Page 56 of Lady of Providence
As much as he wanted to, Gabriel didn’t step back, attempting to cower the man to allow him to pass.
“She will accept me.”
A bead of sweat broke out on the man’s brow.
“Unfortunately, Lady Elizabeth asked that no one enter — in-including you.”
“I see,” Gabriel said, stepping back slightly, feeling the rejection as though Elizabeth had physically pushed him away. Not that he would allow this man to see how it had affected him. “Well, please tellLady Elizabeththat I was here. And that I will be expecting to speak with her very soon.”
A storm beginning to rage inside of him, Gabriel turned on his heel and strode back down the corridor. If she was anyone else, Gabriel wouldn’t waste another moment of his time. But this was Elizabeth, and damn it all, he couldn’t leave her be.
* * *
Which ishow he found himself, two hours later, sitting in the drawing room of Elizabeth’s home, having tea with her grandmother. Apparently, Elizabeth hadn’t extended her ban of his presence as far as her residence, or at the very least, she hadn’t informed her grandmother of the fact. Mrs. Clarke was as lovely as ever, asking after his family and questioning him about his time in Parliament and with what other activities he was keeping busy.
It was clear where Elizabeth had received her intellect from, that was for certain. In her grandmother, Gabriel could see Elizabeth’s identity fifty years in the future.
They spent nearly an hour in companionable conversation until Gabriel finally heard the opening of the door down the corridor at the front of the house. The beat of his heart picked up, likely due to the amount of tea he had drunk in the last hour. For surely,surelya woman’s footsteps couldn’t cause it to be so?
But of course, they were. Gabriel had to admit that he was both aching in anticipation to see Elizabeth, and also nervous about what the confrontation may bring. Would this be the last of their meetings? Would she tell him she wanted nothing to do with him any longer, that she was turning down his proposal of marriage? For why else would she have no wish to speak with him any further?
The frustration that had simmered down low through his conversation with Justine began to rise as Elizabeth’s footsteps grew ever louder, and Gabriel took a breath to calm himself.
Perhaps he should have gone to her father first to ask for her hand in marriage. Was that why she was concerned? No, he chastised himself. What a stupid thought. A woman like Elizabeth would want to have the opportunity to choose herself, and she and her father hardly got along as it was.
Gabriel had no idea who this contrary, unsure-of-himself person in his head was. If this was what it meant to be in love with a woman, he wanted nothing to do with it.
Love? He hadn’t meant inlovewith her. Interested in her, perhaps.
But before he had time to contemplate the frightening idea any further, Elizabeth stepped into the room. Gabriel could feel the tension radiating off of her as her eyes came to rest upon him first. She stared at him, hard, her gaze unreadable, though she was nearly trembling with the emotion coursing through her — emotion she was attempting to hide, of course.
Mrs. Clarke stood, looking between the two of them.
“Good afternoon, Elizabeth,” she said, and Elizabeth finally turned and saw her, a clearly forced smiling emerging.
“Good afternoon, Grandmother,” she said. “You look lovely as always.”
“Thank you, my dear,” Mrs. Clarke said, walking over and placing a hand upon Elizabeth’s arm. “I have to see to some correspondence, so I shall leave the two of you for a moment. I won’t be far.”
Elizabeth nodded, then took the seat her grandmother had vacated. She gripped the arms of the chair as though she were holding onto the edge of a boat to keep from drowning, though she sat as tall and regally as any queen ever had before.
She was dressed in a deep purple gown, the color so dark and the fabric so stiff that it almost looked as though she were in mourning. Perhaps she was.
“Elizabeth—” he began, but she cut him off.
“No more speeches,” she said, her words clipped. “No more fancy words, nor lies, nor stories from your lips. I have a question for you, and I ask you to answer it truthfully.”
He nodded, sitting back in his chair, rather stunned. Her lips were pressed tight together, her face so pale it was nearly white.
“Did you collude against me with my cousin?”
Gabriel’s mouth dropped open in shock. Damn Henry. Damn him and his big mouth and his slippery ways. He couldn’t imagine what the man might have said to Elizabeth, but he knew it wouldn’t have been anything good.
“No.”
She tilted her head, as though she could read what he was actually thinking.
“I know Henry is as dishonest as they come. But I am also aware that you look very uneasy, and you, Gabriel, are never uneasy. Please, please do not lie to me.”
