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such activities with me.”
    Uncomfortable silence fell in the room. Gabe was about to give up on a response when Marcus replied, “There simply came a time when I needed to accept my responsibilities.” Those green Blakely eyes shone hard with determination. “As you need to do with your daughter.”
    Her cheeks chilled from the crisp morning air, Elizabeth entered the house through the side door coming from the stable. She removed her bonnet and smiled when her ringlets, knocked loose during her morning ride in Hyde Park, fell along her neck. Nothing exhilarated her more than letting her horse, Shakespeare, loose and feeling the breeze upon her cheeks. She blamed it on Marcus’s influence.
    Desirous of a rest before she called on Emma, Elizabeth continued toward the stairs. After she’d returned from the ball, sleep had eluded her. Instead, she’d been racked with thoughts of Gabe and his child.
    After much pacing, she’d concluded a child didn’t change how she felt about the man. She also realized it was time to stop waiting for him to appear at social events in order to gain his attention. How would he see her as a woman he could love if they met only in passing?
    Now the tough question; how to find a way to spend more time in his company. It wasn’t as if she could stop by his residence for a visit. And, even if she could gain entrance, she wasn’t about to lose her reputation by following him to any of his clubs. No, this would take more thinking. She needed something that would put her directly in his path for more than a few social exchanges.
    Her foot was poised to mount the steps when she heard voices coming from Marcus’s study. It was too early in the day for her brother to be entertaining. If not for her sleepless night thinking of Gabe and his child, she herself might still be tucked into bed.
    Her curiosity piqued, she changed direction.
    About to enter the study, she stopped short of the door when she recognized the visitor’s baritone voice. It washed over her and left a warm sensation, like the sip of brandy she had sneaked as a child. Only one man’s voice had such an uncontrollable effect on her. Gabe.
    Normally, she wouldn’t resort to an unladylike activity such as eavesdropping, but as she stood debating if she should enter, Gabe spoke of his daughter. The prospect of learning about the mystery surrounding his child took away her ability to move.
    Gabe pushed himself to his feet and began to pace, as a way of releasing his mounting frustrations. What he assumed would be a simple fix after further discussion with Marcus, had quickly turned out to be anything but.
    “You’ve checked all the agencies and papers?” Marcus asked.
    Gabe raked a hand through his hair. “Yes. Wilkes contacted all the agencies and scoured all the papers.” He continued to stride the distance from the desk to the window. “Apparently, there is a shortage of governesses who have the requirements to fill my needs. The few they’d sent were so far below par, even I found them lacking.”
    Obviously not sharing in the effects of Gabe’s turmoil, Marcus remained relaxed in his chair. “What about a maiden aunt or a distant cousin? Could you find family to help attend to the girl?”
    The absurdity of the suggestion almost had Gabe bent at the knees, laughing. Instead he settled for halting his pacing and turning a scowl on Marcus. “Even if there was family to acknowledge, no one with a drop of Wesbrook blood would stoop to caring for an illegitimate child. It had been deemed beyond generous for my father to throw a few shillings at his by-blows—when he bothered to do even that.”
    “So family is out.”
    Gabe resumed circling the room. It was all beginning to feel hopeless. He wasn’t qualified to raise a child. He could barely manage something as simple as arranging care for one. Maybe the best thing for everyone would be to send her away. Hell, if she stayed, I’d probably corrupt her.
    “I’ll do