Stapleton raised one haughty brow, waiting on an answer. It was a look he used to intimidate many.
Gideon, long used to his habit, laughed instead. “I suppose she is.”
“It is past time you married, you know,” the duke suggested. “A wife would do you the world of good. So would children.”
“That again,” he complained. “You know my feelings on the subject.”
“Now don’t dismiss the notion out of hand again, sir.” The duke, rarely one for serious discussion, appeared affronted. “Were you not the one who decided I should marry again and played a hand in matching me with my Gillian?”
Gideon grinned widely. “It seemed the best and most honorable solution, given the way you were mooning over her night and day.”
The duke pulled a face. “I was not mooning. I was admiring with restraint,” he said with great indignation. “I would have gotten around to pursuing her eventually,” he grumbled.
“After Jessica had children of her own, no doubt.” Curiosity about Jessica’s time away in London grew in him. She was not happy, and so very little had been said about Jessica’s first season or her suitors.
The duke shrugged. “I’d like to see her settled with a family of her own, and children too.”
“That would be best,” Gideon agreed, but the idea of Jessica moving away had always unsettled him. Jessica was special; he’d always believed that. She needed a good man as her husband. Someone who would look after her, protect her and the children they made together.
As if summoned by his thoughts, he spotted Jessica standing just outside the library. She glared at him so angrily, he blinked in surprise.
The duke swiveled around in his seat. “Ah, Jessica,” the duke called. “Was there something you needed?”
“No.” She wet her lips, and then smiled so normally, he wondered why she hid her feelings from her father. “Can I come in?”
The duke sighed. “For a little while but only if you help me tease Gideon.”
She moved into the room and sat in a straight-backed chair between them, facing the fire. “Why would I do that?”
“Because Mr. Whitfield may not remain a bachelor after all.”
“Of course I will.” But Gideon shifted in his chair, uncomfortable that Jessica be involved in any discussion about Mrs. Beck. It was not proper to discuss his love life, or lack thereof, with her in the room. Considering the appeal of one woman over another was something he did not do around her.
The duke rose to take his glass and refill it at the sideboard, and he took the opportunity to set the matter straight. “I’m not courting anyone,” he whispered.
Jessica, a high color in her cheeks, shook her head. “But you are kissing someone,” she whispered back, her eyes accusing.
His eyes widened, and he had no response to give. Had Jessica been spying on him? The cheek of the girl!
Her eyes dropped, demure once more as her father returned. The subject of Mrs. Beck was thankfully dropped in favor of more amusing topics but the damage was done. Jessica did not believe him. She’d seen them and would not take his word at face value.
“Are you interested in a visit to Rafferty’s tomorrow, sir?” The duke asked. “We thought to take the Garlands on a tour of the district.”
Jessica cleared her throat. “I asked Mama if I might remain behind, but she said I must ask you for permission.”
“You don’t want to come to Rafferty’s with us? But you loved trying your hand at fishing last year.”
“I liked it but I was younger then, Papa,” she chided. “If I stay behind tomorrow, there will be more room in the carriage, and the boys will not have to share fishing poles.”
“There could be fewer squabbles that way, too,” Gideon added, hoping to be helpful and supportive of Jessica’s wishes. “Unfortunately, I have other plans for tomorrow, too.”
Children enjoyed fishing a great deal, and while Jessica had excelled at the sport, perhaps she had outgrown the desire to participate in rough pastimes.
“That’s a shame.” Stapleton moved across the room and dropped a kiss to Jessica’s forehead. “I sometimes forget that you’re all grown up now.”
“There is a lot of that going around,” she grumbled softly.
Stapleton sat, looking at his daughter with surprise written all over his face. “Oh?”