A Cantata of Love (The Code Breakers 4) by Jacki Delecki Page A

gentle, beautiful French woman.”
    “Do you do this to your husband?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “Tell him what he is thinking?”
    Hen’s green eyes, so much like his own, danced in amusement. “Sometimes, but Cord can be quite opaque after all the years he worked as a spy. You are very easy to read.”
    “That makes me sound quite boring.”
    Hen tittered. “I’d never describe you as boring. But, truly, you cannot pursue Mademoiselle Gabrielle. She will be grieving and needs us all to act as a supportive family.”
    Supportive family—he didn’t want to break it to his sister, but he was in no way close to thinking of Gabby as family. He felt like the ogre now. The poor woman was going to soon learn about the loss of her only family and he didn’t seem able to contain his male thoughts.
    “Of course, you’re right. This is not the time.”
    He had planned he would pursue his attachment with Gabby once she was established and living with her brother, demonstrating to Gabby that he knew how to behave like a gentleman. Now everything had changed. And he wanted to take care of her, shelter her from hurt. He understood that his feelings for Gabby weren’t logical or precise, and couldn’t be deciphered like a substitution code.

Chapter Nine

    Gabby rushed down the stairs and out the front door to speak with Lord Kendal. All morning she had been watching from her bedroom for him to arrive. Finally, she would be reunited with Lucien.
    She had been separated from her only family for long years. She knew it wasn’t ladylike to rush after the gentleman, but she didn’t care.
    She was wearing one of Lady Henrietta’s simple day dresses, nothing in her usual French style. After the exhausting travel and then with the changes in Lord Kendal’s household, she was grateful to have been spared dinner with the family. She begged off since she had no proper clothes, and Lady Henrietta allowed her to use the flimsy excuse to escape.
    She awoke refreshed, knowing she was safe and that soon she would be with her brother. She’d be happy to finally resume her true identity as a sophisticated woman, not the schoolgirl in a convent or a young boy. Dressed in a stylish wardrobe, she would never be confused with a Mimi or Yvette.
    Gabby followed a path that wound between the hedges, leading to the back of the house. She quickly arrived at the garden where Lord Kendal and Lady Henrietta were sitting.
    Lord Kendal was bent over his sister, his body turned in concern and brotherly love. She felt a deep yearning in witnessing his obvious care.
    Lucien was much older than Gabby and they had never spent enough time together to become really close, but now they needed each other. They were each other’s only family. She wanted to be a loving sister to him. And despite how hardened he had become with the murder of their parents, he had always been a protective brother.
    As if he sensed her approach, Lord Kendal twisted on the bench where he was seated next to his sister. He rose and bowed over her hand. “Good afternoon, Mademoiselle Gabrielle.”
    His face was closely shaven. The golden stubble gone. Although dressed as a proper English gentleman in his buff riding breeches and perfectly fit forest-green riding coat, he exuded a boyish air. Maybe it was his disheveled curls that never stayed in place, or the way his eyes always were bright with curiosity.
    Gabby curtsied. “Good afternoon, my lord.”
    The formality between them hurt her. The adventure with Michael had ended. They were back in proper society. They would meet as polite strangers—Lord Kendal and Mademoiselle Gabrielle. She would assume her new life, and Lord Kendal would go back to his.
    Last night she tried to reconcile her excitement to be reunited with her brother with the loss of being in Michael’s company. She didn’t want to give up his easy, light-hearted teasing or the promises in his touch and his intense stares.
    They would meet in London, since she assumed