Page 30 of The Duke on Her List
Agnes shivered. Gabriel had been about to sayher—she’d heard it. He had caught himself just in time.
Gabriel continued. “You told Jack that he ought to play another hand,” he said. “You told him he belonged at the table. Be honest, now. You were trying to take his money.”
“Consider it an important lesson well taught,” Stephen said smoothly. “And be grateful that your young cousin here has learned this lesson from someone who didn’t want to take it any farther than I did. You know, a lot of people would drive a naive young man like this deep into debt, but I didn’t do that.”
“I know you aren’t asking me to thank you,” Gabriel growled.
“He sat down at the table of his own free will,” Stephen said. “Nothing untoward happened here. You have nothing to be angry or resentful about.”
“Be that as it may,” Gabriel said sharply, “if I catch you anywhere near my cousin again, sir, there will be consequences. I suggest you take that warning very seriously, because I mean it that way. You will not enjoy the revenge I’ll take on you if I find you meddling in Jack’s affairs again. And let that be a lesson you can be grateful to have learned from me.”
To Agnes’ surprise, Stephen was silenced. He paled slightly and nodded. “Very well,” he said. “Take your leave.”
“Come, Jack,” Gabriel said curtly.
Agnes had lost her desire for adventure—she’d had enough. She got to her feet and scrambled after Gabriel. He glanced over at her to make sure she was by his side, but he didn’t stop walking or turn to face her until they were outside the club and out in the open air, walking up the street.
“Well,” he said quietly. “Did you get what you wanted out of that little excursion?”
“I did,” Agnes said. She hesitated. “But you’re angry.”
“Not with you.”
“With those men?”
“I don’t like it when people take advantage of vulnerable people,” he said, his voice clipped. “I didn’t like the way he picked you out as someone he could push around and then proceeded to do that.”
“He didn’t push me around.” Agnes wasn’t a fan of the way Gabriel was rewriting history. “He didn’t compel me to do anything I didn’t want to do, Gabriel. He was right. I did sit down at the table. I didn’t much like the way he talked about teaching me a lesson, as if he was doing me some great favor by allowing me to share the room with him. I didn’t care for him, and I found him annoying. But I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do in there. You don’t need to be so protective.”
“I didn’t like how he spoke to you. Or about you. And I definitely didn’t like the way he put his hands on you.”
A rush of heat came into Agnes’ cheeks at his defensiveness. She cleared her throat. “Do you think he knew?”
“For a moment I thought he might have. Now I’m not so worried about that. But I did wonder, when he caught your arm…you have very delicate arms, you know.” He scowled and looked away.
Agnes couldn’t help but wonder why that upset him so much. “If he didn’t learn the truth,” she said, “then we don’t have anything to worry about, do we? After all, the only thing that was lost was a few coins he took off me in the game, and I planned to lose them.”
“I’m just glad this is over,” he said. “I hope your List of Improper Ideas doesn’t involve going to any more places of ill repute.”
“It doesn’t,” she said.
He looked at her for a moment, and she could only imagine that he must be wondering whatwason the list. But she wasn’t going to tell him anything right now. Not while he was already in a temper about what had happened at the club. If she told him what was coming next, there was every chance he would simply refuse to help her any more than he already had.
She had offered him the chance to back out. He hadn’t wanted to. And if there was one thing she had learned today, it was that she was going to have much more success at accomplishing her list with Gabriel by her side. She was no longer open to the idea of him abandoning her to deal with it on her own—she wanted his help.
He was so masterful in there. I do think he was being overprotective—but if somethinghadgone wrong, he would have been ready and able to manage it. He would have ensured my safety. Just look at the way Stephen backed down when Gabriel got firm! People are intimidated by this duke. That’s someone I want to have in my corner as I do all these things.
They walked up the street to the carriage they had left parked in the road. Gabriel gave her his hand, and she stepped up into it. Once she was inside and out of view of any passersby, she removed the hat she had donned to cover her hair and allowed it to spill down around her shoulders.
Gabriel climbed up into the carriage behind her. “You can’t allow anyone to see you like that,” he said, gesturing to the ensemble—the men’s clothing and the loose hair.
“Nobody will,” she said. “I’ll be in the carriage until we’re back on your property, and then we’ll be too insulated to be seen by anyone but your staff. And you trust them, don’t you?”
“Yes,” he allowed grudgingly. “But you aren’t very careful, Agnes. I can’t get used to that fact about you. It really seems as if you don’t care what happens to you, and I don’t know what to think about that.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me,” she said.
“You’ve been written up in the scandal sheets numerous times.”
