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  “You mustn’t think such about your sister,” she scolded.

  “You have not seen Sunny with the eyes I have. She was a mischievous child, cunning as well as she was cute. Being the youngest, she got away with much more than Raven or I ever did.” He smiled. “She had my father wrapped around her little finger. He would always try his best to please her, to please us all.”

  “How wonderful for her to have been so loved by her father, and for you to have all those family memories,” she said softly.

  “And do you have none of Anita?” He sat back in his chair.

  “Aye, I do, but the happy times were few and far between.” She held up a finger. “Now, mind you, it wasn’t because Anita treated me harshly that the good times were scarce. She gave me everything that was humanly possible to give. It was just that we were so terribly poor and so horribly caught up in a circumstance that was too difficult to escape from. I was always cold, and hungry, and afraid of my surroundings, and Anita hated that, but there was not much she could do about it.” She paused. “I often think how sad she must have felt to know her very best was not anything much at all.”

  He reached out and covered her hand with his. “I promise you, you will never be cold, hungry, or afraid again.” He squeezed her hand lightly. “I am here for you now.”

  The warmth of his touch circulated through her entire body. In spite of the fact that at any second she’d turn into the consistency of butter, melting in a puddle at his feet, she had to have clarification for his declaration. “And how will you be here for me, Gabriel?”

  Her bold question momentarily stunned him. “Do you doubt my words to you?”

  “Nay, I would never doubt anything you say, for I know you and Sunny to be as truthful and honorable as the day is long.” She squared her shoulders. “But I need you to make your intentions clearer.” She cast her gaze aside. “I know I was not born a genteel woman, but I still deserve a man’s respect.”

  He brought her hand up to his lips, kissed her knuckles and then placed her palm over his heart. Beneath her touch, it raced.

  “Look at me, Riley,” he said.

  She shifted her gaze and met his, the heat of his glance penetrating to her core.

  “I never want you out of my sight,” he confessed, his tone as soft as velvet. “And by that I mean I want always for us to be together. But I need you to be patient with me.” He took an audible breath. “First, I must get my own thoughts straightened out, know what is right for me to do, before I can make the proper decision for the future.”

  The long silence between them was drowned out by the sound of her blood rushing to her brain. How she longed to kiss him, to run her fingers through his thick, dark hair, to feel his flesh naked against hers. Every fiber of her being cried out to be caressed by him, kissed, and loved, and...

  “Will you...can you be patient?” He broke the silence and pulled her thoughts to the moment.

  “Aye,” she whispered, an unwanted blush heating her face. “That, I can.”

  He stood, pulling her up with him and drawing her into his embrace. Placing a light kiss upon her forehead, he whispered, “I hold much respect for you.” He sighed, his warm breath washing over her temple. “If you only knew how I have restrained myself, fought to keep my lips from tasting every inch of you, forced my hands to be still, you would understand the honor I feel for you.”

  Aye, honorable. He is being honorable toward me, not indifferent, not uninterested, but honorable.

  Her heart sang.

  He raised her chin with the tip of a finger, and their eyes locked. “My people believe there must be honor between a couple as well as love. But such righteousness cannot be rushed. Integrity and trust must have time to grow.” He arched a brow. “I know you would not want it any other way between us.”

  “Nay, I would not,” she managed to mutter, her senses whirling at hearing him speak the words between us. If her knees didn’t stop trembling, she was sure she’d soon find herself collapsed upon the floor.

  As he lowered his head, his one lock of pale hair fell across his forehead. A sigh escaped her, and she rested her hands upon his muscular chest as she lifted her lips to meet his. Just as he was about to capture her mouth, Regis cleared his throat in the doorway.

  She quickly stepped aside, cringing with embarrassment. This was the second time Regis had caught them in such a familiar position.

  “I beg your pardons,” Regis droned. Except for one raised brow, his expression was as stoic as always while going about his duties. He held a bouquet of pink, long-stemmed roses in a milk-glass vase.

  “What is it, Regis?” Gabriel asked with an annoyed tone. His agitation was evident at being interrupted, and that made her smile from within.

  “There is a message for you, sir, from Mrs. Halston,” Regis said, handing Gabriel an envelope. “Her driver waits now for an answer.”

  Gabriel arched a brow. “And who are the flowers for?”

  “Mrs. Cavendish,” Regis said. “I suspect they are a congratulatory gift for the new arrivals.”

  He nodded. “Have Addie take them up to Sunny, then return for my answer.”

  Regis inclined his head politely. “Very good, sir.”

  “Gabriel,” she began, her voice shakier then she liked.

  “I do not plan on leaving Collins Stead, Riley,” he reassured her as he tore open the wrapper and pulled out a delicate piece of stationery. A whiff of jasmine filled the room and a wash of jealousy consumed her. As he swept over the words written with a critical eye, Riley held her breath. It seemed like an eternity to her, standing there in the dining room, waiting for his next move.

  He replaced the notepaper into the envelope and slipped it in his breast pocket. “Would you give me a moment?”

  “Aye,” she muttered. “I will be in the library.”

  He nodded, forcing a smile.

  She forced a smile of her own before taking herself to the library.

  From the window there, she could see Collette Halston’s carriage parked on the circular drive. She waited for Regis to bring him Gabriel’s decision. The clock on the desk clicked away the minutes...one, five, ten, and still Regis didn’t bring Gabriel’s answer. Then from the front door, Gabriel emerged. With his long strides, he made his way down the path toward the elegant vehicle and climbed in.

  Her heart sank as she watched the carriage disappear at the end of the drive, swallowed by the morning fog. If Gabriel truly felt something for her, how could he even think of going to Collette?

  She frowned. What happened to his promise to stay at Collins Stead? What was in Collette’s note that made him change his mind?

  A sudden chill filled her being. She walked to the fire, stoked it, and remained to soak up its warmth. But no matter how it blazed, a cold, heavy dread weighted down upon her chest. Was it not only moments ago he spoke of how he restrained his affections toward her out of honor and respect? With such a confession, he was admitting his feelings for her. And yet now he was heading into Collette Halston’s arms.

  She squeezed her temples with her fingers, totally at a loss for Gabriel’s actions. None of it made any sense whatsoever. And then a sudden realization made her gasp.

  Is Collette with child?

  It was common knowledge the two partook in intimate romps outside the bonds of matrimony, thus the reason Gabriel felt he should propose to Collette. But she had refused, and Simon brought him back to Collins Stead, drunk and humiliated as a result. While Collette escaped to Egypt.

  But could Collette have now returned carrying Gabriel’s child and changed her mind about his proposal?

  Knowing Gabriel to be the honorable man that he is, he would be compelled to do the right thing...marry Collette and claim the child.

  Oh, why...why did it have to be this way? Why did Gabriel even take up with such a woman?

  At one time Lucinda explained to her certain needs men desired, and the things genteel women should never lower themselves
to do. For this reason, men were permitted to seek out the women who would do those unspeakable acts, leaving the woman of worth to only bear their heirs. Riley knew the women these men sought. They walked the streets of London’s dark side, performing the unmentionable wants and needs for money. It was the very life Lucinda kept her from by taking her in. And the life Gabriel saved her from when he rescued her from the Sea Patrol.

  But Collette Halston was different. She didn’t need to sell herself for money. She wasn’t dirty, destitute, and stuck in a bad situation. She didn’t please a man in an ally while standing up against a wall, nor did she wear tattered clothes, or sleep in the gutter. Nay, Collette was rich, beautiful, and could travel anywhere she wanted. She was everything Riley was not, could not be...will not be, because Lucinda had raised her to play by society’s rules.

  And yet she was sure Sunny pleased her husband to fulfillment, not giving a care or worry to what society thought she should or shouldn’t do. Behind closed doors, between a husband and his wife, who had to know what went on? Different things Sunny confided in her was enough to assume she kept her husband satisfied, as well as enjoying the freedom to express her own desires. Riley felt those same desires, every time Gabriel kissed her. And she wanted more than just bearing her husband’s heirs. But now her chance to wed Gabriel was over. She’d never be able show him the unbridled passion that burned within her. Her eyes filled with tears as she thought of him as Collette’s husband, lying beside her naked, touching her, kissing her, having a family with her.

  She groaned. “Oh, Gabriel, why couldn’t you have just waited for me?”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  A knock at her chamber door awakened Riley. Startled, she sat up in bed, wiping her moist eyes with the backs of her hands.

  Why have I fallen asleep crying?

  As the second knock came, she remembered what drove her in tears to her room.

  “One moment,” she called out, swinging her legs off the bed and straightening her clothes. She hurried to the dressing table to look in the mirror and was horrified at her reflection. “Mercy,” she whispered. Peering back at her was a red-nosed, swollen-eyed young woman with hair in disarray.

  “Riley,” came Sunny’s voice from the other side of the door. “I have lunch waiting for you in my room.”

  “I am not hungry, Sunny,” she responded.

  “Are you ill?” Sunny questioned with a concerned tone.

  “Nay, I am fine,” she called back, trying to smooth aside the wayward wisps of hair clinging to her face.

  “Please let me in,” Sunny insisted.

  Reluctantly, she went to the door, took a deep breath to calm the fluttering within her stomach, and turned the knob.

  Sunny sized her up in one glance. “You are not fine.”

  “Aye, I am,” she softly protested. “Just a bit tired.”

  “You are not fine,” Sunny repeated, entering the room and shutting the door behind her. “And I know why.”

  She stepped aside and walked to the window. “I’d rather not discuss it.”

  “You have every right to feel betrayed,” Sunny said.

  Her emotions broke like water bursting through a broken dam. Covering her face with her hands, she sobbed, “Oh, Sunny, I am such a fool.”

  Sunny ran to her, cradling Riley in her arms. “No, my friend, you are not a fool, just a woman in love. And my brother’s choice to visit Collette today has hurt you deeply, made you feel betrayed.”

  She pulled back to gaze into the other woman’s large, sympathetic eyes. The last thing she wanted was to have anyone take pity upon her. Nay, she would not be poor Riley, left with a broken heart because the man she loved was bound to another. She stepped out of Sunny’s embrace, wiped her tears with the back of her hands, and squared her shoulders. “There is no betrayal, because nothing was promised.”

  “But there was, and we both know it,” Sunny said. “I know Gabriel’s feelings for you are true. We have talked about it.” She frowned. “Something else drove my brother to Collette Halston’s side today.” Her frown deepened. “I know he would not go unless there was good reason.”

  Riley squeezed her throbbing temples. “Please, Sunny, I can’t bear another moment talking about him and Collette. Whatever reason he had, it doesn’t alter the fact he went to her. That is something I can’t forget nor can anyone change.”

  “Come,” Sunny said, taking Riley by the hand and leading her to the guest quarters. “You need nourishment, or you will make yourself ill.”

  She reluctantly followed her friend, sure she couldn’t swallow a thing.

  Once in the other woman’s chamber, Sunny handed her a finger sandwich of cream cheese and cucumber. “Now, eat. I am sure there is an explanation for my brother’s actions today, and when he returns, we will both be there to hear what they are.”

  She numbly chewed her food, not tasting a thing, her gaze wandering over to the flowers that Collette sent Sunny. They sat atop a small corner dresser, blooming pink and lush.

  “Your flowers are lovely,” she mentioned.

  Sunny nodded. “I think the pink shade is so soft.”

  “Much more appropriate, I’d wager, for a baby gift,” she reflected, rising from her chair to smell the unusual blooms. The card lay beside the vase, and Riley scanned the message. But then she took a closer look at the script. The curls and lines of Collette’s handwriting had been one she’d seen before. “The writing is familiar.”

  “Has Collette not sent many messages to my brother here in the past?” Sunny said.

  “Aye, but I never saw them. Regis would take them from the messenger and bring them directly to Gabriel,” she said, turning to look at Sunny.

  Sunny frowned. “And yet you know the handwriting?”

  “Aye, I do...but I don’t know how,” she said.

  Sunny shrugged. “That sort of thing happens to me often, and I find that in time the answer always comes to me.”

  She scrutinized the script once again before she turned to place the card where she found it.

  Sunny continued. “You will be doing something and all of a sudden,” she snapped her fingers, “just like that, you will remember.”

  And just like that, Riley did. The handwriting on the card she held was that of her father’s, which in truth turned out to be from her kidnappers, the dreaded Sea Patrol.

  Riley frowned.

  But they are all dead.

  Panic seized her.

  Unless one more still lives...someone nay a soul would suspect.

  Her eyes widened.

  Collette Halston!

  Then another horrid thought struck her. Gabriel never saw the note from the kidnappers. After she read it, she stuck it in her skirt pocket. And that skirt burned in a fire at Lands End. Right now Gabriel could be walking into a trap.

  “Are you all right, my friend?” Sunny asked.

  “Aye,” she managed to choke out past the lump in her throat. Gabriel’s reasons for leaving Collins Stead now didn’t matter, only that he was safe, and Riley didn’t believe he was.

  “Then come and finish your lunch,” Sunny suggested.

  She took a deep breath to control the terror rising to smother her. Explaining her findings to Sunny would only frighten the new mother, and such a trauma after childbirth could cause disastrous results. Composing herself as best she could, she turned to face her friend.

  “And where is Rafe today?” she calmly inquired. If she went to him with what she suspected, he would not hesitate to help Gabriel.

  “He has gone off with Simon and Oliver to run some errands. They left not long after Gabriel,” Sunny said.

  Hearing this news foiled the idea of incorporating Rafe’s help. And by the time she sent for a constable, waited for his arrival, explained the trouble, and then sent him to Collette’s estate, it could be too late to help Gabriel.

  Then she thought of a quicker way to come to Gabriel’s aid. “Where is Charles?”

  �
��I think he is in the dining room, helping Jane polish the silver for my babies’ baptism on Sunday.” Sunny cocked her head sideways. “Why all the questions?”

  Riley didn’t answer. Rushing out of Sunny’s chamber, she took the stairs two at time to the dining room.

  When she hurried into the room, Charles looked up from his task. “What is it Miss Riley?”

  “You must make ready the carriage immediately, Charles,” she said. “I must pay an urgent call.”

  “Aye, miss,” Charles agreed without further question, taking off for the stables.

  “What is it, miss?” Jane inquired.

  “I haven’t the time to explain. But for right now, I need you to quickly fetch my cape.”

  “Aye,” Jane said, leaving the room just as fast as Charles did.

  Once at the carriage, Charles opened the door. “Where to, miss?”

  “To the Wellington mansion, please Charles, and quickly,” she said.

  The Wellington estate was much closer to Collins Stead than Scotland Yard and on the way to Collette’s mansion. Suzanna’s father could send his men to aid Gabriel much faster than the authorities could arrive. And from what she witnessed at Lands End, they’d be far more effective. Riley had nay a doubt in her mind that Lady Wellington would refuse to do as she asked. Suzanna would be most happy to oblige.

  “Aye,” she whispered to herself, remembering the humiliation the other woman endured by the kidnapper’s hands. “She will be most happy indeed.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  As Gabriel strode the familiar path to Collette’s door, he found himself in a much different state of being than his previous walks. Times before filled him with anticipation, knowing the night held erotic passion from a woman uninhibited by society’s protocol. Collette Halston could please a man in ways far beyond the imagination. He dared never to question as to how and by whom such skills were learned, for such information would have had even him blushing. It was one thing for a man to cultivate a woman in such matters, show her, teach her how to fulfill his yearnings, but quite another for a woman to take the lead, and such an erogenous one at that. Unless the woman worked in a house of ill-repute, and Collette was never of this kind, some actions performed were considered unthinkable.