Liar. You did not want to send her away. Now, he had no choice but to send her away—for her protection. For Chloe’s. For his. Every moment they spent together jeopardized the order and calm of his world and his very existence.
“I see,” Alex, said, suddenly all seriousness. And by the understanding glint in his eyes, he did very well see.
“She requires but a temporary place.” Gabriel consulted the long-case clock once more. “I have a meeting shortly with the duke and will inform him,” that I ruined his daughter. That she has nowhere to go. That she will not have me. “That she requires his assistance.” He shoved back his chair and stood.
Alex took that as his cue to leave for he came to his feet. “I will, of course, assist in any way you require.”
He flexed his jaw, uncomfortable with the emotion from his brother who’d treated him with nothing more than icy disdain through the years. “Thank you,” he said stiffly.
Alex gave him a gentle smile. “You still have not realized it, have you?”
He looked questioningly at his younger sibling.
“We help those we love. There is no chore in that.” He gave a slight bow. “I will send my carriage around to collect Mrs. Munroe.”
“Thank…” At Alex’s pointed glance, he allowed those words to go unfinished. He inclined his head. “If you’ll excuse me. I’m to speak to Jane before my meeting with the duke.”
“Mrs. Munroe.” Alex winked.
Perplexed, Gabriel glanced about for the lady in question.
His brother chuckled. “I suspect you care a good deal more than you would admit to even yourself,” he said and pulled the door open.
Jane stood at the entrance, her fist poised to rap on the wooden panel. And for the hell of last evening and the uncertainty of today, a lightness filled his chest at seeing her there, wide-eyed like a night-owl frightened from its perch.
Effortlessly charming as he’d always been, Alex sketched a bow. “Mrs. Munroe. It is a pleasure to meet once again.” He stepped aside, permitting her entry.
However, Jane, wholly unlike any other woman he’d ever before known, only eyed Alex with a healthy dose of suspicion. “Lord Alexander,” she greeted as she fell into a deep curtsy.
Then, those of his and Alex’s stations had given her little reason to trust. Her father, Montclair….how many others?
Alex slipped past her and left. Which also left Gabriel and Jane—alone. They stood there a long moment studying one another with her framed in the doorway, the panel open at her back. He cleared his throat and motioned her inside. “There are matters we should speak on, Mrs. Munroe.”
Chapter 19
She’d received his summons early that morning. Jane had spent the better part of two hours since, both dreading the exchange and looking forward with an inexplicable anticipation of seeing him again. She told herself that after the chaos of last evening’s scandal, he was familiar. He was the one constant in this cold, uncertain world she’d entered. Yet, in this instance, standing across the large, wide space of his office, with him looking at her through those hooded, black lashes, she was Mrs. Munroe.
Of course he should refer to her as Mrs. Munroe. Or Miss Munroe. But never Jane. So why did she, hovering at the edge of his office, miss hearing her name uttered in his mellifluous baritone?
“Mrs. Munroe?” he prodded gently.
She jumped and entered his office. “Forgive me,” she said hurriedly. “My lord?” She dropped a curtsy.
A frown toyed at the hard line of his lips. Did he, too, crave the once familiar uses of their Christian names?
Gabriel strode across the expansive space, his large-legged stride ate away the distance between them and he came to a stop in front of her. His gaze fell to her lips and then slowly he reached an arm out. For a maddening moment she thought he’d kiss her. Her breath caught as she tilted her head back, but he merely closed the door behind her. Disappointment swirled inside, proving yet again she was her mother’s daughter. “I will not take up your time, Mrs. Munroe,” he said with an aloofness she only remembered from their first handful of meetings.