“Abigail has been through so much.”
Nathan pursed his lips. Back at the beginning, when he’d first discovered what Erasmus Montgomery was trying to do to his sister, he had researched Abigail, trying to determine if she were as much of a villain as her husband. He knew a great deal about what she’d been through. More than she was aware. She hid her pains…she was rather like him in that way.
“Yes,” he said softly. “I know. I can’t believe I lost control like that last night.”
Rhys settled back against the carriage seat with a smirk. “I can.”
“What the hell does that mean?”
“Oh come now,” Rhys said with a laugh at his indignation. “We have danced around this topic for a year, mate. Since all this mess began, I have watched you two. Yes, you spit and growl at each other, but I’ve never believed you hate each other. You defended her passionately when Owen briefly believed she might have murdered my brother—”
“Because it was a bloody stupid thing to think!” Nathan growled.
“And there you go, looking like you’ll come across this carriage and throttle me to come to her aid.” Rhys laughed. “And she did the same when your name came up in the investigation.”
Nathan blinked. “She…did?”
“Of course. You circle each other, you play these games…but they’re all foreplay.”
Nathan said nothing, just sat there, staring at this man he’d called friend, called brother, for most of his life. His words did not ring false, and Nathan despised him for that.
Rhys leaned forward, draping his forearms over his knees. “Can you deny that you have wanted her for a long time?”
Nathan swallowed hard. “I hate you.”
Rhys laughed again. “Just like you hate her, I know. Answer the question.”
“I have…wanted her,” he admitted reluctantly. “But I never planned for this.”
“But it happened.” Rhys shrugged. “So you’d better start planning for what’s next.”
“What do you think I’m doing?” Nathan snapped. “I’ll need to arrange for the banns to be read, I have to write my sister and tell her the ‘happy’ news, I need to tap into a network to start spreading rumors about us that will change the tide—”
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” Rhys interrupted. “What about her? What about the marriage?”
Nathan pursed his lips. “I know she’ll be a good duchess. She’s clever and she can even be charming when she isn’t dealing with me. After watching her handle Pippa and Celeste with grace and kindness, I know she’ll be good to my sister.”
“How will your sister be with her?”
Nathan flinched. Ophelia had not handled the news of Erasmus Montgomery’s betrayal well. She was young and a little spoiled, but at her heart he knew she was a good person.
“I’ll make sure they get along,” he murmured.
“And what about you? You two, beyond the titles and the relationships outside your bedchamber door? What about when it’s just you?” Rhys asked softly.
Nathan shut his eyes. He could picture sparring with her, of course. That was their natural way. And he could most definitely picture making love to her. His mouth watered with the realization that she would be his to touch and hold and have for the rest of his life. What they’d already shared gave him hope they would be very compatible in bed.
But the rest…that felt blurry to say the least. “I don’t know,” he said at last.
Rhys nodded. “Let me give you some advice.”
“You will, whether I desire it or not.”
“Try.” Rhys held his gaze, suddenly very serious. “Try, Gilmore. Neither of you deserve to be unhappy, not after everything you’ve been through.”
The carriage slowed now, arriving back at Nathan’s home, and he sighed. “I’ll think about it. Now, will you come in with me and help me with some of the particulars?”
“Of course,” Rhys said with a smile. “You’re there for me, I for you. Nothing could change that.”
There was relief in that statement, because he knew Rhys was protective of Abigail. But his friend was his friend, and Nathan would be able to depend upon him. He would likely need to as this strange development moved forward.
As he moved toward his impending marriage and everything that would come after.
Pippa and Celeste entered the parlor a few moments after Nathan left, and Abigail hadn’t fully gathered herself. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and faked a smile she could see neither of them believed.
Celeste moved for her first and drew her in for a hug. Abigail rested her head on her friend’s shoulder and let out a long, shuddering sigh.
“You’ll marry?” Pippa asked.
She nodded, because she couldn’t say those words. Not yet.
Celeste led her to the settee and the three of them sat together, with Abigail in the middle. They allowed her silence for a while, allowed her to sink into the truth of this.
At last, Celeste spoke. “I know you have hesitations.”
“Of course I do,” Abigail whispered. “Not the least of which is that neither of us want this, and it…breaks my heart. I’ve watched you two fall in love in the last year, marry, make lives that seem so…I’m jealous of them, of you. I can admit it. And there was some tiny, foolish part of me that wanted that same thing for myself. Wanted a man who could overlook my past and see me. Want me. Love me. And who I could love in return.”
“And you don’t think that’s Gilmore,” Pippa said.
“How could it be?” She sighed. “We’ve been adversaries for a year. This is not a marriage he desired or chose. I am certainly not the caliber of woman that a duke might have sought. He could have married someone to further his position or fortune.”
Celeste laughed. “I don’t think Gilmore has to worry about his fortune.”
“No, certainly not,” Pippa agreed. “And I have seen a lot of the man in the last year, being that he and my husband are the closest of friends. I don’t think he gives much of a damn about his position.”
Abigail worried her lip. That, she most definitely could see. After all, the man stood by Rhys, despite whatever damage that loyalty might do. He went to the salon and truly listened to a man speak who thought the entire system that Nathan ruled over should be dismantled for the greater happiness.
She hated to give him too much credit, but he was open-minded. And seemed to care more about right than might.
“It doesn’t follow that he gives a damn about me, either,” she said, more to herself than to the others.
“He obviously does or he would not have been caught doing something naughty with you,” Pippa said. “What exactly was it? I don’t trust gossip.”
“Pippa,” Celeste said softly, a warning.
“Oh, you want to know, too,” Pippa said with a laugh. “Don’t deny it.”
“Er, he was…he touched…he…” Abigail’s cheeks flamed. “With his hands. He did some things with his hands. And it was…God, it’s been so long since someone touched me like that, and even when it happened, it wasn’t like that.” She shook her head. “I wanted more.”