Page 76 of The Baron Takes a Bet
“Of course,” she said, gesturing him in.
Once he had entered, she closed the door behind them, ignoring the rising giddiness she felt in his company. It was silly,she knew, to be so infatuated with someone. Perhaps she was embarrassed to admit it, but her feelings for Gavin continued to grow. She could no longer choose to have or not have emotions for him. No, now her affection for him had taken on a life of its own.
Turning, she watched as his hand reached out of her vanity table, lightly touching a series of objects, such as a hand mirror and a pin she had decided not to wear that evening. His fingers landed on the wooden box that held the jewelry that John had left her and paused.
“You know, you never received a ring.”
“Excuse me?”
He turned to gaze at her, his hazel eyes tinted with something she couldn’t pinpoint.
“For our marriage.”
“Oh,” Holly said, shaking her head. “I did. Or rather, I was offered one.”
Moving about the room, she headed towards a table at the edge of her bed. Opening the tiny drawer, she pulled out an old reticule. Fishing out the slim gold band John had given her, she brought it over to Gavin and held up her open hand. The small ring sat in the middle of her palm.
Gavin examined it, and to her surprise, he picked it up. After a moment, he stared at her.
“It’s a tiny thing. I wonder why he didn’t give you something grander.”
“I don’t think the timing allotted allowed him to be grandiose,” Holly said, reaching for it. Gavin let her take it. “Besides, John was more than generous with what I was left here.”
Gavin turned around, eyeing the jewelry box.
“Yes, John was generous to certain people.”
Though he didn’t sound bitter, Holly knew he harbored an old wound on that score. However, after discussing with Marnie that day, she wondered how much John’s generosity had been bestowed on them when Gavin was growing up. Perhaps the shortages in their household accounts were more due to Marnie’s mismanagement than John’s lack of generosity?
She opened her mouth to inquire, but then Gavin spoke.
“Still, I should like to have a new one made. Not to detract from your friendship with my uncle, or anything. But…”
A minor, knowing ache pulled at Holly’s heart.
“Yes,” she said, vaguely aware of what he was trying to express.
Though they had started off as strangers, their relationship had developed, and he wanted to honor it by giving her a proper wedding band. She was rather pleased with that thought, and she smiled.
“As for what I wanted to talk to you in private about,” he said after a moment. “I’ve set up your brother in Marylebone, in my old apartments.”
Holly’s smile faltered.
“Oh. Well. That’s fine, I suppose.”
He took a step towards her.
“Do you understand my decision though?”
“Yes,” she said, dropping her gaze as she moved around him. “Yes, I do. You’re giving him the chance to prove he can be responsible. Although I doubt giving him all the freedoms in the world will teach him anything except excessiveness. I can only imagine that he’ll be mortgaging Felton Manor at the hazards table by the end of the week.”
“I’ve not given him anything a young man cannot handle.”
She gave him a knowing look.
“He’s a boy.”
“He’s not though, Holly,” Gavin said, walking towards her, effectively cornering her between a pair of chairs and her wardrobe in the corner of the room. “And trying to keep him so will only cause him to resent you.”
