Page 8 of Gabriela and His Grace

Gabby blinked as she glanced at him. “Excited is a strong word.”

The duke pivoted to perch on the railing, his arms crossing over his chest. Once again it appeared his coat seams were fighting a tense battle. “Relieved, maybe?”

She considered this for a moment. “Relieved, yes. Eager, definitely.”

“Eager to see your parents?” Whitfield asked.

“My mother,” Gabby said succinctly.

“Aah,” he said, and nothing more. But it contained a depth of understanding she had not expected.

Gabby rested her hip against the rail. “I assume Gideon has told you of my father.”

Whitfield nodded. “He has. So has Dawson.”

Now it was her turn to say Aah. Gabby had no desire to speak about her father or even to bring thoughts of him into this peaceful moment. He waited for her on the other side of the ocean, whether he knew it or not, and the thought of his reception made her stomach turn. Gabby was thankful that Whitfield did not push the topic. He could have used whatever he knew of Elías Luna and his relationship, or lack thereof, with his youngest daughter to humiliate her, but he didn’t. Perhaps it was an olive branch. Perhaps they could call a ceasefire to their contentious interactions while away from London. Perhaps Gabby could return his circumspection with discretion of her own.

Perhaps.

Neither of them said anything more, and the only sounds were the cresting waves and the gulls squawking overhead. Gabby found herself staring at the horizon as the sun prepared to peek over the ocean, a sense of purpose, of hope, swelling in her chest.

Movement in the waters below caught her eye, and she gasped.

“Look, Whitfield, do you see there?” Gabby exclaimed, gesturing to the figures streaking in the water next to the ship.

The duke took a step closer to her, his gaze following the direction she pointed. “Wh-what are they?”

“They’re dolphins!” Gabby laughed as she clapped her hands, looking up at him with a smile. “I was told they like to swim in ship wakes. They’re considered good luck, you know.”

A hint of a smile softened his face, even as he continued to stare down at her and not at the beasts that zipped along in the blue waters below. “I didn’t know.”

“Well, you do now.” Turning back to watch, Gabby laughed again when a dolphin leapt out of the water, its grayish body graceful and carefree. “Aren’t they wonderful?” she cried into the wind.

“Indeed,” he murmured before pivoting to face the ocean again. “I could use a little luck right now.”

So could she. Gabby closed her eyes, soaking in the moment and all the positive energy it presented. She never would have imagined the Duke of Whitfield would be by her side in such a moment of hopefulness. Gabby decided she could afford to share this moment with him…for a spell, at least.

• • •

Sebastian didn’t quite know how he had found himself the recipient of one of Gabriela Luna’s smiles, but he would not complain. It overtook her whole face and blazed in her greenish-brown eyes.

Not that she was miserly with her smiles, but the offerings she flashed at social events were different. They were polite, friendly, and usually without depth. Gabriela knew how to navigate a social situation with a kind word and an attentive gaze. She deployed her laughs and smiles with a military precision, a talent Sebastian recognized because didn’t he do the same?

But in this moment, with the salty breeze in her hair, and her gaze sparkling with unfettered delight, Sebastian was afraid to move or say anything to pop this idyllic bubble he had found himself in with her.

He’d barely slept an hour the night before, his stomach roiling with the waves, and Sebastian had been embarrassed by the number of times he’d emptied his stomach in the small bucket in his room. As soon as he heard the call of seagulls outside, he’d stumbled from his confining, foul-smelling cabin to the haven that was the ship deck. Aside from the sailor in the crow’s nest above, he’d been blissfully alone. Without worrying that he was behaving crudely, Sebastian clung to the rail that overlooked the waters and prayed for relief from the malaise that clawed and twisted his insides.

Instead of relief, Gabriela had appeared, her sleep-softened face an unjustly cruel punishment because he knew she would delight to find him in his current state. Yet Gabriela had surprised him. She’d been sympathetic to his plight, and even apologized for her curt greeting the day before. For a second, Sebastian wondered if he had hit his head at some point during the night, because he could not understand why she had stowed away her caustic remarks, especially when he was so vulnerable.

But then Sebastian wasn’t giving her the credit she deserved. While their interactions had always been marked by acrimony, Gabriela was well liked by his fellow peers. She was known for her friendliness and kindness just as much as she was known not to suffer fools. Sebastian had always regretted that their association had started so poorly, a fault he took responsibility for.

He’d initially been captivated by her beauty, by the teasing lilt in her voice, the taunting light that shone in her eyes. Yet instead of approaching her with respect and a sincere earnestness to meet her, Sebastian had been a rogue. In turn, she’d met his sarcasm with jaded jeers of her own, and Sebastian was thankful for the space her well-deserved dislike of him necessitated. Gabriela Luna was dangerous, and he’d endeavored never to get close enough to her to learn how much.

Yet she stood by his side now, laughing gaily at the dolphins that raced alongside the ship, and Sebastian swallowed. He could almost believe their conversation was one shared between friends, and that terrified him. Sebastian may have promised Fox he would ensure Gabriela remained safe, but he did not owe her friendship. Acrimony was safe territory, and while Sebastian was loath to upset the precarious affinity stretching like a web between them, Gabriela would be safer if he ushered their interactions back to familiar battlegrounds.

“If you’ll excuse me, Miss Luna.” Sebastian pulled his watch out of his pocket and consulted the time, more so for an excuse not to look at her. “As you can imagine, I slept poorly last night and I find myself exhausted.”

“Por supuesto.” She shuffled on her feet, and Sebastian risked a glance at her face. Her forehead was crinkled as she looked up at him. “I hope you adjust to the movements of the ship soon, Your Grace.”