Had last night been too much for her? Arabella should have paid better attention. “Are you—”
But Grandmother made a shooing motion. “Off with ye now. One never kens how long the sunshine will last.”
She seemed so insistent that Arabella obeyed at once. After debating between her pale-yellow gauze shawl and her white cashmere one, she chose the latter, knowing it was probably chillier than it looked outside.
Grandmother met her at the bottom of the stairs. “Nae need tae hurry back. I’ll just be resting.”
Arabella’s forehead wrinkled. “You are sure you don’t wish to come? Or I could stay, perhaps play some music for you while you rest?”
“Dinnae worry aboot me. I’ll rest this morning and perhaps I’ll feel better this afternoon.”
But Arabella had only made it down the first three steps before she realized why Grandmother had been so insistent about getting her out the door. Mr. McKenzie was riding up the drive, leading another horse along behind him.
He dismounted from Baird and continued forward, leading a beautiful bay roan toward Arabella.
“What is this?” she asked.
“I couldn’t help but notice ye are an excellent horsewoman.” He met her eyes, his gaze even. “And I am here on a mission tae reform ye.”
“Reform me?” She quirked a brow.
“Aye,” he said, face grave. “I ken your grandmother’s stables are not well stocked. And I hoped loaning ye a horse for the summer might cure ye of your thievery.”
Arabella bit her lip to keep from smiling. “Seeing as how I left you stranded the other day, one might call it self-interest.”
Gavin tipped his head forward, grinning. “One might.” He held out the bridle for her. “Do ye want tae give Willow a try?”
GAVIN WAITED OUTSIDE while Arabella hurried up to change. He’d stayed up late last night, sitting by the fireplace in his study, staring into the flames. Thinking. About what he wanted. About what to do with the realizations he’d had about Arabella Hughes.
After the deaths of his parents, Gavin had traveled a great deal. To different cities on the Continent. To London. Searching, hunting for something to fill the empty spaces inside him. And when he’d realized they were just as hollow as he, he’d returned home.
To the Highlands. Where slowly he’d healed. Where happy memories of his parents assuaged his bruised heart. Where his emptiness was slowly filled by friends and neighbors, especially Nan, who’d become family.
And for a while, that had been enough.
But the past several years, a different kind of hollowness had opened up inside of him. A hunger not for more friends. Not for a grandmother figure. But for a woman.
A wife.
The decision he’d made last night to pursue Arabella was not a logical one. If he were wise, he’d find a young woman who lived here. Or perhaps in Edinburgh. But it was too late for that. Arabella already had a foothold in his heart. And fool that he was, Gavin had no desire to pry her loose.
Instead, he’d decided to court her. Slowly. Cautiously.
Such patience was not in his nature. Gavin was accustomed to going after what he wanted with reckless abandon, throwing himself wholeheartedly into the things he cared about.
But Arabella deserved his caution. She’d only begun to test the boundaries of a life out from under the shadow of her parents. He couldn’t ask her to consider more. Not yet.
Willow snorted and stomped. He brushed a hand down her nose, trying to calm her. “The best things in life require a bit of patience,” he whispered. Pulling an apple from his pocket, he let her nibble at it from the palm of his glove.
A few minutes later, Arabella returned wearing a sharply cut riding habit of dark blue, one that made him consider whether he should throw caution to the wind and kiss her here and now. Patience be hanged.
He took a steadying breath. “Ready tae give Willow a go?”
Eyes bright and cheeks glowing, she nodded. “Yes, please.”
Today, Gavin didn’t trust himself to put his hands around her waist. Instead, he interlocked his fingers and offered Arabella a step up. Resting her hand on his shoulder for balance, she mounted Willow easily.
They set off, Gavin leading them south along the slowly descending cliff line. “I meant what I said about your riding,” he told her.
