Page 55 of A Bargain with the Rake (Necessary Arrangements 3)

Another nod.

“Will you say something?” He looked at her, part irritated, part hopeful that she still wouldn’t leave him. He didn’t deserve her, but what if it didn’t matter to her? His hopes crumbled as she turned to him, her face serene.

“I am leaving tomorrow morning,” she said quietly. “Does it matter what I say?”

“It matters to me.” He looked searchingly into her eyes but couldn’t find anything there.

“It wasn’t pleasant, seeing her there,” she finally said, looking back into the void. “But I can imagine that she isn’t the first, and she won’t be the last.”

Gabriel closed his eyes in agony at her matter-of-fact tone of voice.

“These past few days, they were truly amazing. I loved every second. I shall never forget them.” Her last words were like a knife through his heart. “I shall always be grateful to you.”

“You are saying goodbye,” Gabriel observed dryly.

“We had a bargain.” She finally found the courage to look at him, but Gabriel couldn’t hold her gaze. He looked away and took a deep breath as she continued. “It is better if we stick to it.”

Gabriel sat stonily as she kissed him lightly on the cheek and stood. “I want to take your driver and a carriage to see my cousin, if you don’t mind. The Countess of Clydesdale.”

All Gabriel could do was nod in response. He sat there on the bench as she left the garden; he continued to sit there staring into space when he heard his carriage move away, and he was still sitting there when his valet finally came to announce that the solicitor had come to discuss the terms of his marriage.

* * *

“You married that… that libertine and rake?” Julie was pacing in front of the fireplace, unable to either hold her surprise in check or to sit in one place. “Why? Why him?”

“Who else would you suggest?” Evie cocked her brow.

“Anyone else!” Julie yelled.

Julie, the Countess of Clydesdale, was Evie’s distant cousin, but they were very close friends and confidants. Evie had been Julie’s only ally when she was in a difficult situation years ago. She was the only one who’d stood by her when the rumors about her simpleminded sister settled and everyone turned away from her. And Julie was forever devoted to Evie in return.

She was also the reason Evie had met Gabriel in the first place. He was the best friend of her husband, the Earl of Clydesdale.

“Don’t get me wrong, I love Gabriel as much as the next man, but to marry him, Eves!” Julie resumed pacing in front of the hearth.

“Don’t be dramatic, Julie. It is a marriage of convenience. I needed to get out from under Montbrook’s rule, and I found a way to do it. You did the same thing when your father forced you to marry someone. And the Montbrooks were going to marry me to their son. If not him, then Lansdowne! I just know it.” She omitted the death threat, not willing to trouble her cousin even more.

“Oh, that awful Lansdowne. Will he ever marry some old hag and leave the young brides alone?” Julie said irritably. Evie couldn’t help but chuckle at the indignant tone of her cousin. “That is not funny,” Julie continued sternly, making Evie roll in laughter.

Evie was glad to be around her cousin. She needed a laugh and to take her mind off of things, especially after what she’d witnessed in Gabriel’s townhouse.

Julie’s lips twitched in an answering smile, but she sobered quickly. She walked to the chair Evie occupied and crouched in front of her. “Oh, Eves, you are always so cheerful, so lighthearted, no matter what happens. I just don’t want your spark to die out.”

“It won’t.” Evie smiled at her cousin.

“Gabriel doesn’t treat women very well.” Julie frowned at her.

“Oh, is that why women are lining up at his doorstep?”Or his bedroom.Evie stifled a grimace and forced out a smile for the benefit of her cousin.

“That is exactly what I am trying to tell you. He uses them, then discards them without a second thought. Do you know how many women threatened suicide if he left them? And did he care? No!”

“Well, he can’t leave me. I am his wife.” Evie shrugged lightly, feigning nonchalance.

Julie took a deep breath. “I know he is very charismatic and persuasive. He is also charming and handsome—”

“Are you trying to dissuade me or endorse him?”

“He is like a snake from the garden of Eden. He slithers into your life, seduces you, and leaves you to fend for yourself, ejected from the garden!”

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