The Widow Wager by Jess Michaels Page B

sweetly gentle squeezes of the hand. “I want to know about your family.”
    “My father is how I got into this mess,” Gemma replied, trying and failing to keep the bitterness from her tone. “My mother passed when I was just seven.”
    Mrs. Flynn made a small sound in her throat. “I’m so sorry, my dear.”
    Gemma shrugged, though dismissal of that event was not as easy as perhaps she hoped to make it look. “It was a very long time ago. I do have a younger sister, Mary.”
    She turned her face so she wouldn’t reveal her feelings on her sister. God, Mary was alone again with their father. The first time Gemma had left to marry, her sister had been too young to be manipulated for Sir Oswald’s needs. Now that was not so. At twenty, Mary was ripe for the same kind of bartering that had landed Gemma an earl four years ago.
    “You worry about her,” Annabelle said. A statement, not a question.
    Gemma found herself nodding. “It is humiliating to admit to strangers how low my father will stoop, but you can see it in this situation with Crispin—Mr. Flynn. I am afraid for her.”
    “There are advantages, my dear, to a marriage into this family, especially in its current state,” Mrs. Flynn said.
    Gemma dared to look at them again. “Advantages?”
    Annabelle was the one who continued, “Yes. Although the duchess, Serafina, is of course abed recovering from the birth of her son, she does have some influence in Society, as does my brother. Despite the scandals that have surrounded my brothers or me or my new husband, we could help your sister, I think.”
    Gemma’s heart leapt. Was that possible? It could very well be. After all, her father would never refuse the chaperone of a duke and duchess for Mary. And if the Flynns were as kind as they appeared to be thus far, that could mean Mary would get to choose her own path, her own life, her own husband, in a way Gemma never had.
    She shook her head. Reality returned in an instant.
    “I wish that were true, but it may all be a moot point.”
    The two women exchanged another glance. “I don’t know what you mean, my dear,” Mrs. Flynn said.
    Gemma shifted. She felt like she was telling on Crispin behind his back to a nanny, but these women would find out the truth soon enough.
    “Your offer of assistance to my sister would be greatly appreciated, of course. But it must be predicated on the fact that I am a member of your family.” She cleared her throat. “And it remains to be seen whether or not that will continue to be true.”
    Annabelle’s forehead wrinkled. “I don’t understand. You said you and my brother were wed.”
    “We are…but Mr. Flynn does not wish that to continue. He is here to ask his brother’s help in ending our union. And he very well could have the grounds to do exactly that.”
    Annabelle pushed off the settee and paced away, leaving a trail of unexpectedly unladylike curses in her wake. Her mother watched her with a shake of her head.
    “Darling, manners. You aren’t in Marcus’s club.”
    Annabelle turned back with a frown. “I’m sorry, Mama, Gemma. It is only that I cannot believe how ridiculous my brothers are.”
    “Both of them?” Gemma asked, trying to figure out why Annabelle would include the duke in her curse.
    “Yes. You see, you may recall that my elder brother, Rafe, was in a somewhat similar situation with his own bride. And though they are deliriously, almost shockingly happy now, Rafe initially fought that union with all his might. And here is Crispin trailing behind his brother and imitating him as always.”
    “It may be more complicated than that,” Mrs. Flynn offered, though Gemma felt her very focused stare on her. What did her new mother-in-law see? And did she approve, despite her kindness and welcoming spirit?
    “Ridiculous!” Annabelle insisted. “There is nothing complicated about it. Crispin has been running around with no consequences for months and months, perhaps even longer. This