Gabriel was looking through his books, trying to decide what he wanted Henry to read through next. There were many options, mostly books that his father had loved and enjoyed reading with Gabriel when he was a boy.
It was important to find more things that Henry would truly enjoy reading. After all, he was not overly fond of his work, but he had at least done better since Gabriel showed him new ways of studying and learning. It had been a dramatic improvement from how he worked in the first few days that they had studied with one another.
Nevertheless, as Gabriel looked through the different materials, he feared that Henry would never love to learn as much as his older brother wished he would. Lord Courtshire was not an easy man to impress or to please and that constantly left Gabriel worried. He disliked being so anxious at the estate, but it was his only choice for now.
The important thing was to be sure that he was not distracted by Lady Montague. She was alluring in every way, but Gabriel could not afford to be distracted by her. In truth, she was his favourite part about going to the estate and tutoring Henry. Gabriel had found himself so caught up by her that he was beginning to recognise how easily he could get into trouble if he was not careful.
Just as he was finalising the books he intended to take with him for Henry’s next session, Gabriel’s mother came into the room and rushed over to him.
“Mother? What is it?” he asked.
She smiled broadly and took his face in her hands.
“It is you, my boy. I am so thankful for the hard work you are doing for myself and your sister,” she said.
He laughed, amused by her sudden burst of appreciation.
“Thank you, Mother, but why are you telling me this now?” he asked.
“I found the purse you left me. The one with your wages,” she said.
“Oh, of course! Yes, well, it was only right. I know that we need that money to take care of the home and to buy enough food. Do you think it will help?” he asked.
“Help?” she scoffed with delight. “Gabriel, if you continue making this much money, we will have more than enough to last us each month. Thanks to your work, your sister will never have to go out and sell flowers again. I might not even have to bake and sell bread anymore. You are providing everything we need.”
This was exactly what Gabriel had longed to hear. He was thrilled to know that his work was benefitting the family and that he was able to help them. All he cared about was ensuring that his mother and sister had enough to get by and now, it seemed they had plenty.
“I am truly happy for that. It was always my goal to be able to provide for the both of you and now that I am, it means that we are in a far better condition than we have been. Adam will be thrilled as well, knowing that his recommendations enabled us to have this freedom,” he said.
“You are the reason for it all, Gabriel. It is that brilliant mind of yours. I know you have worked hard all these years to learn and study and it is now helping us more than you can possibly know. You and the work you are doing, it is the greatest thing to happen to us in many years. Ever since your father passed, we have struggled, but now? Now, we are doing well at last. I am so happy,” she said, tears pooling in her eyes.
Gabriel didn’t know what to say. Just hearing that he had aided his mother in the family’s finances was more than enough to encourage him onward. However, it also meant that he had no room for error. This was a matter of great import.
In order to maintain the benefits to his family, Gabriel had no choice but to keep working hard and staying out of trouble. He had to keep Lord Courtshire happy, which had already proven difficult. It was a miracle that Gabriel’s things had been stolen whilst the Earl was gone, otherwise he may have had to admit it to Lord Courtshire and then he would have consequences to contend with.
He was beginning to question whether or not things would be as simple as his last post, with a young man so clever that Gabriel’s efforts had been simple. Besides, the lad hadn’t had a stunning sister to cause distraction. If anything, that would be the problem now. Gabriel could not risk focusing more on Lady Montague than he did on Henry.
“Come, Gabriel,” his mother said. “I am going to make a feast for our dinner this evening. We will have roast chicken and I might even bake a raisin cake if we have everything here already.”
“Mother, you need not go to such trouble. Something simple will do just as well and it would be unwise to waste our new fortune,” he reasoned.
“Hardly!” she exclaimed.
“We must be prudent,” he said.
“And prudent we shall be, but there is no sense in refusing just a little bit of delight, now, is there?” she asked.
Gabriel realised he would not be able to convince her of anything to the contrary and relented, giving his mother a nod that he would indulge with her. There was no point in trying anything different by now. He knew that she had her mind set on this.
“Very well. If you insist, I suppose there is no harm in it just this once. But we must always be cautious not to spend all the money right away. I wish to have enough to cover the costs of the rest of this month and going into the next,” he said.
“Gabriel, your sister and I do not spend very much. This will last us more than a month. My hope is that we may keep enough from now that in a few months’ time, I will finally be able to take your sister for a new dress as opposed to simply trying to keep up with her growth by adding fabric to the dresses she already has,” his mother said.
“That is something I more than agree with,” he said. Gabriel was constantly embarrassed by his sister’s dresses, which showed that the family had fallen upon difficult times. With his last assignment, Gabriel had been able to afford to help his mother and sister with many necessities, but it was only now, working for the Earl, that he was able to cover all of their costs and more. He hoped that, once Henry had completed his studies, Gabriel would manage to work for another, even wealthier family.
It seemed that he simply had to take it one student at a time, making every effort to increase what he charged as he went along. Adam had assisted him in that and in deciding what was the best route to take in order to achieve his goals for his finances.
Gabriel rested as his mother got to work cooking. He was thankful that she was so industrious and allowed him some time to be at peace upon finishing his work. He hoped, more than anything, that he would not prove unworthy of the rest, but that he would make up for it with boundless money that could help them get back the status they held when his father was alive.
Indeed, it was clear to Gabriel that he had no choice but to keep his employer happy moving forward, refusing to make any further mistakes. No matter how distracted he was by Lady Montague, he could not allow his affection for her to cause him the sort of error that would lead to his dismissal. He would never forgive himself for that.
It would create a burden for his mother and sister that he simply could not allow. And if he was found out to have feelings for Lady Montague, it would mean that his reputation would be destroyed and he would never find another position, no matter how hard he might try. Lord Courtshire would certainly do everything within his power to prevent it.
Gabriel knew what this meant for him. No matter what, he could never admit his feelings. And now, that meant he could not even acknowledge them to himself.