Page 76 of The Wallflower Takes All

He could preserve the call, the drive, the next step toward the practical future she so desperately needed.

The honorable course was clear.

Gabriel recognized it.

Then he thought of Ketterham’s hand at Poppy’s waist, Ketterham’s dry voice calling her capable, Ketterham weighing how much of her life he was prepared to tolerate in exchange for all she might give him.

Gabriel heard himself answer before he could make the words gentler.

“The rumors are accurate enough to matter.”

Silence settled between the two men.

Lord Ketterham’s expression did not change at once. “I see.”

Gabriel sat very still.

He had told the truth. That defense rose immediately, polished and sturdy enough for court. Lady Viva was difficult to manage. The household was unsettled. Any man who married Miss Montfort while expecting tranquility would be disappointed before long.

But beneath the clean shape of truth sat an uglier fact.

Gabriel had wanted Lord Ketterham to recoil.

He did not want Lord Ketterham to drive Miss Montfort in the park.

He did not want her seated across from this calm, sensible man, trying to convince herself that usefulness could become enough.

He did not want another man deciding whether her mother made her too much trouble to cherish.

And none of those thoughts were in any way professional.

Gabriel kept his face still.

Lord Ketterham folded his gloves with careful precision. “I appreciate your candor.”

“I would not wish any man to misunderstand what he asks of Miss Montfort.”

“Nor would I. That is precisely why I came.”

“She is not the source of the disorder,” Gabriel hastened to add.

“I do not think she is.”

Gabriel tugged at his lapel. “She is the reason it has not overtaken them entirely.”

Lord Ketterham studied him. “You hold her in high regard.”

He straightened his shoulders. “I hold competence in high regard.”

“Yes,” the baron said. “I have often said the same.”

It should have been agreement. It felt like insult.

Lord Ketterham rose. “I thank you, Mr. Ashby.”

Gabriel stood as well. “You are withdrawing your interest?”

“I am reconsidering.”