Gabriel bent and kissed Amanda while she slept, then left the chamber. He hated this day had begun because that meant it would soon end. Then they would be in Devon and they would find her mother and after that—
Mrs. Braddock found him at breakfast fifteen minutes later. She carried a letter. “Express mail for you, sir.”
He recognized Stratton’s hand and opened the letter.
He is using the name Pritchard, and moving slowly, using stagecoaches but staying in fine private chambers at inns. We think he decided to spend his earnings on good beds and food instead of speed. It is all we can do to remain behind him. B says to tell you this man is unlikely to be the collector, so we all surmised the situation correctly. One of us will go to your property when we pass it to see if you left any message.
We think he is armed.
Stratton
How like Stratton to add that last bit almost as a postscript. But after killing two men in duels it was doubtful Stratton gave much attention to a man being armed.
Nor might it matter. Once the dagger was delivered, this man might disappear. Then the only question would be whether the main prize, Yarnell, was armed. Gabriel was prepared for that eventuality, but he hoped it would not come to wielding weapons, at least not when Amanda was present. He did not want her endangered in any way, and he also did not want the last thing she saw him do to be shooting a man.
He tucked the letter away and strode out to speak with the groom. Events would roll forward quickly now.
* * *
That afternoon Gabriel announced they would go bathe in the sea. He had put her in a saddle for the first time in her life the day before, so Amanda was not too dismayed when she learned they would ride to the coast.
Her horse followed Gabriel’s across a field and through some woods. Then they began to ride up a rise in the land. The woods fell away and high grass brushed her legs. Sounds of surf grew louder.
He stopped at the top of a long incline and waited for her to join him. She moved her horse over so she stood beside Gabriel. Once positioned thus, she stopped watching her horse’s neck and her own hands. She looked up. A magnificent prospect greeted her.
The sea stretched out all around, meeting the sky on the horizon. Waves broke on a shallow beach below them.
“It is beautiful,” she said. “Awe inspiring too. One feels very small facing it.”
“Have you ever been on a ship?”
“Never. To bob around out there—it must be frightening.”
When he did not respond, she looked over to see him frowning. “I am sure it is a reaction that passes quickly,” she added.
He pointed to the breaking waves. “Over there, past those rocks, there is a cove. The water there is quiet and fairly shallow. Once we get there I will teach you how to swim. You will not be so frightened of the sea if you know how.”
She laid her hand on his arm. “In one or two days you cannot prepare me in all the ways you think necessary. I have taken care of myself for years, Gabriel. You are not to worry for me, although I love you all the more for it.”
He lifted her hand and pressed it to his lips. “Is that what this is, Amanda? Is that what we share?”
She had not even realized she spoke of love. It had simply come out, a natural expression of her heart. “I cannot answer for you, Gabriel. Don’t you know?”
“I know nothing about what it means to love a woman. I only know that I am heartsick at the thought of losing you. I spend hours contemplating and calculating whether I can—”
“You cannot. Even letting me leave England is a compromise. I understand why you cannot. Hearing that you wished otherwise touches me deeply, however.”
“I will miss you, Amanda. I will be distraught.” His blue gaze penetrated to her soul. He appeared distraught already, and vulnerable. “Even the expectation of that loss pains me. I think I will be forever changed because I knew you.”
His words brought her close to tears. Whether he called it love did not matter. He spoke to her more lovingly than any man ever had.
“And I you, Gabriel. Loving you will always be the greatest experience of my life.” She was glad she declared her love clearly here and now, on this hill overlooking the eternal expanse of the sea, long before they parted. Her heart rejoiced at allowing her love to fly free.
He kissed her hand again while he closed his eyes. “I am more honored by your words than you will ever know, darling.”
He conquered the emotion etched on his face. The duke returned. The man who wished to be free of duty retreated. The intensity of the moment passed, but she knew its effects would last forever.
He released her hand and took up his reins. “You may think I worry for nothing, but all the same, we will ride down there and you will swim.”
