.
Swallowing, Cassian reached out to flatten his palm against the pinewood wall, not realizing until that moment how desperately he wished to hear Gus call him that.
Gabby propped her elbow on the top rail and turned to study the lad. “You know, Hunter and I are twins.”
“You are?”
She nodded. “Our father sent us off to school when we were very young, and when he died, our uncle took us in, like your Uncle Dickie did for you. When he married Aunt Sophia, she taught us how to become a family.”
Was this the uncle Hunter had mentioned earlier? Frowning, Cassian peered at her, looking for a hint.
Gus wasn’t looking at her, very deliberately. “Did your father send you away because he didn’t want you?”
That’s what he had accused Cassian of—not loving him. Cassian found himself holding his breath again.
Gabby, however, took her time answering. She stared up at the ceiling, clearly deliberating her words, until the llamaheadbutted her. With a chuckle, she began to scratch again.
“My father…he was not the sort of person who wanted—or was supposed to be—a father. I have no memories of him. He was not married to our mother, you see, and when she gave us up, our father did not know what to do with us.”
She and her veterinarian brother wereillegitimate? How had Hunter acquired such excellent schooling? How had she learned the speech and language and bearing of a lady?
Well, why no’?Yecan sound like a perfect gentleman,after all.
Aye, well, Cassian could sound like anyone he needed to. It was all part of the job.
Gus had understood her confession, apparently. His eyes lit up, and the words came tumbling out in perhaps the longest speech Cassian had ever heard him make. “You’re a bastard too? My father is a bastard—his father was the Earl of Litewood, I heard Uncle Dickie and Aunt Zilphia talking about it. His mama was a vicar’s daughter and he says he was raised by his grandfather who was very strict. My uncle and aunt say they are very proud of the man my father has become, in spite of his childhood.”
Cassian wasn’t comfortable with his son sharing the secrets of his past, but Gabby didn’t react. If anything, she just nodded as she continued to scratch the animal. “We both had opportunities granted to us by powerful men.” She glanced at the lad. “My Uncle Rourke and Aunt Sophia raised Hunter and me before they had their own children. They were the ones to recognize how much I love animals. My uncle was the one to ensure I had the opportunity to study the veterinary sciences.”
“Alongside your brother?” Gus asked. When Gabby hummed distractedly, he pressed, “You wanted to be a veterinarian, like Hunter?”
To Cassian’s surprise, Gabby’s response was a wry chuckle. She smiled down at Gus. “I am smarter, though.”
It wasn’t a denial. Or an agreement. And there was no pride there; just a calm certainty.
