Chapter Fourteen #2
Having dogs run a track was not the usual format for dog racing, but Gideon knew Caro had always disliked watching coursing, where greyhounds were sent in to chase a loose hare.
Though the complex points system was not solely based on which animal captured the hare, the capture and death of the lure was not improbable.
This was why Gideon had so diligently sought out other versions of the sport to satisfy everyone’s desire to gamble, the thrill of racing, and the preservation of life.
Caro must have contacted the kennels responsible for this format of racing to have them present for this party.
The lengths to which this woman had gone through for him… they were humbling.
“I did, indeed,” Caro replied with a smile so bright Gideon thought he might be blinded from its brilliance. She held out her hand and, rather than taking his when he offered it in return, she dropped into his palm a heavy velvet pouch filled with coins. “Go select your winner.”
“I am in awe of you, Caroline,” he breathed, his eyes dancing over her face and delighting in the beauty and warmth there.
“I feel the same.” Her words were soft and intimate, as chaste as a peck on the lips, yet as incendiary as what she’d done to him in her sitting room earlier that day.
“Let us go,” she said, giving his hand a little tug.
“There are only so many races that can be run before it is fully dark, and I have a good feeling about the brindle number three.”
Following the dog races (during which Caroline had soundly trounced every member of their group with her race selections), Gideon and Oliver were drafted into a game of cards in the room set up for that purpose.
“Caro must love you,” Kempton said, leaning back in his chair and gesturing appreciatively to the room with his unlit cheroot.
The sitting room had been cleared out and reset with tables for cards, roulette, and dice.
Servants meandered through, offering an impeccable variety of drinks and cigars.
“She went to a great deal of trouble to put all this together.”
Gideon only smiled as he shuffled the cards.
She hadn’t said as much, but Kempton was correct. Everything around them—the weeks of planning, the thought and care that went into every little detail—it smacked of love. His chest constricted. Could she love him?
Could she know he felt that way about her?
He certainly adored her, looked forward to spending time with her, and wanted her with a fierce need the likes of which he’d never experienced.
He was proud to have her as his wife and his partner, and the thought of seeing her as the mother of his child someday soon gave him the most peacefully elated sensation he’d ever experienced.
Was all of that love? He was beginning to think it was the deepest version of it.
“Are we shuffling all night or are we playing?” asked Brinley with his characteristic sarcasm.
Gideon chuckled and began to deal.
All the men learned in short order that Oliver was quite talented at cards—nearly as much as Gideon was.
Blackwood made a disgusted sound as he tossed his hand of cards to the table. “My pocketbook will never survive attempting to keep up with the two of you.”
Gideon chuckled and caught Oliver’s eye across the table. Was it his imagination, or did they share a moment of—not necessarily brotherly affection—a warm kinship? The seedling of a bond?
Gideon fervently hoped that night was the grafting of yet another branch onto his woefully slim family tree. His heart felt fuller than it had in recent memory.
Two long tables had been set up in the dining room, laid with pristine white cloths, the fine china usually kept in the storeroom at Bray Castle, and silverware so polished that it glittered in the glow of the shining chandeliers and candelabras. Everything about it was perfection.
Gideon looked over to Caro on his right; she was busy chatting animatedly with Kempton. He couldn’t help but stare at her, his amazing, beautiful, brilliant wife. The smiling faces, all the joyful chatter…it was all thanks to her.
Unable to contain himself any longer, Gideon stood and tapped on his wine glass with a spoon until the room quieted and he had their attention.
He opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
There was a soft brush on the smallest finger of his right hand.
He looked down to see Caro’s hand had inched close enough to graze his—to provide him strength and support. This was everything he needed.
“I wanted to thank everyone for being complicit in this plot to celebrate my birthday—a lost cause, if ever there was one,” he began, earning a hearty chuckle from the assemblage.
“Walking into this party and having all of you here to partake in this night’s entertainment will forever be one of the highlights of my life.
” His eyes tracked around the tables, finally locating Oliver and Emily, seated opposite one another a little way down.
“And thank you for welcoming my brother, Mr. Oliver Black, and his lovely wife,” he added, lifting his glass in Oliver’s direction.
Heads whipped around and there were murmurs as people’s suspicions were confirmed.
“He has not received the recognition he deserved in life, and I am determined to change that. Beginning tonight, they are acknowledged parts of the Bray family.” Emily made a surreptitious swipe at her eyes and Oliver offered him a slight inclination of his head.
“Most of all,” Gideon continued more loudly over the smattering of chatter in the wake of his revelation, “thank you to my wife, Caroline.” He looked down at her again and saw tears glittering in her verdant eyes, a soft smile playing upon her shapely mouth.
“Nearly two months of marriage and she’s made me happier than I ever deserved.
” He took her hand in his and guided her to stand.
“I love you,” he said. Her lips parted in surprise and he took immediate advantage, leaning in and kissing her soundly, passionately, before the entire party.
Dimly, he could hear his friends cheering and whistling above a few scandalized murmurs.
Caroline’s face was bright red when he finally broke the kiss.
“May I?” he whispered, his eyes flicking down to her abdomen and back up.
After Caro’s distress following the revelation that the staff were likely aware of the baby, they’d discussed announcing the pregnancy upon their return to London.
However, Gideon did not care about London; he cared about Caro and the people in that dining room.
He wanted to add to the joy of the evening.
She nibbled the corner of her lip and gave a little nod.
Grinning wide as a fool, Gideon held his glass even higher and turned back to the party. “Tonight, we drink to friends, family, reckless behavior, overindulgence, and…to a soon-to-be-born addition to the Swanleigh line. Thus far, my third decade is shaping up to be an interesting one.”
The room erupted into cheers and well-wishes, the clinking of glasses and excited chatter.
Gideon sipped his drink before placing a quick peck upon Caro’s lips and relinquishing her back to her chair, where she was immediately accosted with Kempton’s congratulations.
Gideon reclaimed his seat and the meal began.