“I left England to escape the life I thought I could never have. I remember standing at the bow of that ship, the salt air cutting sharp across my skin, believing England had become a chapter I had closed for good. But in the quiet moments, when the fog rolled in over the harbors of Lisbon or the moon rose over strange, foreign rooftops, I thought of her. Of Eden. I remembered the way she tucked her hair behind her ear when she was nervous, how she would hum to herself when she thought no one listened. I remembered her laugh in the garden, chasing butterflies with ink-stained fingers and no shoes. And when I returned, when I saw her again, it felt like time folded in on itself. She was not the memory I had carried. She was more. Everything I had tried to forget rushed back and demanded to be felt. I returned to face the memory of a father I hated and take up a legacy I never wanted. And then... then I saw her.”
He paused, swallowing hard.
“Not the little girl who followed us on hunting trips or pestered us at dinner. A woman. A woman whose heart shone brighter than anything I had ever known.”
Thomas said nothing, his face carved from stone.
Gabriel’s voice dropped to a near whisper, his gaze fixed on the floor as his hands curled into fists at his sides. The silence between them pressed inward, as if even the walls waited to hear what would come next. “She is the only good thing I have found since my return. The only thing that makes all the duty and burden worth bearing.”
Thomas’s throat worked as he struggled to contain his own emotions. He pictured Eden as a girl, no more than ten, fiercely defending a wounded robin from the gardener’s broom, her cheeks flushed with determination. Even then, her soul had brimmed with fire and tenderness. That memory clung to him now, a vivid reminder of why he had always vowed to keep her safe—even from the man now standing before him. Images of Eden’s laughter, her stubborn resilience, her quiet kindness, each surfaced like a wound he had not known he carried.
“I tried to honor my promise to you,” Gabriel said hoarsely. “I tried to stay away. But loving her was not a choice, Thomas. It was as inevitable as breathing.”
Silence fell between them, broken only by the crackling of the fire.
Finally, Thomas spoke, his voice raw. “And what do you intend now?”
Gabriel lifted his chin. “I intend to marry her.”
Thomas’s hands curled into fists. “You would bind her future to the shadows of your past? To the obligations and quiet scorn that trail in your wake?”
Gabriel flinched, but stood firm. The sting of Thomas’s words struck too close to old accusations, reminders of a youth marked by missteps he had spent years trying to amend. “I intend to give her everything I have, everything I am.”
Thomas’s gaze bored into him. “And when the whispers spread? When London’s drawing rooms sneer at her behind their fans?”
Gabriel’s voice broke. “Then I will stand beside her. She will be my marchioness. It will clear the way for forgiveness.”
Thomas turned away, pacing to the window. He parted the drapes and stared out into the darkness, the soft glow of lanterns over the hedges reminding him of the night their father had passed. A night equally thick with sorrow and uncertain hope. Eden had been only a child then, too young to understand loss, but old enough to sense the fracture it left behind. He remembered holding her as she cried, promising her he would protect her always. That vow had once felt simple, absolute—keep her safe, shield her from heartbreak. But now, with Gabriel standing behind him, that promise twisted inside him. Was protection denying her the love she wanted? Or did true protection mean trusting her judgment, even if it meant risking her heart? That vow clung to him now like armor, even as the man behind him challenged the edges of that promise.
If he rejected the match, was he protecting her, or merely guarding his pride? He stared out into the dark gardens for a long time. Below, fireflies blinked over the hedgerows, tiny beacons in the darkness.
When he finally spoke, his voice was rough with pain. “She deserves better than scandal.”
Gabriel crossed to stand beside him. “She deserves love.”
Thomas closed his eyes, battling the war within his heart.
“I love her, Thomas,” Gabriel whispered. “I would rather die than see her hurt.”
Thomas turned to face him, searching his face for any sign of falsehood. There was hesitation in his own breath, a moment’s doubt clinging to the edges of his thoughts, but what he saw in Gabriel’s eyes gave him pause. Steadfastness. Remorse. A love fierce enough to defy pride. He found no lie there.
Thomas’s jaw tightened. “You have broken my trust,” he said. “However, your actions leave me no choice. A wedding is the only way to mitigate the damage. But know this… if you break her heart, I will break you.”
Gabriel nodded, accepting the vow as just.
Thomas exhaled, his anger ebbing into weary resignation. “You will court her properly. Publicly.”
“I will,” Gabriel said.
“You will earn my blessing.”
Gabriel inclined his head. “It is my fervent wish,” he said, his voice threaded with quiet hope, and a flicker of doubt he could not quite silence. “I never set out to betray you, Thomas. You must know that.”
Thomas’s mouth twisted into a grim smile. “I would like to believe you, but all I know is what I have seen with my own eyes. Time will tell me the full tale, and I daresay you had better not disappoint me.”
A flicker of hope stirred between them.
Thomas clapped a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder, the gesture rough but sincere. Gabriel tensed at first, startled by the unexpected contact, then slowly exhaled, the knot of tension inside him loosening at last.
