He’d feigned shock at her audacity, and she’d met his gaze that dared him to see beyond her dress and manners. That had been the moment he’d known.
Damn Gil to hell.
“What did you do that was so horribly stupid? Did you swim beneath the falls?”
He shook his head. “I rowed a boat over them.”
He was rather pleased to see that he’d either impressed her with his bravery or stunned her with his stupidity. He imagined a little of both.
“Were you injured?”
“Not initially. Surprisingly enough, I landed upright after the initial drop. What I failed to account for was the amount of water that would fill my small craft. So much damn water. I was carried away for what felt like miles. When Blackheart couldn’t find me, he returned home and reported my death to our parents. You can imagine the trouble I was in when I crept up on the men searching for my body at the base of the falls.”
He chuckled at the memory.What’s everyone looking for?He’d asked them.
Her eyes were wide now. “That’s horrible! Your poor mother!”
“My poor backside.” He grinned. “One would have thought I was too old for my father to take the strap to me but on that fateful day, such was not the case. And I may have suffered extra lashes for finding the entire incident hilarious.”
She slapped a hand against his chest. “I should say so.”
The fact that his own stupidity gave her cause to smile made it all worthwhile. “We all do foolish things from time to time.”
“You were a boy.”
He lifted one brow as though to contradict that and then pressed his forehead against hers. “Don’t tell my former self that. In my eyes, I was quite grown up and much smarter than any of the adults in my life.”
He studied her eyes as she gazed into his. The two of them were so close that he could see every stormy shade in her blue-grey depths.
“Were you close to your parents?”
She drew back and he almost wished he hadn’t asked. But he was curious as to the extent of the rift. He was going to have to leave soon and he couldn’t leave her here without plans in place to provide for her protection.
How would Luke feel if Blackheart to disowned him? He couldn’t imagine being forbidden to see his sisters when he wanted. Naomi had paid a high price for her indiscretions with Gil.
“Closer to my mother.” She relaxed into him with a warm sigh. “My father is strict but I’ve always loved him. Before last spring, I’d never disobeyed him in anything… not really. It seemed as though his demand that I keep away from Arthur made me want him all the more.”
“As I recall, you have one sister and one brother.”
“Theodosia is younger than me and Walter is older. I worry about Theodosia. Before running away with Arthur, I was… my parents’ favorite. All I ever wanted was for them to recognize the potential of their second daughter. She is witty and thoughtful and delightfully pretty in her own way. If nothing else, I console myself with the hope that they are at least finally showering her with some well-deserved attention.” She exhaled a sigh. “I do miss her.”
“Was your brother sympathetic?”
“Walter might have been, at one time. As my father’s heir, he tends to side with him on most matters now.” She fell into a melancholy silence.
“They’ll want to know their grandchild,” Luke assured her. And for the first time, he set his palm on her belly. Rather than push his hand away, she covered it with hers.
She would always have this part of Gil. A child.
A nudging sensation beneath the softly rounded mound had him meeting her gaze in surprise.
“That’s her?” Rationally, he’d understood she carried a life inside of her but until that moment, it had been an abstract concept. Another nudge pushed against him with even greater strength and he couldn’t help but laugh out loud. “She’s feisty, like her mother.”
“She could very well be a he,” Naomi reminded him.
“Does she do that often?” If this woman were to carry his child, he doubted he could ever leave her side. Gil had squandered this gift.
“Hedoes, usually when I’m about to drift off to sleep,” she answered with a soft giggle that warmed him inside. “And I think he’s getting crowded. Is it just me or have I become even more of an elephant since you’ve arrived?”
