Read Online No Gentleman for Georgina by Jess Michaels - Free Book Online

disappointed in her and her failure to do as he expected. But this look on his face, this was something different. There was…there was love there. And she didn’t think she’d seen that for a very long time.
    She nodded as she fought to find her voice again. “I am so sorry to cause you pain or humiliation, Father… Papa . But you…you do not listen to me when I speak to you about what I want. You don’t hear me. So I knew I couldn’t just tell you the truth, I had to shock you with it.”
    Her father turned his face, his cheeks pale and his gaze filled with chagrin. “I-I only want what is best for you, Georgina.”
    “But you cannot think that I could decide what is best for myself,” she whispered.
    He walked a few steps away. When he turned back, his mouth was pinched in a thin line. “You don’t understand. When you first came out, do you know how many offers I had for you?”
    She blinked. “I have never had an offer, Father. We both know that. It is why you have come to despise me so deeply.”
    He shook his head. “No, no, not at all. I should have told you the truth. Let me try now.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You have a large dowry, as you know.” He shot Paul a glare. “As everyone knows. And while it was put in place to help you, your mother and I quickly came to realize it also put you in danger. Within a few weeks of your first debut, we had offers from several men, and we were pleased. But upon deeper inspection, we came to realize that they were all after your money. They didn’t give a damn about you. There were titled scoundrels who had lost it all, social climbers who pretended to be something they weren’t. It was a rogues gallery, and we were disgusted at the idea of turning our dearest daughter over to a man like that.”
    She drew back. “I—why didn’t you tell me?”
    He snorted out a humorless laugh. “You were always so quiet, so uncertain of yourself and what you had to offer. What good would telling you those awful things have done? I feared you would retreat into your shell further.”
    “So you pushed me to present a more perfect picture in order to…” She trailed off as recognition dawned on her.
    He nodded. “To obtain a man who truly deserved you, my dear. But now…I want the best for you, Georgina. And I can’t stand by and watch you marry a fortune hunter who has convinced you that his feelings for you are tender.”
    Paul took a gulp of air, his eyes narrowing, but before he could launch into a tirade at her father, Marcus stepped forward instead.
    “Mr. Hickson, I don’t know if my opinion is of any value to you, but Abbot is the most faithful and honest man I have ever had the pleasure to know. I would never for a moment believe him to be a fortune hunter.”
    “Says his employer, a man who runs this utterly vulgar club,” Georgina’s father snapped, and Georgina shot Marcus an apologetic look.
    It seemed unnecessary, for he only shrugged. “Then why don’t you ask some of the men Paul Abbot served with in India?”
    Her father’s forehead wrinkled. “India?”
    Marcus nodded. “This ‘fortune hunter’, as you call him, served with distinction in the East India Company and was injured saving ten other men in his company, including the son of the Earl of Waterberg. I will tell you all of those men will say nothing but good about him. I know that for a fact because I spoke to them ten years ago before I took Abbot into my employ.”
    Paul had been curiously silent during the exchange, but now he moved toward Marcus, his eyes wide and his face lined with the same remnants of pain she had seen on them when he told her a portion of his history in the wax exhibit.
    “You—you knew?” he stammered.
    Marcus smiled, and it was a warm expression that spoke volumes of how deeply he cared for Paul. “I know everything. Always.”
    Paul was silent for a long moment. Then he slowly turned his attention back to Georgina. In his eyes, she saw a