Page 15 of Gabriela and His Grace

The duke spoke so casually that it took Gabby a heartbeat to grasp his meaning. Blinking, she ventured, “Are you paying me another compliment, Your Grace?”

“It would appear so.” Whitfield plopped his hat on his head and withdrew his gloves from his pocket. He winced as he slid one over his hand. “It has to be the sun. I must be suffering from sunstroke.”

Perhaps she was, as well, for Gabby could not stop staring at how his long, graceful hands flexed as the buttery-soft kid leather stretched over his fingers. Jerking her gaze away with a start, she reached for her poise when she found the duke watching her with an amused light in his eyes.

“Thank you again for the warning, Your Grace,” Gabby hastened to say, grasping her skirts as she turned to depart.

“See you at dinner, Miss Luna,” Whitfield called after her, and Gabby’s shoulders tensed.

Glancing back at him, she nodded. “I suppose you will.”

And why did that promise not feel as vexing as it would have just days ago?

5

Sebastian was ten minutes late for dinner, which meant he had at least ten minutes of annoyance built up in his veins. Setting his jaw as best he could, he nodded politely to the footman who opened the dining room door, and paused just inside the entry. The room was relatively small, as first-class dining was a newer concept aboard passenger ships, so it was not hard to spot his dinner companions. Sebastian stifled a sigh when he saw Mr. Conner raise his hand in greeting, and he regretted accepting the man’s dinner invitation. After an afternoon spent around rambunctious men, Sebastian would have preferred to sit in the corner and eat his meal in silence.

Or perhaps share a private dinner with a quick-witted and pretty partner whose recent scolds had been more gracious than he’d expected—

“Your Grace, I’m happy you can join us for dinner again tonight,” the man said as he extended a hand in greeting. “I took the liberty of requesting a glass of that port you favored last night.”

Sebastian inclined his head. “Thank you, Conner.” Glancing to the man’s right, he nodded. “Good evening, Mrs. Conner.”

“Good evening, Your Grace,” the older woman said, a welcoming smile warming her face. “I believe you know Miss Luna,” she said, indicating the person sitting on her right.

Releasing a quiet breath, Sebastian finally allowed himself to glance at the woman whose presence shined bright in his peripheral vision, but whom he steadfastly refused to seek out. “Miss Luna,” he murmured simply, sinking onto a chair beside her.

“Your Grace,” she said, all formal politeness. As if they hadn’t chatted with each other just an hour or two beforehand. “I hope you’ve recovered from your diverting afternoon.”

Sebastian slid his gaze to her, keeping his eyes locked with hers. It was a challenging task, for she was wearing a rich aubergine color that brought out the pink hue in her cheeks, and abruptly he was swamped with a desire to drag his tongue along her skin and discover where else it would flush pink.

Clearing his throat, he finally said, “I did, thank you. A nap was warranted.”

“Whatever entertainment did you find this afternoon, Your Grace?” Mrs. Conner asked, her gaze darting between him and Gabriela.

“Well, ma’am,” Sebastian began, mulling over what he wanted to share. A game of dice with the ship’s crew was not exactly a genteel pastime. “I spent some time on the lower deck with the sailors. They are an energetic bunch and taught me a thing or two about the mechanics of the ship.”

There. A vague answer that in itself was not a lie. Sebastian risked a glance at Gabriela, but she was smiling benignly at Mrs. Conner as if his reply were the truth.

For her part, the older woman stared at Sebastian for a heartbeat before looking at Gabriela. Whatever Mrs. Conner saw on her face seemed to placate her, for she eventually nodded. “That must have been quite interesting to learn about the ship’s engineering.”

Sebastian nodded, thankful for a reprieve when a footman brought him that glass of wine. He took a sip as Mrs. Conner turned the conversation to mundane observations about the trip, and Sebastian listened in a detached manner, following the ebb and flow of the conversation but only contributing to it with short nods and grunts. Gabriela, however, was adept at asking questions or adding supportive commentary in a manner that was natural and effortless. When Mrs. Conner asked a question about Gabriela’s connection to Mr. Valdés, she artfully sidestepped it with a vague response immediately followed by a question about Mrs. Conner’s children. The skill with which she deflected the attention away from herself made him snort in amusement.

The waiter arrived just then with the next course, and Sebastian assumed his response had been overlooked. He should have known Gabriela had noticed.

“What did you find amusing?” she whispered, leaning close so that her floral scent wove about him.

Holding his breath for a moment, Sebastian finally said, “You dance with expert precision.”

Her forehead puckered for a second, and then her lips curved up. “Years of practice, Your Grace.”

Sebastian dropped his head in her direction to murmur, “I had not realized. You’ve never attempted diplomacy with me. You’ve always been more than willing to confront me directly.”

Gabriela clicked her tongue, quickly pressing a napkin to her mouth. “You would have seen through any attempt I made to deflect. Just as you did now.”

That was true. Sebastian would not have let her get away with anything less than a candid answer. The fact that she knew such a thing about him, and thus never attempted to give him anything but the most brutal candor, made his ribs tighten in a manner he didn’t understand.

“I appreciate your honesty,” Sebastian said.