The physician, who introduced himself as Dr. Bryant, was wiping his bloody hands on a rag, and Triana put a hand to her stomach to quell the nausea that threatened. “He’s lost quite a bit of blood, but the bullet only grazed him. Thankfully, he’s young and healthy, so I expect he’ll fully recover as long as a fever doesn’t set in.”
A great wave of relief swamped Triana so that she had to hold on to the back of a chair to keep from falling to the floor in a dead faint. “May I see him?”
Dr. Bryant gave her a curious look, apparently wondering what her relationship was to the duke, although he gave her a brief nod. “I gave him a sleeping draught, so he may be rather drowsy, but I don’t see that it will be a problem if you don’t tax him overlong.”
***
Triana gently sat down on the bed beside Gabriel. He looked so peaceful and handsome that she felt her heart melt just looking at him. She brushed an errant lock of dark hair from his forehead, that single strand that always fell over his brow, and her breath caught when those glorious silver eyes opened slightly and looked at her.
He reached up a hand, and cupped her cheek. “Triana…” he whispered.
“I’m here.” She grasped his hand in hers. “Don’t talk. You need to save your strength.”
“But… I need… to…” He blinked his eyes in slight confusion, the medicine that the doctor had given him obviously starting to take full effect. “To tell you… that I…”
Triana waited anxiously, but when the duke’s eyes slid shut, she knew that whatever he intended to say would have to wait.
She traced the outline of his thumb, remembering with clarity the way it had wrought such glorious sensations from her body — feelings she would no longer know after she became the Countess of Eastbury. She looked into his wonderful face — the mouth that kissed her with such abandon, and the eyes that spoke with such sentiment that he didn’t have to breathe a word.
“I love you, you know,” she said quietly. “Actually, I think I fell in love with you that very first night you gave me your handkerchief.” She pulled it from her bodice and laid it on his bare chest. She traced his embroidered initials for the last time. “While I was mortified for you to see me in such a state, I shall never regret the time we had together. I will cherish it for as long as I live.”
She brushed away a stray tear, and forced herself to go on. “Before you came into my life, I was content to be a spinster, or so I thought. To be perfectly honest, I just didn’t know how to live. I was too scared to be myself, because society believed I shouldn’t.”
She drank in his smooth features as he slept, hoping that at least some of her confession was penetrating his deep slumber. “It was you who showed me that I was worthy of more, the man who awakened me to a passion and a love so fierce and true.” With a sigh, she added, “How I wish I knew what you felt for me, but perhaps this is for the best, that I leave not knowing, for that would only make it so much harder to go. I only hope that, someday, you can come to terms with your own past grievances and be the duke you were born to be. I have every confidence that you will make a very fine husband and perhaps even…” Her voice cracked with emotion. “A wonderful father if you would only give yourself the chance. I sincerely wish you all the best.”
Triana stood and took one last, long look at him. “We had it all, Gabriel, but it’s time to say goodbye.” With a strangled sob, she turned away and left, covering her mouth with her hand as the dam started to break.
***
I love you too…
Gabriel eyelids slowly fluttered open. As his sight fully adjusted, he took note of his surroundings, none of which looked at all familiar.
Then, it all came back to him.
The raid… the gunshot that ended in a bullet slicing through his flesh…
Triana…
Instantly, he was wide-awake. He struggled to sit up; his only thought was to find her. He ignored the slight burning sensation from his bandaged ribcage, as he gathered his clothes that had been neatly folded on a chair beside the bed. But when he raised his left arm, he muttered a curse. The pain nearly brought him to his knees.The deviltake it.
However, he managed to don his shirt, and while he was buttoning his waistcoat, he stalked to the single window in the modest bedchamber and tossed the curtain aside.Blast!He knew that it had been dark when he’d been brought to the physician’s home, but now his gut churned with unease as he stared at the sun blazing high in the sky. Just how long had he been unconscious?
He wracked his brain to remember anything of consequence, but nothing more than a few bits and pieces kept floating about through his drug-induced sleep. But something told him that he’d missed something very important.
He just prayed it wasn’t Triana’s wedding.
When he returned to the bed and sat down to pull on his boots, a small scrap of white on the floor caught his eye. With a frown, he bent down and picked it up. He stared at his handkerchief, blinking as a few more pieces of the puzzle started to click into place.It hadn’t been a dreamafter all…
He clenched his jaw with determination and shoved the linen into his jacket pocket and quickly made his way downstairs.
A middle-aged man was working at a desk in some sort of study when Gabriel passed by. He stood and rushed out into the hallway, immediately offering a respectful bow. “Your Grace,” he called out. “I didn’t expect to see you up and about so soon. I’m Dr. Bryant. Would you care for—?”
“How long have I been here?” Gabriel cut in. He wasn’t normally so brusque, but the urgency to see Triana again overrode everything else.
The doctor visibly swallowed, apparently intimidated by his patient’s unyielding stance, not understanding the cause for his haste. “Nearly a day, Your Grace, but I would suggest—”
Gabriel ran a hand through his hair, relief flooding his body. He still had time, but that didn’t mean he could linger. “I thank you for your care and your kind consideration, but I have to return to London immediately. If you can spare it, I will need a few provisions, along with your fastest horse. I can assure you that you will be handsomely compensated for your cooperation.”
