A Gentleman Never Tells(32)
Lady Gabrielle’s bright-blue eyes widened with surprise as he walked toward her. Brutus barked another warning and then started wagging his tail. Brent also noticed the animal was once again unfettered. Lady Gabrielle reached down and patted Brutus’s shoulder and whispered something to him. Hopefully, it wasn’t the command to attack.
Brent approached them slowly and stopped a respectful distance away from her and the dog. He took off his hat, bowed, and said, “Lady Gabrielle, I must say I’m not at all shocked to find you in the park so early in the morning.”
“Nor I you, Lord Brentwood,” she said, giving him the customary curtsey his title deserved. “Obviously we’ve found something we have in common.”
He gave her a knowing smile. “I think you mean something else we have in common.” And then, not wanting to give her time to answer, he quickly turned his attention to the mastiff and added, “And how are you this morning, Brutus?”
The dog made another woof that seemed only a little friendlier than the first. “Temperamental as ever, I see. Perhaps you don’t enjoy the park on cold mornings as much as your mistress, or is it the early hour that bothers you?”
Lady Gabrielle ignored his comments to her dog and presented to him her companion, her mother’s sister, Mrs. Elizabeth Potter.
He smiled and said, “Mrs. Potter, you are a brave lady to be out on such a dreary day.”
“Balderdash, I’m not brave at all, I’m freezing my—”
“Auntie Bethie.” Lady Gabrielle interrupted her aunt before the last word was uttered, though Brent knew exactly what the loud-voiced lady was going to say.
While Lady Gabrielle was dressed in the same simple black-hooded cloak she’d worn yesterday, her aunt was not so restrained. Mrs. Potter wore a well-cut black coat trimmed at the neck with fur. Her hands were stuffed into a fur muffle, and her legs and feet were covered by a finely woven wool blanket. She was a small woman, and there wasn’t much of her that wasn’t covered in wool or fur, with the exception of a ridiculously tall, short-brimmed hat that was piled high with flowers and pheasant feathers. With sharp features, olive skin, and wide, deep-set brown eyes, she looked nothing like her much fairer and comely niece. Lady Gabrielle turned back to Brent and, with an almost shy smile, said, “My aunt is truly wonderful to indulge me as she does.”
“I’m not wonderful at all,” Mrs. Potter said with threads of humor lacing her lusty tone and a sparkle glinting in her dark eyes. “I’m here because I was coerced.”
“Auntie!” the duke’s daughter gasped. “You know I did no such thing.”
“Not you, silly girl.” Mrs. Potter laughed heartily in a voice that was much too deep and gruff for a woman her size. “I’m talking about your obnoxious father.”
Keeping her gaze on her aunt, Lady Gabrielle asked, “What did Papa do this time?”
“What he always says he will do but never does. That he will cut off my allowance and force me to live in one of his dreadfully damp country homes if I don’t keep an eagle eye on your every move. But don’t worry about that, dear. He has been saying that since your mother died. As you can see, I’ve been saved from his gallows many times.” She quickly turned her gaze on Brent and, without hesitation, said, “Not that the duke or his daughter told me all the intimate details, but I understand Lord Austerhill’s son jumped the fence at the paddock and you are the new stallion.”
Brent chuckled, stretching the injured corner of his mouth and wincing from the sudden pain.
“Auntie, please. You are being far too brash. You’ve just met the viscount. He doesn’t know your nature.”
“Nonsense, Gabby. Don’t be so fussy. If he’s marrying you, he’ll learn me soon enough,” she answered and then turned her incorrigible gaze on Brent again. “I understand nuptials are in the future for the two of you.”
“That is the case, Mrs. Potter,” Brent said to the lady and let his gaze slowly drift to Gabrielle as he added, “even though the duke doesn’t want it widely known until the previous engagement matters can be resolved. As soon as they are, the banns will be posted, and Lady Gabrielle and I will wed.”
“That sounds lovely,” Mrs. Potter said and then turned and smiled sweetly at Lady Gabrielle. “Does that suit your gentle nature better, my dear?”
“Much,” Lady Gabrielle said quite stiffly, making it clear she wasn’t happy her aunt was going beyond the pale.