Page 22 of The Duke on Her List
“That’s so odd,” Helena said with a scowl. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“Well, you were lucky,” Gabriel said firmly. “You didn’t do anything to cause yourself harm. You went into the library, and that was all.”
“I wonder why I would have gone there,” she mused.
Then a wicked grin crossed her face. “Maybe it had nothing to do with my mother and father,” she said. “Maybe I wanted to read a book, and I knew the only way I’d ever be allowed to do so would be if I snuck it out while you were asleep.”
Gabriel grinned at her. He was grateful for how well he and Helena got along. Even though she could be stubborn, and even though he had anticipated this conversation being a difficult one, the truth was that it was always easy to get along with her in the end. “You can read the books in the library if you want to, Helena.”
“Can I?”
“Someof them,” he amended. “Not all. But you tell me which ones you want to read, and if I decide they’re appropriate, you can read them.”
“You’d better not just say none of them are appropriate.”
He laughed. “If you want me to select some proper ones for you, I’m happy to do that.”
“No,” she said firmly. “You’ll choose books for babies if I let you do it. I want to do the picking.”
He nodded slowly.
“You’re too protective, Uncle Gabriel.”
“I had a feeling you would say that when I proposed a lock on your door.”
“Yes, but at least that makes sense,” she agreed. “But I’m not a child anymore. Soon enough, I’m going to be a lady, and I’ll have to be able to make choices on my own. To live life on my own. You can’t keep me safe from everything.”
“I know that,” Gabriel murmured. “But taking care of you is a duty your mother and father trusted me with. Since that carriage accident, I’ve considered it to be the most important duty in my life to make sure that you were safe and that you got to grow up to live a full life. Nothing matters more to me, Helena. I know you realize that.”
“I do,” she said. “But books aren’t going to harm me.”
“That’s true. And since you’ve been so agreeable about what we need to do to protect you from danger in the case of another sleepwalking incident, I can be agreeable about this.” He offered her a small smile. “You’re right. Youaregrowing up.”
“How is it you know so much about sleepwalking anyway?” she asked him. “Did my parents do it or something?”
“No,” Gabriel said. “At least, not to my knowledge. I actually didn’t know anything about it. But we were lucky in another way.” He took a deep breath. This part might be difficult to explain. “Lady Agnes was the one who discovered you.”
“Lady Agnes?” Helena’s eyes widened.
“And she had read all about it in a book,” Gabriel said.
“You see, readingisuseful for a lady,” Helena said. “But…I don’t understand. What was Lady Agnes doing here while I was asleep?”
“I told her that she could come over to read the book she was reading when she was here the other day,” Gabriel explained.
“In the middle of the night?”
“You know how a lady’s reputation can be torn to shreds over the slightest misunderstanding,” he said. “We both agreed it would be best for her to come at night so that she wouldn’t be seen.”
“Except that if shewasseen coming here in the middle of the night, the damage to her reputation would be that much worse,” Helena pointed out. “Why don’t you just lend her the book she wants to read?”
“Do you object to her being here?” This was an important question. If Helena did have a problem with it, they would have to figure something else out. It was Helena’s home, after all, and it was vital to Gabriel that she be comfortable in it.
“I don’t mind at all,” she assured him. “I like Lady Agnes. She’s one of the most interesting people I’ve ever met. If I didn’t think it would cause you to go into a fit, I’d tell you that I want to be just like her when I grow up. But surelyshedoesn’t want to be sneaking in here and putting her reputation at risk?”
“I don’t think she cares all that much about reputation,” Gabriel said.
Helena grinned. “I didn’t think she did either. So she was here last night?” A thought occurred to her. “Is shestillhere? Why didn’t she come to breakfast? She should eat with us.”
