Page 95 of The Wallflower Takes All
Gabriel closed his eyes briefly. “Of course she did.”
His father lowered himself into the chair opposite and regarded him with open curiosity. “You look troubled.”
“I am working.”
“You are staring at a deed you could recite from memory.”
Gabriel set the document down. “Lord Montague has refused an extension.”
“So I heard.”
“How?”
“Lady Montague told me when she sent the cake. She added that the new viscount possesses all the generosity of a chair leg.”
“That is unfair to chair legs. They serve a purpose at least.”
His father smiled, then glanced toward the open notebook. The amusement faded from his face. “You have never cared for the aristocracy.”
“Should I?”
“Your mother was one of them once.”
“And as I recall, Mother had nothing good to say about them. They rejected her entirely after she married you, did they not?”
His father nodded. “They did. But she never regretted it.”
Gabriel swallowed. They rarely talked about Mother…and she’d been gone for many years.
“What happened today?” Father asked.
Gabriel’s first instinct was denial. But that instinct had become less useful since meeting Poppy. It wouldn’t solve the problem.
“I kissed Miss Montfort.”
His father stilled. For one gratifying moment, the elder Mr. Ashby appeared to have no reply at all.
Then he said, “Ah.”
Gabriel frowned. “Do not say ‘ah.’”
“What would you prefer?”
“Nothing that sounds pleased,” Gabriel said.
“Who said I am pleased?”
“You are very poorly disguising it.”
“I am attempting to disguise surprise. The two expressions may resemble one another.”
Gabriel leaned back and folded his arms. He blew air into his cheeks. “I have behaved indefensibly.”
“Did Miss Montfort object?”
“No.”
“Did you force an attention upon her she did not welcome?”
