Chapter Nine #2
“I know.” Daring much, he took one of her hands and held it, thrilled when she didn’t pull away from his touch.
“However, Miss Alexander is more than capable of taking on a greater role as governess. You do not need to sit in on every lesson or monitor every tutor. She can do that, and if there is an issue, she will tell you.”
“That would give me back some much needed time,” Mary said in a soft, sing-song voice. She glanced at him. “How can I be assured the children’s education will be as good as it can be if I’m not there?”
“You will need to trust Miss Alexander. We hired her together, interviewed her together, ran down her family history. There is no one better qualified, and the children adore her. If they didn’t, then we would know there was a problem.
” As he spoke, the more he warmed to the ideas they were putting forth.
“We could completely renovate your study so that it’s more of an office where you will talk with the cases you do wish to take.” Ever so slightly, she squeezed his fingers. “It can also be your sanctuary when you need to ponder suspects and motives.”
“While the front parlor can be used as a reception area. We can bring in a desk for Adelaide—or whomever eventually takes that position—and we can put a couple of sofas in there and some chairs for folks who need to wait.” He rubbed a hand along the side of his face.
“Also, the reports and other pertinent paperwork can then be kept in files and organized. She’ll have her own cabinet or other place to store those things. ”
“Locked, of course.”
“Yes, exactly, and we’ll need some way to secure both the reception office and my study from the general household.”
“I’m sure we can puzzle all this out.” Yet there were still shadows in her eyes.
This next part wouldn’t prove so easy to fix, he feared. “Listen, sweeting, if you truly are unhappy and feel I’ve neglected you too much, then by all means carry out an affair where you can have all you need—”
“Stop.” She released his fingers only to lay her hand on his thigh. Whereupon he nearly launched off the bench from the unexpected touch. “I…” A quick breath alerted him to something new. “Look, Bright. There!” As she pointed, another round of shock went through him.
The midnight velvet sky was still a dark, painter’s canvas, only now, a few gold-white shooting stars streaked across the inky color. “Falling stars.”
“I have never seen such a sight,” she breathed with wonder in her tone.
“It is quite incredible.” Wanting to have a better view, he stood and brought Mary to her feet with him. “Ah, look at that one.” He pointed. “It has a long tail.”
“It is like nature’s fireworks, but so much better. Look how that one shimmers.”
When he glanced at her, the wonder and excitement in her expression tugged at his heart. Damn, but he was still very much in love with her. “You should make a wish,” he whispered to her. “Before the stars stop falling.”
“I don’t need to.” Though the smile she gave him was wobbly, it had never been as brilliant. “I have everything I could ever want in you… with you.”
“Oh, I…” Gabriel stared as emotions battered his chest. “But we’re fighting—”
“No, darling, we are having a bit of friction because life is changing, but if we remind ourselves that we still have each other, and we make more of an effort to keep that love at the forefront, to keep it alive, we shall weather the storm.”
For the first time in days, hope bloomed proud and strong in his chest. It was as if the deathly pall that had pressed around his shoulders lifted. “Is it that easy?”
“None of it is easy, and perhaps that is the point, because then we wouldn’t value it as we should, we wouldn’t fight for it.” She touched his hand. “Trusting each other then falling in love wasn’t immediate. It only came months and months later.”
“True.” As a wad of emotion lodged in his throat, Gabriel turned his attention to the skies once more. Another star shot across the darkness. “I’ll make a wish instead.”
“Oh?”
He nodded. “Here is my wish.” At times, it wasn’t his lot to appear strong, so he let moisture rise in his eyes. “I hope I’m fortunate enough to have thirty more years with you. Why? Because you are all I’ve ever wanted in a wife, a lover, a friend, but if you need to go—”
“I don’t, for you are my rock, Bright.” Mary put a palm on his chest. “You always will be.”
His body tightened. “But the flowers—”
“Don’t matter. They are pretty, of course, and it was lovely being thought about, but each night, I go to sleep beside you, kiss you, listen to the sound of your breathing, delight in the feel of your arms around me.
” When her voice caught, a tear fell to her cheek. “What are flowers compared to that?”
“God, I love you.” The whisper was soft and choked.
For a few more minutes, he and Mary watched the stars, then he pulled her into his arms and claimed her lips, kissed her soundly.
And he wanted so much more.
Eventually, she pulled slightly away, but a smile curved her kiss-swollen lips. “Gabriel, this is scandalous. Anyone can see the embrace.”
A chuckle escaped him, and it felt far too lovely to do so after a week fraught with drama. “Sweeting, that is the point.” Far too cheeky than what was good for him, he kissed her again. After, he grasped one of her hands. “Come with me.”
“Are we going into the ball?”
“Not yet, but I do want your promise to dance at least two sets with me.”
“Of course.” When she reached for the flowers, he pulled her toward the set of stone steps that would lead into the rear gardens. “Are we going upstairs?”
“Definitely not.”
She frowned. “Then where? Why the mystery?”
“Sometimes, life requires that as well.” With a glance at her, he grinned, for suddenly his spirit was lighter than it had been in a very long time. “We are going to the place where it all began.” If that wasn’t romantic, he didn’t know what would be.
“But my tulips…”
“We can retrieve them later or I’ll pick you more. I have a feeling you’ll enjoy this token of my affection much more.”
Recommitting to her would prove sweet; he could hardly wait.