Chapter 30 #2
Gabriel drew her closer as the kiss deepened.
Eleanor’s hands settled against his shoulders, and he felt the years between them begin to disappear.
There was no fear in it now, no uncertainty about what either of them meant, only the warmth of her in his arms, the faint scent of roses surrounding them, and the knowledge that she had chosen him freely.
When they parted, neither moved away. Gabriel rested his forehead against hers, breathing slowly as he tried to absorb the simple fact that the woman he had loved for so many years was finally standing in his arms by choice.
“I have been waiting for that kiss since I was seventeen,” Eleanor whispered.
Gabriel laughed softly, his thumb brushing over her cheek. “I have been waiting even longer.”
He kissed her forehead before drawing her back against his chest. The garden would recover.
The broken branches could be pruned, the beds tended, and new roses would grow where the old ones had been damaged.
He looked down at Eleanor and understood that their lives were much the same.
They could never reclaim the years they had lost, but they could choose what came next, and for the first time Gabriel felt no need to fear the future.
By the time Gabriel and Eleanor returned to the house, the worst of the morning’s tension had finally begun to leave.
Sophie had been thoroughly examined by the dowager and declared in need of nothing more serious than food and sleep, and the entire household seemed to have drawn itself together around the family as though determined to make certain no one was left alone.
Beatrice was waiting in the drawing room with Cassandra and Sophie. The moment Eleanor entered, Beatrice crossed the room and caught her in a fierce embrace, while Sophie immediately reached for her mother’s hand.
“You have had quite enough excitement for one day,” Beatrice declared, pulling away only far enough to inspect Eleanor’s face. “I am beginning to think Ravenscourt has become positively determined to test all of our nerves.”
Eleanor laughed softly. “I believe it has.”
Gabriel watched them with a warmth that settled deep in his chest. The sight of Eleanor standing there surrounded by Beatrice, Cassandra, the dowager, and Sophie felt almost unreal after all the months in which she had believed herself an outsider.
She had once been so careful with everyone in the house, always grateful for every kindness and ready to leave before anyone could decide she had stayed too long.
But Cassandra was smiling at her, and Sophie had planted herself firmly at her side as though there could be no question that Eleanor belonged among them. The dowager entered carrying a small parcel.
“There is something you should see.”
Eleanor looked toward her.
The older woman’s expression held a trace of amusement. “It seems we have kept a secret from you.”
Eleanor glanced at Gabriel. He immediately recognized the look in her eyes.
“What secret?”
Cassandra smiled. “The papers Gabriel and I were examining a few nights ago.”
Understanding dawned across Eleanor’s face. “I thought you were discussing some family matter.”
“We were,” Cassandra replied. “Just not the one you likely imagined.”
Gabriel reached for the parcel the dowager carried and placed it gently into Eleanor’s hands.
“We wanted to wait until everything was settled before giving you this.”
She looked down at the wrapping. “What is it?”
“Open it.”
Eleanor carefully untied the ribbon and lifted the paper away. Beneath it lay a small leather-bound volume, its cover embossed simply with her initials. She looked up in surprise.
“It is yours,” Gabriel said. “Cassandra and I wished to make you something to bring you joy.”
Eleanor ran her fingers over the cover before she opened it. The first pages contained a carefully written dedication, followed by blank leaves intended for her own notes and thoughts. It was the sort of gift he knew she would treasure, something quiet and personal rather than extravagant.
Her eyes filled. She closed the book and looked at him with such tenderness that Gabriel felt his chest tighten. Beatrice clasped her hands together.
“Well, I believe that settles that particular mystery.”
The dowager cleared her throat.
“If everyone has finished tormenting my daughter-in-law, William wishes to see her.”
Eleanor looked toward the door. “William?”
“Who else?”
They went together. William was sitting near the window when they entered, considerably stronger than he had been only weeks before.
He still looked thinner than the young man Gabriel remembered, but there was color in his face, and he was sitting upright without the pillows and blankets that had once seemed permanently necessary.
Sophie hurried to his side. “Uncle William!”
He smiled and held out a hand. “Come here, little one.”
Sophie climbed carefully onto the chair beside him, and William kissed the top of her head before looking toward Eleanor, who smiled.
“How are you feeling?”
“Better enough to complain about everyone hovering. Now, I hear congratulations are in order.”
Eleanor glanced at Gabriel. “We have decided to make our marriage rather less convenient.”
William smiled. “It is about time.”
Gabriel shook his head. “You could have said something sooner.”
“I did.”
“You told me to stop being proud.”
“Precisely.”
Gabriel reached for her hand. William settled back against the chair, looking more content than Gabriel had ever seen him.
“I am glad to see you happy, Gabriel.”
“So am I.”
Sophie, apparently deciding that the serious portion of the conversation had lasted long enough, tugged at William’s sleeve.
“Can I show you the rose I picked?”
William laughed. “Of course.”
She scrambled down and ran toward the door. Beatrice followed, calling after her not to run indoors, while the dowager and Cassandra exchanged amused looks and went after them. Eleanor remained beside Gabriel for another moment, her hand still held securely in his.
“Are you ready?”
She glanced toward the open doorway, where their family had already begun gathering together.
“For what?”
“For everything.”
Eleanor smiled. “Yes.”
Together they followed the others from the room, leaving behind the last of the secrets, misunderstandings, and fears that had once stood between them.
Ahead lay a house filled with people who loved them, a child who was safe, a brother who was healing, and a marriage chosen freely by two people who had finally found their way back to one another.
For Gabriel, the future no longer felt like something to endure. It felt like something he could finally look forward to, and with his wife’s hand in his, he also knew that it was a future that would undoubtedly be filled with love, too.