Page 30 of The Duchess Debt

Her husband blinked at missing the silent communication between the two women, yet he acquiesced and dutifully nodded. “Yes…of course.”

Once again, Helena wanted to cry, but this time in relief. She had friends here. Better—she had allies.

“Let’s get you some punch, shall we?” Gabe said to Helena with the same tight smile as before. He wasn’t happy.Fine.Because neither was she.

She nodded her goodbyes to the Parkers as Gabe led her away toward the refreshments tables. When they were far enough away that he couldn’t be overhead, he told her in a low voice, “If you’re going to run the dukedom, the least you can do is make it seem like I’m in charge.”

“And if you’re going to marry me, the least you can do is remember that I’m not Clarissa.”

He halted instantly and turned to face her. All pretense of a smile vanished from his face. “What do you mean?”

Aware that the eyes of the entire village were on them, she kept herself composed even though what she wanted to do was scream. “I meanthis.” She waved her hand to indicate the green around them. “If you wanted me to attend a picnic for the village to announce our engagement, all you had to do was ask. You didn’t have to surprise me with it.”And then pretend you did it as a surprise present for me.

“I thought you would like it.”

“I do. I just—” Her shoulders sagged as she explained, her voice raw with anger, “You threw the same picnic for Clarissa when you brought her to Grangely Park.”

“I did. We often celebrate with picnics in Chatham. And?”

“And when Clarissa didn’t attend her picnic, you had to go alone.” She looked away, squinting into the afternoon sun. “You must have been humiliated to have to lie for your wife in front of your friends and tenants. You didn’t want that to happen again,so you decided to not tell me so I wouldn’t have the chance to beg off.”

“Iwashumiliated. But the fault was mine. I overestimated Clarissa’s character.”

“And underestimated mine,” she whispered.

He leveled his hard gaze on her. “Never.”

She shook her head, willing the gathering tears to clear from her eyes. “You can’t tell me that what happened before with Clarissa didn’t cross your mind when you were planning all this behind my back. I know you too well.”

He said nothing. At least he didn’t insult her by attempting to deny it.

“How can I ever trust you,” she whispered, “when you won’t completely trustme?”

“Believe me, Helena. I know exactly who you are. You don’t have to go to such lengths as building a school to prove it. I didn’t tell you about the picnic because I wanted it to be a surprise for you. No other reason.” He leaned in and lowered his mouth close to her ear, as if they were nothing more than a happy couple sharing an intimate flirtation. “Perhaps I would trust you more if you didn’t always assume the worst of me.”

Then he turned on his heel and walked away.

CHAPTER NINE

22 Days Until the Wedding

With an irritated scowl, Gabe tugged at his leather riding gloves as he hurried downstairs. The bright morning sunlight slanted in through the tall windows and portended a fine day.Good.He’d use that for his excuse for why he was up and gone so early. The truth was a darker spot on his character.

He simply didn’t want to face Helena this morning.

The thought of her only increased the agitation that had plagued him since he woke at dawn—no, since not sleeping a wink at all last night. He had no good reason he could name for it except that he kept playing over in his head the accusation Helena had leveled against him yesterday at the village picnic.

He rolled his eyes as he rounded the second-floor landing. Damnation, she was right. He should have told her about the picnic.

He had secretly planned the event precisely because Clarissa hadn’t gone to the one he’d hosted for her. But his intentions had been good. It had been his own foolish way of attempting to turn back the clock, he supposed, and to create a fresh start, not just for him and Helena, but for the entire village. He wanted a clear break from the past, and the picnic should have been the perfect way to reset the wrongs that had happened over the past five years. It should have demonstrated both his commitment to the village and how very different Helena was from Clarissa. His late wife would never have set foot on High Street for any reason, while Helena wanted to turn the village into an extension of her home. He had merely wanted to prove all that.

Yet the road to hell was paved with good intentions, and he’d just galloped merrily down that highway.

He raked his fingers through his hair. It used to be so easy to make Helena happy. Now, he was second-guessing every move he made, which only worked to increase the tension between them. For God’s sake, heknewshe wasn’t Clarissa. The two were night and day.

But he also knew the terrible truth, that Helena was capable of wounding him far more than Clarissa ever had.

The footman opened the front door. Gabe mumbled his thanks as he strode outside, then halted at the top of the portico steps. His saddlehorse stood in the drive as he’d ordered the grooms that morning, held by the stable boy who waited to hand over the reins. But beside his horse…