“Well, ‘risk’ may be overstating anyone’s intentions—all I’m saying is, treat her like a chaste friend if you can. See if that doesn’t make things easier for both of you?”
The memories of last night rose like a fog in Gabriel’s mind.
“Thank you,” he ground out, looking away, “for everything.”
“Say nothing of it. Now, what of tea in the garden? Will my nephew eat everything before I’ve had so much as a crumb? Yes he will. Will his dogs be permitted on furniture and eat from the table? Also, yes. Can the London nanny my wife hired keep the children occupied before the tea goes cold?Doubtful.”
Six hours later, in the master bedchamber of Mayapple’s family wing, Killian Crewes lay in bed beside his wife. He let out a tired sigh and drew her into the crook of his shoulder, absorbing the warm glow of her happiness. He’d spoken the truth when he’d named her as his chief priority. A side benefit of Elise’s happiness was his own happiness; and a side benefit of their mutual happiness generally occurred right here in this bed.
“Is he anything like what you expected?” Killian asked, speaking into her hair. “After all this time?”
“My brother?” she clarified.
“Are there any other unaccounted ‘hes’ running about Mayapple at the moment?”
She chuckled. “Well, he looks like I thought he would; but he’s far quieter, isn’t he?Stiller?And he has such a humility about him. He looks like our father, but Papa was in no way humble. It’s disorienting. I suppose I didn’t know what to expect.”
“He’s not been jaded by the pretense of other men. He lives simply. I understand his unwillingness to invite vanity and covet and greed into his existence.That’s civilization for you; it’s comfortable, but there is a pecking order.”
“I love him, however he is,” she said, snuggling more tightly into Killian. “Even if I must share him with your horses. Really, Killian, could the arrangements be more self-serving? I’d rather bring the pregnant horse into the house than relegate my brother to the stables.”
“Trust me, Highness, I presented him with the only arrangement he would accept. In fact, I was a little shocked he said yes, even to the stables.”
“He knows that our family should be reunited,” she said. “Deep down, he knows.”
“Well, there’s that, but I also suspect him to be very fond of thisearl’s daughterhe followed to our doorstep.”
“Fond?” she asked, craning her head.
“Hmmm. To put it mildly. Think on it: We’d never clapped eyes on the man—despite scouring the countryside, despite years of correspondence, despite buying property on the edge of Savernake Forest for the sole purpose of drawing him out. And when do we finally encounter him in the flesh? On the heels of this young woman.”
Elise sat up in bed. “But could you be right? Was this the impression he gave you about Lady Ryan? That is, do you think he—? But is it possible he has some romantic feelings for her?”
“The thought did cross my mind,” Killian said idly. “I cannot say what went on between them in the forest, but I’d bet ten quid she did not complain about the bugs.”
“Honestly,” whispered Elise, folding herself back into his arm, “it occurred to me, too. That is—notabout the bugs, but there is something between them. I saw it when we took tea. And she’s very protective of him, isn’t she? Oh Killian, if he formed some attachment to her, and she could see beyond his beard and his horses—if they would be open to the possibilities of a friendship...”
Killian made a snorting sound. “‘Open?’ ‘Possibilities?’ ‘Friendship?’ Try marriage, Highness. That’s where my brain has gone.”
Elise sat up again. “What?”
Killian linked his hands behind his head and stared up. “He cannot remain in the forest forever. Or, if he does, he should have a companion. I’m hardly a matchmaker, as you know, but you should’ve seen the way he reacted when I asked him about her.”
“How? How did he react?”
“He reacted like they got on very well—like they’d gotten on, and on, and he would consider himself the luckiest man in the world if they could get on again very soon.”
“No,” Elise breathed dreamily, gazing into the distance.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. He’d evaded us for years; and the first sniff of Lady Ryan of Guernsey and he’s suddenly knocking on our door? He fancies her. Mark my words. And she is good for him; she’s unpretentious and unfussy and natural. She has a sort of evenness that suits him. And she’s obviously infatuated.”
“Is she?” asked Elise. “But how can you know? And how have I missed all of this?”
“Perhaps you’re reeling from the shock of seeing him—and seeing him so transformed. Also, pleasedon’t forget that I formerly worked as King George’s royal fixer. Before marrying you, I was constantly routing illicit lovers and or facilitating preferred matches in St. James’s Palace. I can identify the spark of attraction at ten paces.”
“Unless it’s your own,” she teased.
“Never say it. My own spark was painfully obvious.”
