Gabriel moved to the window, staring out at the darkening sky. “At times, I find myself thinking that the very effort of endurance is a matter of no great consequence.”
“Pray, do not utter such a sentiment.”
“And yet, why should I not speak thus? I weathered the tempest of war, but to what end? To return to my home marred and ruined? To dwell within this house, which is naught but a mausoleum, forever pursued by the torment of every dear soul departed? To finally glimpse a moment of pleasure, only to have it cruelly snatched away by the dictates of circumstance and society's rigid laws?”
Clara went to him, unable to bear the pain in his voice. "You survived to help me when I needed it most. To give me shelter and employment when I had nowhere else to go. To make me feel alive again when I thought I'd forgotten how."
He turned to her, cupping her face in his hands. "And you've done the same for me. Which is why the thought of losing you…"
"Hush." She pressed her fingers to his lips. "We have tonight. We have two more weeks. Let's not waste them mourning what hasn't happened yet."
“How is it possible that you remain so entirely unmoved by these events?”
“Calm? Good gracious, I am anything but! My soul is screaming within this breast, raging against the very wickedness of our plight! I am desperate to uncover some means of rendering this affair feasible. Yet, one of us must maintain a practical mind, and you are far too preoccupied with your dramatics to assume that vital role.”
That startled a laugh from him. "I'm not being dramatic."
"You just compared attending a country assembly to a public execution."
"Have you been to a country assembly? The comparison is apt."
"You're impossible."
"You've mentioned that several times, yet you keep coming back."
"Someone has to make sure you're properly attired for your social resurrection."
"Is that what we're calling it?"
"Would you prefer 'Gabriel's Triumphant Return to Polite Society despite his strong preference for Hermitage'?"
"Too long for the gossip columns."
“I am persuaded they will soon light upon something considerably more striking 'Scarred Duke Emerges from Seclusion' or 'Ashbourne's Mysterious Transformation' or something equally sensational."
Gabriel's expression darkened. "They'll speculate about you."
“Oh, very well, let them do so.”
"Clara…"
“I am perfectly serious. Let them tattle and whisper, let them invent their small scandals for the society papers. In three weeks, I shall be quite departed, and their chatter will be utterly without consequence.”
“But it shall matter profoundly to me.”
“Do not heed them.” Clara straightened his already-perfect cravat, using it as an excuse to touch him. "Then we give them nothing to see. You'll be the perfect gentleman with Miss Ashworth, I'll be the invisible servant, “And the world shall never understand that we lie in such sweet, secret contention through the night, cleaving to one another with the desperation of two souls striving to become one flesh.”
He closed the distance before she could finish. His mouth crashed onto hers, all heat and need, pressing her back until the wall stopped her retreat. One palm braced beside her head while the other slid down, firm and unhesitating, tracing the curve of her spine until it settled at her hip, drawing her closer into him.
Her breath hitched as he angled his body, pinning her there, the pressure of him forcing every inch of awareness into where they met. His kiss deepened, shifting from demand to something slower and more consuming, his lips parting hers until she was answering without thought.
“Tell me to stop,” he murmured against her mouth, his breath warm and uneven.
“Stop,” she whispered, then pulled him back, catching his lower lip between hers as if she couldn’t help herself.
“Hypocrite.” he said, the word half groan.
He caught her waist with both hands, sliding her up the wall just enough that their bodies aligned, her skirts whispering around his leg. The rough fabric of his trousers brushed the thin cotton between them, and the contact drew a shudder out of her throat.
