log with Jules, watching Lillian, William, James and the older children skate around the pond. It was obvious my brothers had ice-skated throughout the years. They were natural on the ice. What adventures, what mischief, had they encountered throughout their childhood without me? But it was too much of a fine day, and the laughter of the children was too contagious, for me to dwell upon the past.
“Good morning.”
Gabe’s voice startled me. I surged to my feet, even as Jules watched us in bemusement. He looked so handsome in his greatcoat that showed off the width of this shoulders, the trousers that clung to his muscled thighs. He wore no hat, and the sunlight glinted off his golden hair, making him practically glow.
Realizing I’d been staring, I blurted out, “You did not come to dinner last night.”
“No. I had a tray sent to my room.”
“Oh.”
He hadn’t wanted to see me? I knew I seemed ridiculous, and hoped I hid my disappointment. Jules watched it all with thinly veiled amusement, as if she knew, she knew, the hold he had over me. Blast, but I could hide my feelings for him no longer. Didn’t want to hide my feelings anymore. It was so damn exhausting to pretend as if I didn’t care.
He glanced toward the pond. “Is Izzy here?”
I stiffened, not quite sure I wanted him to see her yet. “She’s in the nursery. She’s too young to be out doors when it is this cold.”
“Of course.”
I played with the edges of my velvet cloak. We’d taken the two sleighs here, but he’d obviously walked, and it wasn’t a short distance. He’d sought me out. Or mayhap he was merely looking for Izzy.
“I love you, Ginny, and I will prove it to you.”
A heated chill raced through my body. Had he meant what he’d said? I peered up at him, but he was watching the children skate, a smile upon his handsome face. He’d changed. Changed so much since that moment I’d met him at the Landcaster estate. Gone was the dour, unemotional lord. He was trying, I realized. Trying so very hard to let it all go; the pain, the suffering, the past. To start anew. Could we start over?
“And you?” He looked at me. “Do you not ice-skate?”
“I fear I will fall. I haven’t skated in quite some time.”
He held out his hand. “Do you trust me, Ginny?”
I hesitated. I could feel Julianna’s gaze burn into my back, practically begging me to relent. My sister-in-law was a romantic at heart. But I would not be swayed; I would make up my own mind.
“Mummy,” Millie came skating up to the edge of the pond. “I’m tired. Will you help me take off my skates?”
Jules went to her. “Of course, my dear.”
It was a test, I realized. All of this: Gabe appearing here, Gabe telling me he loved me, Gabe asking me to trust him. It was a test, and I was the teacher; the only one who could give him a passing grade.
Slowly, I slid my gloved hand into his. His fingers wrapped around mine in a firm grip, as if he claimed me. “Have you thought about what I said?”
We stepped from the snow onto the ice. “That you mean to wear me down?”
He laughed. It had been so long since I’d heard him laugh. The sound quivered through my body, pooling between my thighs. “I don’t believe I said it quite that way.”
From under my lashes, I studied his face as he took me out onto the ice. He seemed…younger, although another year had gone by. Relaxed, although he was on an estate, surrounded by my four brothers who wanted to do him bodily harm. It was as if he’d finally figured out where he belonged.
“I’m still not quite sure why you’re here.”
He pulled me across the ice. I wobbled, but he was there, gripping my arm and holding me steady. “Because I’m going to marry you, of course.”
I stiffened, which caused me to wobble again. He slid his arm around my waist, pulling me up against the solid lines of his body. I fit against him perfectly. I always had. In his arms, I felt safe, secure, wanted.
Home.
“Are you going to marry me?” I whispered breathlessly. “How bold you are.”
He released his hold and faced me, taking my hands in his. “No more games, Ginny. I have never fit within society’s constraints. For years, I have been scrambling, trying to claw my way to the top, thinking