Page 27 of A Scot on Duchess Square
Then she realized it was not possible for anyone outside her family or London Society to have known or cared. Gwenys must have told him.
She covered her face with her hands and groaned. “My niece told you everything.”
“Dinna be angry with her,” he said, nudging her hands off her face and tipping her chin up so that their gazes met. “She loves ye and only meant to help me understand ye better because she so desperately wants to see ye happy. My heart aches that yer first experience with a man was so miserable. He—”
“May we please not talk abouthim? What’s done is done, and I do not want to think about those awful years.”
“All right.” He turned away a moment to tuck his shirt into his trousers and do up the last buttons of his falls before turning to face her once more. “I’ll walk ye back to yer room and then go in search of the pair. I’m sure they’re together.”
“Let me go with you, at least while we search the inn. I’ll wait by the registration desk if we must expand the search outdoors. I know I would only be holding you back if you had me by your side while on the streets of Edinburgh.”
“I’m sure we won’t need to look outside. Unlike his donkey of a brother, Douglas is a sensible lad and would never do anything foolish to put Gwenys in harm’s way.”
They made their way quietly down the hall and then downstairs.
Miranda chided herself for insisting on searching with Solway. She was slowing him down, but this was the least of her worries. She was feeling quite protective of Gwenys and wanted to be there to comfort her if the situation proved embarrassing.
Would they be too late? Had Douglas seduced the innocent girl?
Solway had to be worried about the same thing, for he now took her hand and held it gently while they began their search.
It did not take them long to notice there was a soft glow coming from the inn’s library. They quietly walked toward it.
Miranda’s heart tightened.
She would bash Douglas over the head with her candlestick if she caught them in an improper position.
Solway, she noticed, nudged her behind him as he peered in first.
He then let out a rush of breath and stepped aside so that she could peer into the library.
Gwenys and Douglas were seated together on a settee, both of them looking utterly miserable and doing nothing more scandalous than holding hands.
Miranda could see that the pair had done nothing improper while alone, for the telltale signs would have been written all over Gwenys’s face. Not to mention, her nightclothes would have been in disarray.
The pair rose, and Douglas placed a protective arm around Gwenys’s waist. “We were just talking.”
Miranda nodded. “I can see that. But it is late and we are leaving in a few hours for London.”
Douglas’s expression turned pained. “I’ve asked Gwenys to wait for me. I wish to court her, with yer permission. Well, even if I did no’ have yer permission…”
Solway groaned.
But Douglas was not about to relent. “Bram, ye need to let me join ye in London in a month’s time. I’ll work day and night to put everything in order before I come down. Gordon is still capable and can handle any problems while I am gone. I dinna need to stay in London long, just a few days to see Gwenys and nourish my soul.”
“Good grief,” Solway muttered.
“Then I’ll ride home and resume my duties. Is this asking too much? I canno’ lose her.”
Gwenys was nodding as he spoke. “Please, Your Grace. Aunt Miranda. We just want to be together and get to know each other. Is this not the sensible thing to do? We are trying to be cautious and behave responsibly. We want to make certain our feelings for each other are real.”
“Aye,” Douglas said. “We dinna want to run off and elope like a pair of heedless children. We’re willing to wait. However, it is no’ a matter of waiting to see if love might develop. For my part, it already has.”
“Mine too,” Gwenys said with a defiant tip of her chin.
“I dinna think either of us is in doubt what our hearts are feeling. The only question is, will it endure? I desperately hope it will, but I am no’ blind to the challenges. Gwenys would be making her life up here with me. I dinna know if she can manage being so far apart from ye, Lady Miranda. Of course, ye would always be welcome to stay here with us.”
Oh dear.Their feelings had progressed much further than Miranda ever realized. How could she encourage it?
