Page 29 of Notorious

Her hand tightened, but her expression did not change. “That is what Maria and I suspected. I am so sorry, Gabriel. I know you had become quite fond of Miss Kittridge. We both believed you might ask her to marry you before the Season’s end.”

Gabriel did not feel inclined to confirm such a statement even if there might have been some truth in it. He was to be married to Miss Clare and hardly wished to begin their union by dishonoring or embarrassing her by admitting to a regard for another woman.

Instead he asked, “Where are Maria and Samir?”

“Sami was getting restless so Maria took him out.”

Gabriel frowned, and Maria squeezed his hand. “He is safe—you look so worried.”

“Did they take—”

She laughed. “Yes, they took Daniel with them.”

Gabriel was anxious at the thought of Samir wandering around the city without him—even if Maria or Giselle was with him. He’d worried about the women going out unattended, as well, although they’d teased him, pointing out that both of them came from the stews of Paris and had survived.

Gabriel might be an Englishman now, but he’d spent his first seventeen years in a place where women and children rarely left the safety of the palace—and when they did, they were never alone. He felt compelled to protect those in his care and didn’t mind if others viewed his concern as excessive.

Maria and Giselle had allowed him to employ Daniel, a brawny footman, and had also agreed to use him whenever they went out. Gabriel slept better knowing that. He wondered if he should hire somebody else—just for Samir. What if Maria wished to go somewhere and—

Soft lips kissed his temple and he looked up.

Giselle was smiling. “Quit worrying.”

He would like to, but did people ever stop worrying about their children? He supposed that must be part and parcel of being a parent: worrying.

“Where did they go?”

“Maria took him to see the beasts—to the show at Astley’s.”

That made Gabriel laugh. “Again?”

“Marie told him she would take him if he stopped pulling Bonbon’s tail.” Bonbon was Maria’s ancient, fat, ill-tempered poodle.

“That little rascal. You know that is where I took him before I went to Brighton.”

She slipped her fingers into his hair and massaged the back of his neck, making him groan with pleasure. Her small hands were remarkably strong.

“He is a clever little boy who knows how to get his way—just like his father, I suspect. How did things go in Brighton?”

Her second hand joined the first, and Gabriel closed his eyes, letting his head fall back.

“I don’t really know. Captain Delacroix of the Batavia’s Ghost told me there was no word of Samir’s family—of his grandparents. He spoke with Sami’s uncle—Fatima’s eldest brother, but—” Gabriel did not wish to share everything Delacroix had told him during their brief visit. Especially when he did not know what he thought about all of it himself.

He opened his eyes and looked at Giselle. “How has Sami been?”

“He still misses his mother, of course, and I’ve heard him cry in the night. But I think he might miss you more, Gabriel—especially when you were gone over a week.”

“I understand why he would miss Fatima, but how can he have become so attached in only a few months?”

She gave a sinuous, Gallic shrug. “Blood calls to blood.”

Gabriel didn’t bother correcting her. Instead he pondered his soon-to-be wife’s reaction to having a five-year-old child living with them.

“Will you send him away now that you are getting married?” Giselle asked, as if she were reading his mind. “Maria and I adore having Samir here—we would love to have him stay.”

“That is kind of you, Giselle. But I know his mother would have wanted him to be with family. Until I can find the rest of Fatima’s family—if I can find them—I will keep Samir with me. I’d hoped Captain Delacroix would have better news, but he is waiting for one of his men to return from Oran. The city is in a state of chaos right now.” A lot of that was Gabriel’s fault, but he had no desire to discuss what had happened in Oran with anyone—not even Giselle, his lover. “If we’re able to find any of Fatima’s sisters or brothers, then Samir should be with them—it was Fatima’s wish. Her family is well respected, and there will be plenty of other cousins for him to grow up with—it is what he is used to.”

“And if your captain does not find them? Or if he learns that all your sister-in-law’s family have died?”