Gemma Montjoy

Gemma, a character in The Unexpected Heiress series, is the Dowager Duchess of Wessex and one of Your Character's love interests. She is first seen in Chapter 2.

Appearance
Gemma has short black curly hair, brown eyes and tanned skin. She wears a purple long dress, and a silver necklace.

Personality
Gemma is known for her unconventional personality and speaking her mind. She has forward-thinking political views (she is a supporter of women's suffrage), is often late to social engagements, and enjoys breaks from upper-class decorum. Gemma is an outgoing, spirited, and confident person. In Chapter 4, she describes herself as "not one to bite [her] tongue" after confronting the two prejudiced nobles for their derogatory comments about your character.

The Unexpected Heiress

 * Chapter 2: Blood Relatives
 * Chapter 4: Roses & Thorns
 * Chapter 6: A Sordid Affair
 * Chapter 7: Belle of the Ball
 * Chapter 8: The Chase
 * Chapter 9: The Cause (Determinant)
 * Chapter 10: Power Play
 * Chapter 11: Upper Echelon
 * Chapter 12: The Hunter and the Prey
 * Chapter 13: Raising the Stakes
 * Chapter 14: Buried Truths
 * Chapter 15: Reckoning
 * Chapter 16: The Bride

A Very Scandalous Proposal

 * Chapter 1: The Mysterious Heir (Mentioned)
 * Chapter 13: Facing the Music (Mentioned; Determinant)
 * Chapter 16: The Next Generation (Mentioned; Physical Appearance Determinant)

Amelia Hayes
If you wear Amelia's engagement dress to the first formal dinner, you notice that Gemma appears unaffected and surmise that she might not have been present during the night Amelia announced her engagement.

Your Character
Gemma is one of your love interests. You can begin to flirt with her upon first introduction. She finds your forwardness refreshing, and tells you that she has heard interesting stories about you. After dinner, she invites you to sneak off with her. At the garden party in Chapter 4, she stands up for you after two guests make classist (and, if your character is a person of color, racist) comments toward you.

Thomas Montjoy
Gemma married Thomas when she was eighteen years old. During A Very Scandalous Proposal, Thomas's perspective on their marriage is spoken of. Their marriage was arranged, and she was certain they could grow to love each other in time. However, they did not and in hindsight, she might have sensed his lies but thinks she let hope blind her to them. She describes their marriage as being 'difficult.' The two were also not able to have children. Thomas made an arrangement with her and granted her freedom to seek love outside of the marriage, which she accepted.

After his death, Gemma doesn't have harsh words for him in public. She comments that his title and prestige were often used to deflect criticism of her "less than pure" blood, and she tends to get silent slings from others after his death.

Andrew Oliver Montjoy
Andrew Oliver Montjoy (referred to as "Ollie") is Gemma's ward. In Chapter 12, when you visit Barrington House for a driven grouse shoot, Gemma tells you that Ollie is away at boarding school. He is the son of her late husband and his mistress, and although she has come to care for Ollie as her own, she feels that Ollie resents her for keeping him away from his biological mother. Gemma believes that over the years, their relationship has improved somewhat even though she feels she spends a lot of time trying to win him over.

Miscellaneous

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Trivia

 * She is shown on the cover of The Unexpected Heiress.
 * She shares her first name as Gemma from The Elementalists and the adoptable animal from Across the Void.
 * She is noted to be around thirty years old.
 * In Chapter 4, it is revealed that her husband was Duke Thomas Montjoy, the ancestor of Simon/Ava Montjoy from A Very Scandalous Proposal.
 * In the same chapter, she reveals that she is descended from an heiress from the West Indies.
 * In A Very Scandalous Proposal, she is mentioned to have written her memoirs. There she alluded to a scandal with her husband. She said she bought her freedom from him, and comfort for life, in exchange for silence. That sparked an idea in Your Character (A Very Scandalous Proposal) to expose the Montjoys' secrets, which is the reason you traveled to London.
 * She appears in the bonus scene if you collected all the letters between Thomas Montjoy & Moira.