Eden gasped, whirling around to face him. Her cheeks flamed scarlet, but she did not step away from Gabriel. Instead, she squared her shoulders, meeting Julian’s stare with quiet resolve.
His eyes glittered with fury. His pride bruised, his expression colder than she had ever seen. Years of shared dances, kind words, and long walks had built a quiet expectation in his heart. Seeing her now, in another’s arms, was more than wounded pride. It was the ruin of a future he had never dared to voice aloud. He had known Eden since childhood, had harbored ambitions of his own where she was concerned, unspoken yet fiercely felt. To see her now, wrapped in the arms of another, was not just a blow to his pride. It was a shattering of a future he had silently imagined.
“Lady Eden,” he said, voice dripping with false civility. “I did not realize you had thrown your lot in with scandal. What must your family think?”
Gabriel moved instinctively, positioning himself slightly in front of Eden, memories of past confrontations flashing through his mind—how quickly gossip could turn cruel, how once before a whisper had nearly destroyed someone he cared about. His voice was low, but lethal. “Mind your words, Price.”
Julian’s lip curled. “Or what, my lord? You will challenge me to a duel for daring to point out what half the village must have seen by now?”
A hush fell over the nearby crowd as attention shifted toward the confrontation, curiosity crackling like static in the summer air.
A chill bloomed low in Eden’s belly, sharp and sudden. She had known the risks, but to have it happen so publicly, so brutally...
Julian stepped closer, his voice rising.
Eden’s pulse roared in her ears, her breath catching as shame and defiance warred within her.
“What do you intend, Lord Blackstone? Is Lady Eden to be another one of your temporary amusements before you ride off once more?”
Gabriel’s fists clenched at his sides, his jaw tight with rage. He thought of the last time whispers and judgment had destroyed something precious—his mother’s tears after his father’s betrayal, the way her spirit had crumbled beneath the weight of public scorn. He would not let that happen to Eden.
“Enough,” Eden said sharply, stepping forward. Her voice rang clear and strong. “I am not a pawn in some petty game.”
Julian’s face darkened. “You are a fool if you believe he will marry you.”
Before Eden could speak, Gabriel’s voice cut through the air, loud enough for all nearby to hear.
“She is no fool,” he declared. “And she will be my wife.”
A collective gasp rippled through the gathering.
Eden went still, her breath catching as a jolt of joy surged through her. She turned wide eyes toward Gabriel.
He met her gaze, his expression fierce and unyielding.
“I love Lady Eden Thornton,” he said, voice unwavering. “And I will court her openly, with the blessing of her family or without.”
Julian staggered back as though struck, his face pale with shock and humiliation.
The murmurs in the crowd swelled, a wave of reaction moving swiftly from one onlooker to the next. Some faces showed surprise, others delight, and a few narrowed with scandalized disapproval.
Mother and Thomas, standing a short distance away, pushed their way through the crowd. Mother’s face was a careful mask, but Thomas looked thunderous.
Gabriel turned to face him, still holding Eden’s hand firmly.
“Thomas,” Gabriel said with quiet dignity, “I come not as a friend, but as a man who loves your sister. I intend to court her properly, and if she will have me, to make her my wife.”
Thomas’s gaze flickered to Eden, who nodded once, her chin lifted proudly.
Silence hung heavily as Thomas’s blue eyes shifted back to Gabriel. A hush fell over the crowd. Even the music stilled, the air thick with anticipation and unspoken judgments. Eden held her breath, her fingers tightening in Gabriel’s as she braced for judgment, for blessing, for anything that might come next. For a long, breathless moment, the future hung in the balance.
Finally, Thomas exhaled slowly, his shoulders relaxing.
“Then you had better make damn certain,” Thomas said, his eyes locking with Gabriel’s. “that you do right by her.” A muscle ticked in his jaw, and after a beat, he clapped Gabriel on the shoulder with enough force to sting. The gesture spoke volumes, a warning that they were not yet finished.
For a heartbeat, Gabriel felt the weight of all that rested on this moment—honor, love, a future he had long denied himself—and he gave a solemn nod, his grip on Eden’s hand tightening. “I intend to.”
Thomas nodded, then turned to Eden. His voice softened. “If this is truly what you want, Eden…”
