Page 14 of Lady of Providence
CHAPTER7
When Gabriel walked into the office which had forever been that of Thomas Clarke, he was struck by the familiar. Somehow he had expected it to feel altogether different, but no — the same bookshelves full of ledgers lined the room. The furniture had not been touched, the small sitting area looked as comfortable as ever, and the large mahogany desk stood as reassuringly steady and sturdy as it had always been.
Except there, behind the desk, sat a figure that, while as familiar as any of the inanimate objects in this room, was far from the stately gray-haired gentleman he was much more accustomed to seeing in the tall leather chair.
“Elizabeth,” he greeted her with a smile as she rose from the desk and rounded it, pointing to the small cluster of chairs that surrounded the circular table in the sitting area of the office. He reached out to take one of her hands to lift it to his lips, but she deftly skirted him and sat instead.
“Your Grace,” she said, her lips lifting into her steady, practiced smile and he quirked an eyebrow at her formality. So this was how it was going to be, then, was it?
She folded her hands in her lap demurely, though Gabriel couldn’t help but notice the slight twitching of her pinkie finger. It was the one sign of her nervousness — one he didn’t think she even realized.
“Lovely to see you again,” he said, knowing it would spark her anger, cause her to emote something other than this coolness he so hated.
“You say that as though our meeting today is a coincidence,” she said, her violet eyes boring into him. “We both know very well, however, that is not the case.”
He laughed then, chuckling at the fact that if there was one woman he may never outwit in a war of words, it was this one.
“Very true, Elizabeth. However, most women would giggle and agree with me.”
She looked at him reproachfully. “You also know very well that I am not most women, and while I would not want to be rude, I also will not play the part of a fool.”
“I do not believe anyone has ever accused you of such — certainly not I.”
“What can I do for you today, Your Grace?”
“I do wish you would call me Gabriel.”
“I will not.”
He sighed. “Very well. First of all, I have come to congratulate you on your new position.”
“I have not won a prize. My grandfather died.”
Gabriel felt chastened. He had certainly not meant his words to convey such a flippancy for Thomas Clarke’s passing.
“Of course not,” he acknowledged. “But you must be pleased with this new responsibility.”
“Yes,” she said, though her pinkie finger began to twitch again. Ah, so she wasn’t as self-assured in this new role as one might think.
“Many would not believe it a proper position for a woman.”
Elizabeth bristled at his words.
“It is not a position, as you keep calling it. I am not an employee who is to be paid for my time. I am a partner — the senior partner — and as you well know, that is something else entirely.”
“That it is,” he said, leaning back in his chair and crossing one leg over the other. “I will not argue with you on that point. However, I do not change my statement in that you must find some are not particularly… pleased with this turn of events.”
Elizabeth tilted her head down to look into her lap momentarily before returning her gaze to him, and he lost himself in her exquisite features, seeing the slightest of freckles dusting her nose. She had always thought them to be horrid — he had rather enjoyed them.
“To be honest, I have not had a chance to speak to most people who might think otherwise. I have spent most of my time so far here in this office, reviewing correspondence and the like. In due time I must review some of it with the appropriate staff, but first I will determine the roles within the company.”
“Ah, that is why you are going through the ledgers, are you?”
She glanced down at the table, seeing the book placed between them.
“Not exactly,” was all she said, and Gabriel could tell there was more to this story.
“Then what were you doing with this book?”
