Page 49 of The Fiancée Farce
“That’s awfully kind of you, Mr.Barnes. You know what? Let me run it by Gemma, but I think that would be lovely.”
They needed an officiant, and Mr.Barnes was as good a choice as any. A fantastic choice, honestly. What better way to make this marriage look legitimate than for the executor of Gemma’s grandfather’s will to not only witness their nuptials but officiate them?
“Of course. Anything for Hieronymus’s granddaughter. He was my best friend, you know? Good man; miss him dearly.” He frowned, swirling his bourbon. “A shame he never had the chance to meet you. He would’ve liked you.”
“You think?” Tansy smiled, albeit a bit confusedly because she’d met Mr.Barnes all of ten minutes ago.
“I have a sixth sense about these things,” Mr.Barnes said sagely. “I can tell you’re a good egg.” He leaned in, dropping his voice to a whisper. “That, and you have a striking resemblance to Hedy Lamarr. Anyone ever tell you that? Hieronymus was a sucker for Hedy Lamarr.”
“Thank you.” Tansy laughed and pressed her champagne flute to her flushed cheek. “Hedy Lamarr was beautiful. And brilliant.”
“The best women tend to be.” Mr.Barnes winked. “Of course, Gemma, she looks exactly like—”
“Lauren Bacall?” Maybe notexactly, but Gemma had the same sultry presence and husky voice that sent shivers down Tansy’s spine.
Mr.Barnes frowned thoughtfully. “Come to think of it, she does, doesn’t she?”
“Were you thinking of someone else?”
“I was going to say she’s the spitting image of her mother. Though no one here ever talks about that.”
He gave her a meaningful look as if expecting her to understand.
She smiled vaguely. “Right.”
Gemma didn’t talk about her mother. In fact, Tansy was pretty sure she’d never once mentioned her. Another thing they ought to discuss. Probably a topic they ought to have covered prior to their engagement party, but there was nothing to do about that now.
Mr.Barnes’s gaze drifted over Tansy’s shoulder, his smile growing. “Ah! There she is, the other woman of the hour. Gemma!”
Tansy felt Gemma before she saw her. The hair along the backs of her arms and the nape of her neck rose seconds before Gemma even touched her, fingers skimming down her back, causing shivers to skitter along her spine. Gemma rested her hand at the base of Tansy’s back, toeing the line between what was decent for public and what wasn’t.
“Mr.Barnes, wonderful to see you again.”
“Under much happier circumstances,” he agreed, nodding in thanks as a waiter approached with a fresh drink.
“Indeed.” Gemma turned slightly toward Tansy. “I see you’ve already met my fiancée.”
“I have, I have.” Mr.Barnes grinned. “I was just telling Tansy here how much Hieronymus would’ve liked her.”
“Oh?” Gemma sounded as curious as Tansy had.
“Of course. And he was so proud of you.”
A whole spectrum of complicated emotions flitted across Gemma’s face, one after the other, before her expression smoothed into that of neutral curiosity. “Oh?”
“Hieronymus talked about you all the time.” Mr.Barnes looked over his left shoulder, then his right, before leaning in. “Just between us, you were his favorite grandchild.”
Surprise flickered across her face and her eyes widened.
“I was?” Gemma asked, voice faint.
Tansy didn’t understand what was going on, what Gemma was thinking, but she stepped closer, bumping up against Gemma’s side, letting her know that for whatever it was worth, she was here.
“You were,” he confirmed. “He was especially impressed with your time at NYU.”
“My time at NYU?” Gemma’s smile fell and her hand dropped to her side. “He knew about that?”
Mr.Barnes’s smile went puzzled, a slight furrow appearing between his wiry brows. “Of course.”
