He wanted to know if any of the single, eligible men that had been there had caught my eye.
“Terribly boring,” I replied without batting an eyelid. “Helena’s cousin only spoke about his ex-girlfriend who apparently traded down even though she’s now engaged to an Italian billionaire. Louis Fitzgerald kept holding conversations with my breasts, and Howard Billings wouldn’t stop discussing his new business deal which apparently will net him seven figures and he wanted us all to remember that. All very brash and inappropriate.”
Daddy shook his head. “Where have all the gentlemen gone?”
“They started watching porn,” Aunt Cat said, flipping the page of her newspaper. “And forgot that women only want a freak between the sheets. They want a gentleman on the streets.”
He blinked at her as I fought back a laugh. I mean, she wasn’t wrong, was she?
“Speaking of brash and inappropriate,” he said slowly before turning his attention back to me. “I’m going to Windsor this afternoon to help with preparations for the state banquet in two weeks. I’ll be meeting with the Duke of Westminster and—”
“Nope.”
“Gabriella, you—”
“I’m twenty-seven, not seventy-seven,” I reminded him. “I know you want me to meet someone and get married, but I don’t want to right now.”
“All the eligible young men that are suitable for you will be taken soon,” he said with a pointed look.
“I didn’t realise I was living in Tudor England.” I barely resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “I went out with Steven in college, and it didn’t work out. I can’t imagine it would be any different now.”
“Well, you have an outstanding invitation to the state banquet, and he will be there. It won’t hurt you to attend and mingle, even if you aren’t interested in Steven.” Daddy finished his tea and set the cup next to the sink. “Think about it.”
He left the kitchen on that note. Aunt Cat flipped the page of her paper once more, and I sighed, dropping my head so I was looking at the floor.
“I assume you still haven’t told him you’ve signed up for that horticultural course,” she said without looking up.
“No, I haven’t.”
“You know you’re going to have to tell him. There are only so many times you’ll get away with it before he realises you’re going to the local college. Especially when the course brings you to our own gardens for education.”
I swallowed. I knew she was right. I was keeping two huge secrets from my father—and one even from her—and I was going to have to come clean. “He’s not going to be happy about it. You know as well as I do that he’s stuck in the stone age.”
“He’s traditional.” Aunt Cat finally put down her paper and peered at me over the top of her glasses. “He just wants you to be looked after, Gabi, and in his mind that means you marrying well.”
“I wish he’d realise I can look after myself. Besides, it’s not like I’ll inherit absolutely nothing.”
“No,” she admitted. “Just as me and Elizabeth didn’t when your grandfather died. Of course, Elizabeth had already married into another aristocratic family, but like this estate went to your father, it will go to your brother. The rules are archaic and ridiculous if you ask me, but it’s how things are done.”
No kidding. My brother was six years younger than me and currently on a yacht off the coast of Mykonos, partying it up with all the other future Earls and Dukes who had too much time and money on their hands, while I was here, trying to make something of my life.
“I know you’d be happier with a simpler life, Gabi.” Aunt Cat closed her paper and stood up. “And I think Henry realises it, too. Perhaps you should humour him for a little while—go along with his matchmaking attempts until either he or you find someone you deem suitable to pursue a relationship with.” She paused in the doorway. “After all, my love, he just wants the best for you.”
“I know,” I said softly.
And I did know that.
The problem was nobody cared about what I thought was best for me.
***
Dear Lady Love,
My boyfriend of six years is drifting away from me. I just found out I’m pregnant, and our big problem is that we don’t communicate, and I’m afraid to have that conversation in case he breaks up with me. I took the quiz and my love language is acts of service, which makes sense because I find I like it when he does the little things, but he doesn’t do them as much anymore. He won’t take the quiz because he thinks it’s stupid, but I think his language is words of affirmation. How can I use these to fix our relationship?
Yours sincerely,
K from Norfolk
Okay, wow. That was a loaded one.
I blew out a breath, cracked one of my knuckles, and hit the button to respond to her.
Dear K from Norfolk,
The first thing you need to do is sit down with your boyfriend and tell him you’re pregnant. You can’t keep that a secret from him, even if you’re afraid he no longer wants to be in a relationship with you. If he does break up with you, it isn’t the end of the world.
If you have that conversation and you continue your relationship, it’s important to tell him how you feel. That you like it when he does little things for you just because, and if you believe his love language is words of affirmation, you should work on making sure you fulfil his needs, too. Sometimes, just saying, “Oh, that cup of tea was amazing!” can make a big difference to someone who needs to feel like they’re doing a good job.
But yes, have that all important conversation.
Good luck and congratulations on the baby!
Lady Love
I hit publish on my response and sat back. That was the fifth one I’d answered today, and I was just about done with the internet. After checking my personal emails, I exited out of my secret blog and cleared the Internet history.
It was a habit I’d gotten into. Aunt Cat looked up some questionable things every now and then, and my father liked to make sure she wasn’t looking up anything illegal.
Well, anything too illegal, that was.
I didn’t want my family knowing what I was doing. I was sure nobody had any idea who Lady Love even was, but my aunt was a wealth of knowledge of random things, and my father certainly wouldn’t be too impressed with what I was doing.
He really was a traditionalist, and he would not believe that the daughter of a duke had any business giving relationship advice on the Internet.
Especially a single one.
I slid my laptop under my bed and got changed. The sun was now shining, and I wanted to go outside to the gardens. I doubted anything had changed since I was out there yesterday morning, but I was never happier than I was when I was among the plants.
Even if Miles wouldn’t let me in his beloved greenhouse.
I changed into a dress and grabbed a sunhat and glasses and walked through the house.
Arrowwood Estate was the ancestral home of my family and the dukedom that came with it. My father was the current Duke of Bath, and we were about thirty minutes from the city itself. I only ever really ventured in for my qualification for when I needed to do some in-person learning or testing.