Page 28 of The Mistress (Foxgloves #1)

GIDEON

A fter a few moments spent paralyzed in shock, Gideon was jolted back to reality by the sound of a door slamming shut. It spurred him into action, and he grabbed his coat and stormed from Coventry House, stopping only to demand from Hughes where the earl was. He rode hard as he urgently directed his horse.

It couldn’t be true, his mind reeled as he galloped through the streets of London. How could he have misunderstood everything so profoundly? He could not have made such a horrible mistake.

He needed to talk to Coventry. Immediately.

Gideon was at the park within minutes and found Thomas and the younger Becham girl laughing as they picnicked in the grass. Accompanied by a maid. A chaperone.

He was courting her.

Fuck .

With the selfish blinders pulled from his eyes, Gideon saw it as he observed them from a distance. Clear as could be. There was something deeper between Thomas and Lydia Becham that was more than just lust.

How did he miss that? How had he let himself become so single-minded in his pursuit? He’d thought he was an intelligent, observant man.

Gideon stormed up to where they sat and failed spectacularly in his attempt to appear composed as he ground out, “I am sorry, Miss Lydia. I need a private word with the Earl of Coventry. Without delay.”

Thomas and Lydia stood up, clearly surprised by his abrupt arrival, their laughter dying.

“Of course, Your Grace,” Lydia replied. She shared a look with Thomas – as if they had been expecting him. She was even hiding a smile. Thomas, too, had a smile pulling at his lips.

No, no, no.

Thomas’s eyes were warm as he reached for Lydia’s hand, squeezing it in farewell. Lydia’s answering smile was blinding.

Thomas followed Gideon as he wordlessly led them away from the other occupants of the park, many of whom watched them with poorly disguised interest.

Seeing their goodbye, the intimacy, the shared looks. Amelia was right. They were in love. Gideon had missed it entirely.

Still, he fought with reality. Even though the truth was ripping through him, he held on to the hope that he hadn’t been so exquisitely wrong.

“I can’t say I’m surprised to see you, Gideon, but I hadn’t expected such theatrics,” Thomas chuckled good-naturedly as they came to stand beside a bench hidden from prying eyes and ears. “But I do admit, I understand your impatience.” He smiled genuinely at Gideon.

Thomas had been expecting him? No. Dread inched coldly down Gideon’s spine. He ignored it.

“What is the nature of your relationship with Amelia Becham?” Gideon asked the question eating at him since Amelia had walked out of that room. The question he desperately needed answered.

The smile froze on Thomas’s face before melting away completely.

“What is it you are implying, Birmingham?” his voice was lethal. This was a version of the jovial Earl of Coventry Gideon had not yet met.

“I want to know what’s between you two,” Gideon fought from shouting. He couldn’t wait much longer. He needed to know beyond all certainty, even if the truth was ice seeping through his veins.

Thomas’s jaw clenched. “I know you would not be so foolish as to suggest anything immoral between me and the woman that has been my sister, and I her brother, all our lives. And as her guardian, I will not take well to or tolerate anything but the most honorable and gracious opinions of my ward.”

The answer and warning were clear. Gideon’s knees finally buckled under the weight of his shock and actions. He fell ungracefully onto the bench and held his head in his hands.

Thomas stood over Gideon and eyed him with suspicion. “What did you do, Birmingham?”

Gideon heard it in the low tone of his voice. Thomas would kill him if he had done anything dishonorable or disrespectful. It wasn’t even a question.

Gideon lifted his head and looked at his friend’s unforgiving face, feeling helpless in a way he couldn’t remember feeling since he was a child. Seeing and correctly interpreting Thomas’s expression, Gideon stood quickly, remembering himself and finally realizing who was before him. He wasn’t talking to Amelia’s benefactor. He was in conversation with her guardian.

“Nothing, Thomas,” Gideon said, assuming his normal control and confidence. It sounded thin, even to his own ears. “You have failed the Becham women, however. You have not noticed what they say about them and your relationship with them these past years.”

Thomas’s brow furrowed, but his anger did not soften. “What are you talking about? Speak plainly, Gideon.”

“The entire ton says Amelia is your mistress.” Someone had to tell him. Thomas needed to know. In fact, Gideon was waking up to a few shades of anger, himself. Some directed at Thomas for missing the mark on Amelia’s character so completely while he assumed her care.

“What?” Thomas almost yelled, the surprise driving him to take a step back.

“You heard me,” Gideon said and moved in the direction of his waiting horse before either of their extreme emotions erupted on each other by mistake. “It’s time to fix this, Coventry. You are her guardian, and you’ve allowed her reputation to be sullied under your care. I will expect you at my house tomorrow so we can start cleaning this up.”

Gideon took two steps, but before he could fully make his exit, Thomas’s chilling voice stopped him.

“There is a simple way to clear this up, Your Grace,” he hissed. “You could marry her.”

Gideon’s hands clenched painfully into fists as time stopped. He stood there with his back to Thomas, feeling unable and unsure. Thomas was right, he was absolutely right. And yet, Gideon couldn’t unclench his hands. Couldn’t move his body to turn back. Couldn’t force his mouth to ask Thomas the question he’d clearly been expecting from him.

The guilt that had been chasing him since Amelia left him came crashing down. The depths of his mistake and his treatment of her descending fully.

And still, he did not move.

After a heavy, smothering pause, Gideon forced his leadened feet forward. And left.