The Guardian's Dilemma. Gail Whitiker

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      Therein lay the problem. Oliver had no idea whether Gillian had told Mr Wymington about the conditions of her inheritance, but he did know she hadn’t troubled herself to conceal the depth of her feelings for him. And if it came right down to it, Oliver knew that Wymington wouldn’t hesitate to use those feelings to his own advantage.

      ‘Then what would you suggest I do, Sophie?’ Oliver said at length, a note of frustration creeping into his voice. ‘Gillian is headstrong, as you say, but I cannot believe she would knowingly disgrace herself—or us—by doing something imprudent.’

      ‘You are her legal guardian, Oliver. You could forbid her to see him.’

      ‘What, and run the risk of alienating her even further?’ Oliver shook his head. ‘I would far rather cast Mr Wymington in the role of the villain than myself. Unfortunately, I have checked into his military records and found nothing to condemn him, other than a slight propensity towards gambling.’

      ‘Unless it is a propensity which causes him to lose vast sums of money in a single night, I doubt it will be enough to sway Gillian’s opinion of him. Especially if she believes herself in love with him—’

      ‘In love!’

      ‘Well, you cannot ignore the possibility, my dear.’ Sophie’s expression softened. ‘You see how she behaves with him. Most young ladies would have the good sense to conceal their affections, but Gillian seems to want everyone to know how she feels about the man. Which is why I think it would be a good idea if you were to separate them for a while.’

      ‘And how do you suggest I do that? Even if I were to tell Wymington to keep away from Gillian, I do not trust him to listen to me.’

      Sophie sighed her agreement. ‘I doubt he would. If Mr Wymington knows that Gillian is an heiress and his intentions are what you say, he will be more than willing to bide his time. He will have to if you do not intend to give your approval to the match.’

      ‘Unless he decides to elope with her, as you suggested earlier. Which given the terms of Catherine’s will any man might be tempted to do. ‘

      Sophie had the grace to look embarrassed. ‘Well, perhaps I was being a touch melodramatic in saying that she would elope. For all Gillie’s headstrong ways, I do not believe she would knowingly disgrace us. But I still think it would be wise to send her away for a while. With any luck, her absence will force Mr Wymington to look elsewhere for a wealthy bride, and give Gillian time to come to her senses.’

      ‘That’s all very well, my dear, but where do you suggest I send her? She has no family who would welcome her. At least, none whom I would trust not to try to take advantage of her fortune themselves.’

      ‘You could send her away to school,’ Sophie said slowly. ‘Do you remember me telling you about the Guarding Academy for Girls?’

      Oliver began to pace. ‘No. Should I?’

      ‘I suppose not. A friend of mine, Lady Brookwell, mentioned it to me in passing a few weeks back. She said that her eldest daughter, Elizabeth, was there and that she was very pleased with her progress. The headmistress is a woman by the name of Eleanor Guarding and from what Lady Brookwell tells me, she is quite a unique person. Not at all the sort one usually finds running schools of this nature.’

      Oliver stopped pacing. ‘And where is this Guarding’s Academy for Girls?’

      ‘In Northamptonshire. I believe Steep Abbot is the name of the village.’

      ‘Steep Abbot?’ He frowned. ‘Why would that name be familiar to me?’

      ‘Possibly because it is where the Marquis of Sywell was murdered three months ago.’

      ‘Good God! And you would have me send Gillian there?’

      Sophie chuckled as she let the curtain fall back across the window. ‘I hardly think Gillie is in danger of suffering a similar fate, my dear. From all I’ve heard, Sywell was not undeserving of his reward. But the reason I mention it is because the teachers at the Academy are purported to be more liberal-minded than most. They strive to impress upon their girls the importance of thinking for themselves.’

      Oliver sent her a sharp glance. ‘Gillian does quite enough thinking for herself as it is, Sophie. That is one of the problems I am trying to overcome.’

      ‘You miss my point, dearest.’ Sophie walked back towards the green velvet settee and sat down. ‘The staff at Guarding’s attempt to expand the intellectual minds of their pupils by providing tutelage in subjects not normally offered to young ladies. How many schools do you know of, for example, where girls are given extensive instruction in advanced mathematics and archaeology, as well as in Latin, Greek and philosophy? And from what I understand, Mrs Guarding is herself something of an emancipationist and historian.’

      ‘A female emancipationist?’ Oliver frowned. ‘The last thing I need is someone else filling Gillian’s head with nonsense. I suspect Mr Wymington does quite enough of that as it is.’

      ‘All right. Then what would you say if I told you that the teachers at the Guarding Academy would be far more likely to impress upon Gillian the importance of knowing what she stands to gain and to lose in a marriage to a man who is not her social or financial equal, than would a teacher in a fancy London seminary?’

      Oliver thought about that for a moment. Sophie was an intelligent woman and he respected her opinion, but sending Gillian away to a girls’ school was not going to be easy. He knew that in his ward’s mind she had long ago finished with that kind of schooling. ‘What could I say that would persuade her to go?’

      ‘That, I’m afraid, is something you are going to have to work out for yourself, Oliver. I merely put forward the suggestion as a solution to the problem of how to separate Gillian from Mr Wymington for a while.’ Sophie smiled as she rose to kiss her brother affectionately on the cheek. ‘After all, a year spent at a boarding school might be time enough for her to see the gentleman in a different light. And if Mr Wymington is the adventurer you think, it may be all the time we need.’

      Oliver gave his sister’s words considerable thought over the next few days, and the more he thought about it, the more he came to see that the plan had merit. Gillian had always resented the fact that young ladies were not offered the same quality of education as young gentlemen, and by the sound of things, spending the better part of a year at Mrs Guarding’s Academy would give her precisely that opportunity.

      In the end, however, it did not come down to a matter of choice as to whether or not he sent her away to school, but rather, how quickly could he get her there. Gillian’s conversations were becoming far too full of Mr Wymington for Oliver’s liking. It seemed that every utterance was prefaced by ‘Mr Wymington said this,’ or ‘Mr Wymington thinks that,’ until by the end of the week Oliver was sick to death of hearing about Mr Wymington. But even in his frustration, he saw the way Gillian’s face closed down whenever he expressed negativity towards the man, and knew that he was fighting a losing battle.

      It was that stubbornness which convinced him that Sophie was right. Gillian was impulsive, and she was used to getting her own way. She was also at the age where, like most young women, her thoughts were turning more frequently towards marriage. Oliver could not be sure that if he pushed her too hard, she wouldn’t do precisely what Sophie had suggested and elope.

      For that reason, little more than a week after his conversation with her, СКАЧАТЬ