Chapter 22 #2
She beamed. “I would love to go for a walk. Just give me a moment to change…” She was wearing an old grey dress, something a maid might wear, and her hair was tied back in a ponytail.
It was an outfit that she likely never would have worn before this marriage, and it was just further proof that she was becoming more comfortable with who she was.
“I’ll meet you outside,” he told her as she hurried from the room.
Gabriel’s mood was peaked as he made his way outside.
That a mere walk with his wife could have him feeling this way should not have come as a surprise, but that did not mean he was used to it.
The more time he spent with Sophia, the more he admired her, and the more he realized this decision to marry her was the best he had ever made.
They arrived at the park less than thirty minutes later.
As told, the park was not the lavish and grandiose parks that might be found in the city.
It did not stretch for miles. It was not a cornucopia of pedestrians out to enjoy a day in the sun.
It was not teaming with colorful flower beds and intricately carved hedges and lined trees all trimmed neatly and perfectly. But it didn’t have to be.
It was quaint and quiet and isolated, and that was why it was perfect.
They walked together down the stone pathway that wound the edges of the park.
They walked closely, but not holding hands or linking arms, as that still felt too familiar and beyond where their relationship was at.
But neither seemed to notice, more than happy with the chance to spend time together freely.
And that was what mattered. That they both wanted to spend their time this way, together, free from judgement or expectation.
“… you know, we never did have that honeymoon,” Gabriel pointed out as they strolled along the pathway.
She raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that a hint?”
“Merely a statement of fact.”
Sophia narrowed her eyes. “Now, I am left to wonder, are you telling me because you wish for me to make a suggestion, saving you from having to do so? Or are you hoping I will anyway, so that you can deny me, and then do whatever it is you wanted to from the beginning?”
“I would never!” He touched his chest and pretended to look hurt.
“Ha!”
“I mean…” He shrugged and then winked. “If you were to suggest something I did not wish for, I would tell you as much. Honesty, remember.”
“But how would I know you weren’t doing so just to prove that you can? To assert your authority, because you worry that I am taking it from you.”
He rolled his eyes. “Two weeks of being free and she is already starting to act like a tyrant.”
“Oh, you have not seen anything yet,” she grinned.
“I cannot help but feel that I have made a grave error here. Unleashing a monster into the world.”
“Mean.”
“Accurate, I think is the word you wanted to use.”
She scoffed but he could see her smile as they walked. “Are you being serious? About a honeymoon?”
“Eventually,” he said, because he was being serious. “We are married, and we did miss the chance to have one. Besides, it is expected.”
“And since when do you care about what is expected?”
“I don’t,” he agreed. “Maybe I am just trying to do right by you.”
“And since when do you care about doing right by me?”
“Fine, no honeymoon it is. If you’re going to act like that.”
Sophia was dressed in typical half-dress; she had on a soft yellow muslin gown, over which she wore a spencer jacket of burgundy, as well as a bonnet to keep her hair out of her eyes. It was casual and not at all dressy, further proof that she had stopped caring what everyone thought of her.
Gabriel eyed her closely as they walked, and more than once he looked to her arm dangling freely beside her. There was a large part of him that wished to link it, to pull her close, to show her just how he felt. But he stayed that notion… no sense overdoing it when things are going so well.
“Let me think about it,” she said with a sly smile.
“Take as long as you need.”
He continued to eye her sideways as they walked.
He looked at the smile on her face, the glimmer in her eyes, the way that she glowed in the soft sunlight.
More and more, he was finding it impossible to ignore her beauty, just as he was finding it impossible to ignore what that beauty was doing to him.
His heart began to thump. His tongue swelled in his mouth. He wanted to take her arm, just as he wanted to take her hand and hold it. Confusion reigned supreme inside of him because he had never felt this way about someone before and had no idea how to act.
It simply isn’t me. My entire reputation is built on short courtship, rakish behavior, and not caring one wit about the feelings of others. Women, especially.
This felt like the antithesis of everything he knew about himself, and he was still fighting within not to care that he was changing. Change was good… he had to believe that it was.
Suddenly, Sophia turned stiff and came to a stop.
Gabriel lurched forward in surprise, and when he turned and saw the look on Sophia’s face too -- it contorted in fury – he assumed immediately that he had done something wrong.
“Sophia…” he started carefully. “What… what is the matter?”
She was not paying him any attention. Rather, she looked back down the path, the anger on her face increasing by the second so that he thought she might literally explode from it.
Gabriel followed her gaze and found immediately what had taken her focus.
Not so far down the same path that they walked were a young lord and a young lady.
The young lord was typical, the type who always walked with his nose pointed in the air, no chin to speak of, and a look about his stance that suggested something was wedge up his backside.
The young lady was dressed well for the circumstance, a lavish gown of blue and green, beyond what a park like this one called for.
However, it was not so much the way the young couple looked that had Sophia’s attention, but how they acted… or how the young lord acted.
He had a hold of the young lady’s arm and he dragged her down the pathway as he snapped and bickered.
She clearly did not wish to go with him, but there was little that she could do.
To make matters even worse, there were few others in the park, but they all took notice of the scene that was forming around the angry lord. Worse still, they did nothing.
“Disgusting,” Gabriel agreed. “Some men just do not know – what are you doing? Sophia! Where are you going?”
Sophia stormed down the pathway and toward the angry young lord. She wore a look on her face that would make children cry and so angry was she that Gabriel would not be surprised if fire began to spew from her mouth.
“Excuse me!” she called to the lord. “Excuse me! Yes, you. I am talking to you!”
Gabriel stood frozen as he watched her intercept the young lord and lady. His first instinct was to hurry after her, figuring she might need his presence if she was to talk the lord down and intimidate him. He decided on staying back to watch… curious about what would happen.
Is it so strange that a part of me almost feels sorry for this young lord? The poor man has no idea what he is in for.
“I think it is quite clear that she does not wish to go with you.” Sophia put her hands on her hips and glared daggers.
“Who are you?” the lord snarled.
“Who I am does not matter.” She looked right at him, her lips curled, her expression rueful. “What matters is that this young woman clearly reviles you, and if you know what is good for you, you will let her go and be on your way.” She cocked a warning eyebrow at him.
The young lord gawked. “Are you insane? Why don’t you mind your own business.”
“This is my business,” she fired back. “Now, are you going to leave her be, or do I need to make your day that much worse than it already is?”
Sophia was not particularly imposing. Petite in stature, willowy in her frame, her features were soft and innocent, while her thick lashes and large eyes were undeniable feminine. No man, anywhere, should worry about being found on the wrong end of her ire. And yet…
The young lord started… hesitated… looked around the park where he noticed people watching. His face hardened, Gabriel braced himself to rush forward and intercept him in case he did something foolish. But for some reason, the young lord relented and then released the young woman.
He took a step back and waved his hand in dismissal. “Fine. Like I care. Take the wench and be done with it….” The young lord offered Sophia a sneer, turned, and hustled down the path.
Gabriel stayed where he was, gawking at the scene that just unfolded, no idea what to make of any of it.
He had known that Sophia was different to most women, that there was a side to her that was bold and fiery and free thinking.
That was why he had married her in the first place!
But this… this was beyond anything he imagined.
She was not just different, she was special. And better still, she was his wife.
A fire lit in Gabriel’s belly, it spread through his limbs and warmed him, and it reached his lips and his eyes so he smiled broadly for all to see. Not only was he proud of Sophia, but he was moved by her. She was indescribable, unique, and he could not get enough.
She turned, saw him smiling, and returned it. That made his stomach squirm as if he was suddenly nervous. He thought to walk to her, to take her hand, to pull her into a kiss…
No, not yet. She knows how I feel, and that should be enough for now. No sense risking making things awkward or worse. Not when we have all the time in the world.
Gabriel was happy, and that was what mattered most. Married to a woman he was starting to fall for, changing slowly into a better person, and looking forward to the future like he never had before.
“Are we going?” Sophia said as she appeared beside him again.
“Yes…” He laughed and shook his head. “Lead the way.”
And that’s exactly what she did.