To Capture a Duke's Heart (27 page)

“Gabriel?” Penny queried after a time, her tone somewhat hesitant.

“Hmm?” he replied drowsily. 

“Is it… always like that?”

Hell no
, was his immediate thought, though he didn’t voice it aloud.  Instead he murmured against her ear, “Give me fifteen minutes and you can answer that question for yourself.”

“Fifteen minutes?” Penny exclaimed. 

Gabriel merely chuckled as he buried his face in the smooth curve of her neck and rolled onto his side, taking her with him. 

As it happened, it was actually closer to an hour before Penny got her answer.  And much to her utter delight, the answer to her question was an unequivocal
yes
. 

Penny awoke sluggishly, blinking her eyes against the bright, early morning sun streaming in through the partially-opened draperies, filling the room with light. 

“Good morning.”

The quietly spoken words brought her fully awake in an instant, the sound of his voice sending a sudden shiver racing the length of her spine.  For a moment her breath caught; and then ever so slowly she rotated her head upon the pillow, coming face to face with Gabriel a second later.  He was lying on his side with his elbow bent and his head resting on his hand, looking down upon her through fathomless, heavy-lidded eyes, his expression inscrutable.  “Good morning,” she replied softly.

For several long seconds they simply stared at one another in silence, both of them, it seemed, attempting to gauge the other’s thoughts and emotions. 

Ultimately, it was Gabriel who spoke first.  “Why did you come to my room last night?” he asked, his even tone completely lacking inflection.

To thank you for the necklace
, was Penny’s immediate thought; but of course, that would have been a lie. Instead, she told him the truth. “Because I wanted you,” she confessed, her voice coming out whisper soft and slightly unsteady as she bore the weight of his assessing gaze, “because I wanted…
this
.”  She watched him closely, noting the brief, flicker of surprise reflected in his gaze and the subtle shift in his contemplative expression.  “Are you angry?” she asked uncertainly.

His lips curved the slightest bit upward at the corners of his mouth.  “Do I look angry?”

She hesitated, studying Gabriel’s face for several seconds before responding.  “No.”

“I’m not angry,” he confirmed.

She offered him a faint smile then, her entire being relaxing as a tremendous sense of relief washed over her.  “I’m glad.” 

But after a moment, when the silence began to stretch between them once again, Penny felt another, sudden twinge of uncertainty.  “I suppose I should probably return to my own room now,” she said, her voice slightly tentative.

“Or,” he surprised her by saying, his lips curving upward another fraction as he moved his free hand to pull the sheet that covered her ever so slowly downward, allowing the soft linen to brush tantalizingly against her skin as her naked body was revealed inch by inch to his hungry gaze, “you
could
stay a while longer.” 

_____

Over the course of the next two weeks, Penny grew increasingly optimistic about her future with Gabriel as their relationship continued to improve much apace with the progress they’d made since the days following the Caversham’s ball some two months earlier; for much to her ongoing relief they maintained the amiable rapport they had previously established and seemed to grow ever more comfortable with one another with each passing day.  And while she knew that Gabriel would never forget the unwarrantable series of events that had occurred in Scotland and might well never accept that her actions hadn’t been deliberate, she took heart in the fact that he seemed willing at least to try and move past it.

It was during the
all too short
hours of the night, however, that their relationship had taken on an entirely new and far more satisfying dimension.  For after that first night, the night Gabriel had shown her the true meaning of pleasure, she had spent each ensuing night in the midst of his enormous bed, her body intertwined with his as he took her on that incredible journey to paradise, time and time again.  And it was then, during those glorious, passion-filled hours, when she lay utterly spent and blissfully sated within the circle of his arms that she began to think that maybe, just maybe, her youthful, romantic fantasies hadn’t been so foolish after all. 

And while there remained a tiny part of her brain that continued to urge caution, it was nigh impossible to heed, for as the days progressed it grew ever more difficult to deny what her heart already knew. For better or for worse, sensible or not, she was falling head over heels in love with Gabriel.

As such, it seemed to take little more than the mere sight of her husband to set her pulse racing and her heart beating just a little bit faster within her chest, just as it did at that very moment, for hearing the sound of the library doors opening, she glanced up from the book she’d been reading for the past quarter hour to see him entering the room.  “Gabriel, you’re home early,” she remarked in pleasant surprise, for it was just shortly past two o’clock, and on most week days he didn’t arrive home until much later in the afternoon or early evening. 

“I am,” he nodded, returning her smile.  “The session ended early today,” he informed her as he continued into the room. 

“Have you eaten?” she inquired, setting aside the book, for the afternoon meal had already been served.  “If not, I can have the kitchen prepare you a plate.  Cook made a delicious lobster salad for luncheon.”

“Thank you, but no, Reinford and I stopped by Reeves’ for a bite to eat after the session let out,” he told her, sitting down upon the chair next to hers.  “What were you reading?” he asked, glancing toward the book she’d set onto the small, round, mahogany-topped table that sat between their chairs.

“Wuthering Heights.” 

“Ah.”  Gabriel’s brows drew together as he studied the cover.  “A dark and rather dismal tale as I recall.”

“It is that,” Penny acknowledged, “though I must confess that I find it oddly compelling as well.”  She’d read it before, twice actually.

Gabriel nodded as he looked up from the book.  “I certainly cannot disagree with that, as Miss Brontë
did
render a decidedly thought-provoking work,” he acknowledged with an amenable expression.   “And though I am loath to interrupt your reading,” he stated with an apologetic smile, “there
is
something of importance I would like to discuss with you.”

Penny regarded him inquiringly.  “Yes of course.”

“Do you happen to recall the discussion Michael and I had the other morning when he joined us for breakfast, regarding the Concert of Europe in particular?”

“I do,” she affirmed.  “I believe you were discussing how the Concert was eroded by the political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848 and that it has since seen a steady unravelling.”

“You were paying attention,” Gabriel remarked with an approving expression.

“While I confess that foreign politics may not be amongst my favorite topics of discussion at the dining table,” she replied with a grin, “I do lend my ear from time to time.” 

“Indeed you do,” he replied with an answering smile.  “And as it happens, it is the continued erosion of the Congress System and the ongoing shift in the balance of power that has occasioned a month-long conference amongst Europe’s leading forces to be held in Vienna in three weeks’ time.”

Penny felt a sudden sense of unease as she waited for him to continue.

“Great Britain will be represented of course; and as such, several members of Parliament have been asked to join the British delegation traveling to Austria, myself included.”

“Oh. I see,” she replied as understanding dawned.  “And you… have accepted?” she asked, fearing that she already knew the answer to her question.

“I have,” Gabriel confirmed, his tone subdued now.  “I’m afraid that I shall be leaving for Austria at the first of the month.”

So soon.
  Penny felt her spirits plummet.  “And you will be away for how long?”

“Approximately five to six weeks, I would imagine.”

“That long,” she murmured, struggling to hide her dismay.  For considering the recent and rather
extraordinary
progression in their relationship, a month and a half seemed like just shy of forever.

“Yes, I’m afraid so.”

“And… I am to remain here in London whilst you’re gone?”

“You can if you’d like.  However, with the Season soon to wind down and the renovations recently completed at Ainsworth Park, I thought you might like to adjourn to the country for a time,” Gabriel replied. 

“Oh, yes of course.  That certainly makes sense,” Penny agreed, her thoughts spinning.  With the current session of Parliament set to adjourn for the upcoming sporting season, she knew that the members of the aristocracy would soon be traveling back to their country homes en masse in order that the gentlemen could devote their days to the leisure of grouse-hunting up north, followed by a return south for the subsequent pheasant, partridge and fox-hunting seasons, whilst the ladies would inevitably occupy themselves with a near constant succession of lavish house parties and weekend gatherings that would continue throughout the late autumn and early winter months.  And truth be told, she had actually been quite looking forward to their inevitable departure to Ainsworth Park and the opportunity to escape the constant tumult of the city for a while.  However, she certainly hadn’t anticipated doing so without Gabriel.

“In fact,” Gabriel continued, “I was thinking that if you are not averse to missing the tail end of the Season, we could easily close the London house early, which would then allow me to see you comfortably settled in Berkshire before I have to depart for Vienna.”

Penny nodded, maintaining a positive, agreeable expression.

Leaning forward in his chair, Gabriel studied her face for a moment, eyeing her regretfully.  “I’m sorry; I know this is all rather unexpected.”

Penny shook her head.  “You’ve no need to apologize, Gabriel,” she was quick to assure him.  “For you are clearly taking on a tremendous responsibility and I commend you for it, truly I do.”

“And you’re sure that you won’t mind missing the final weeks of the Season?”

“No, of course not,” she replied truthfully, for she’d had more than her fill of balls, dinners, garden parties and the like.  The only thing she
would
miss… was Gabriel.  In point of fact, if she had been given the choice of an entire Season’s worth of activities or a single night with Gabriel, it wouldn’t have required even a second’s thought, as she would have gladly forfeited every last second of the London social whirl for that one, solitary night.

“Alright then, we shall leave for Ainsworth Park within the fortnight.” 

“Agreed,” Penny replied.

“You know,” Gabriel said then, his expression thoughtful as he pulled his pocket watch from his jacket and glanced briefly at the time, “as I have no commitments for the remainder of the afternoon, and we won’t need to leave for the Beckworth affair until at least seven
,
we should probably find a means to occupy ourselves for the interim,” he continued, affecting a decidedly rakish grin. “Unless of course, you were planning to spend the rest of the afternoon…
reading
.”

Penny’s eyes widened, for she understood exactly what he was suggesting.  “And whatever would the servants think if we were to disappear into your bedchamber for the remainder of the day?” she asked in a hushed tone, feeling her cheeks grow suddenly warm.

“Well…” he said in a charmingly roguish tone, “while I certainly can’t speak for the entire staff, I would imagine that the vast majority of those in our employ would consider
me
the most fortunate of husbands and
you
the most delightfully accommodating of wives.”

_____

As the horses turned onto the road leading to Ainsworth Park, just over two and a half hours since they’d quit the outskirts of London, Penny focused her gaze out the coach window as she eagerly awaited her first glimpse of Gabriel’s ancestral home.  And when it came, just a few minutes later, it was even more spectacular than she had imagined it would be.  Even from the distance she could see the dozens upon dozens of windows set into the massive, four-story, rectangular stone structure with each of their individual panes of glass brilliantly reflecting the bright afternoon sun, as well as the tall chimneys, turrets, baronial stepped gables and elegant pinnacles that dotted the roofline.  And as they drew ever closer, bringing the elaborate stone carvings and ornate, sculptural adornments that further ornamented the breathtaking exterior slowly into view, her eyes widened in increasing awe.  “Oh, Gabriel, it’s simply magnificent.”

“Yes, it does have a certain
grandeur
about it, doesn’t it,” he replied with a light-hearted, unassuming smile.  “Though prior to the renovations my father began, and that I continued, it exhibited far more of its two-hundred-years than it does today.  For regrettably, both my grandfather and great-grandfather were lacking the funds to keep it up.”

During her initial research into the Ashcroft family’s history, Penny had learned that the family’s long-standing wealth had been significantly depleted during the previous century; and that it had been Gabriel’s father, as well as Gabriel himself, who had seen it steadily restored and ultimately improved upon, markedly so in fact. “Well clearly you have brought about a brilliant culmination to the work your father began,” she professed, “for it is truly breathtaking.”

And though he offered only a humble “Thank you,” in reply, Penny could see both the unmistakable pride and inordinate satisfaction reflected in his eyes.