He was rumoured to be romantically involved with Josefina, but since he gambled to bed her halfway through the book, it was probably nothing more than said rumour. His attempts to bed her may or may not have involved cheating at cards, but considering his generally sinister nature, it is certainly not past him at all. In the aforementioned gambling incident, he attempted to settle the dispute by "taking" his prize by force. Sharpe heard the woman scream, and gallantly defended her honour. This involved a couple of humiliations for Gibbons, most notably (to him) that Josefina willingly joined Sharpe romantically.