Gabe?" he asked.
Color slowly returned to Gabriel’s face. "Of course," he sighed. "You keep telling me I’ve already survived the worst of it."
"So I do."
"I’m not fooled. You do this because you...enjoy seeing me...suffer."
A smile crossed Austin’s face, but his lopsided grin faded when he turned his head and saw her. "You shouldn’t be here, Liddy."
She waited until Hannah and Morgan left, then put on a determined air of bravado and walked into the room. "Of course I should be here. This is my home. The major is our guest. Surely you don’t expect me to avoid him forever?"
"That’s exactly what I expect."
She ignored her brother’s caustic remark and covered the distance to the bed. "Hello, Gabriel."
"Lydia."
He’d been washed and shaved, probably by Austin’s valet, and his bedclothes had been changed. Her heart stuttered inside her breast.
He was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen. Not handsome in the same way as the Marquess of Culbertson, with his blond good looks and his aristocratic features. But handsome in a different way - in a darker way.
He should have appeared weak, lying on the bed unable to move by himself. Instead, his rugged features and sculpted muscles made him appear strong and vibrant.
His dark hair was brushed off his forehead, and hung longer than he usually wore it. Her hands wanted to reach out to touch it. Her fingers ached to feel the weight of it. She pulled her hands back and clutched fistfuls of the material of her muslin day dress to anchor them at her side.
What was wrong with her? Her purpose for coming wasn’t to admire the traits she’d always loved in him. It was to prove to herself and to him that there was no longer anything between them - to prove that when he rejected her, he’d killed whatever feelings she’d had for him.
Lydia raised her chin to assume that regal posture she’d been taught from her youth and lowered her gaze to the bed.
"Everyone tells me you’re improving by the day. I came to see if there’s anything you need."
"There’s nothing. Thank you."
She should leave, knew Austin wanted her to, and perhaps even Gabriel did. Instead, she lowered herself to the chair beside the bed and clasped her hands in her lap in a relaxed posture, as if being this close to him was the most natural thing in the world.
"When you’re better, you and Austin can go riding. Harrison still has that big gray you used to ride. No one’s ridden him since you left and he desperately needs the exercise."
Gabriel smiled. "He was a beautiful horse."
Austin held out a glass laced with laudanum but Gabriel motioned it away.
"But not as fast as Hercules," Austin said.
"You can tell Austin longs for the country," she said. "He hates the city nearly as much as you used to, although I can’t understand why. The entertainment here is endless."
"Do you...enjoy London now?" he asked, his voice still weak.
She snapped her gaze to where he lay on the bed watching her. She knew what he meant by his question. There’d been a time when neither of them could wait to set up a home far away from London. A time when neither of them enjoyed the noise, the filth, or the smell. A time when they both shared the same hope.
Until he’d shattered her dream.
"Yes. I love the city."
She rose from her chair and walked to the window. She pretended the need to adjust the drapes as an excuse not to look at him. "There’s never an end of things to do." She looked over her shoulder and focused her gaze on Austin. "Did I tell you I’m attending the Biltmore Ball tonight? The Marquess of Culbertson has invited me to accompany him."
"Liddy, don’t," Austin said, but she ignored his warning. It was important for Gabriel to know she’d picked up the pieces of her life and had moved on. That she intended to have the future she’d dreamed of having – without him.
She released her hold on the curtains and turned to face the bed. "You don’t mind listening to my plans,
Color slowly returned to Gabriel’s face. "Of course," he sighed. "You keep telling me I’ve already survived the worst of it."
"So I do."
"I’m not fooled. You do this because you...enjoy seeing me...suffer."
A smile crossed Austin’s face, but his lopsided grin faded when he turned his head and saw her. "You shouldn’t be here, Liddy."
She waited until Hannah and Morgan left, then put on a determined air of bravado and walked into the room. "Of course I should be here. This is my home. The major is our guest. Surely you don’t expect me to avoid him forever?"
"That’s exactly what I expect."
She ignored her brother’s caustic remark and covered the distance to the bed. "Hello, Gabriel."
"Lydia."
He’d been washed and shaved, probably by Austin’s valet, and his bedclothes had been changed. Her heart stuttered inside her breast.
He was still the most handsome man she’d ever seen. Not handsome in the same way as the Marquess of Culbertson, with his blond good looks and his aristocratic features. But handsome in a different way - in a darker way.
He should have appeared weak, lying on the bed unable to move by himself. Instead, his rugged features and sculpted muscles made him appear strong and vibrant.
His dark hair was brushed off his forehead, and hung longer than he usually wore it. Her hands wanted to reach out to touch it. Her fingers ached to feel the weight of it. She pulled her hands back and clutched fistfuls of the material of her muslin day dress to anchor them at her side.
What was wrong with her? Her purpose for coming wasn’t to admire the traits she’d always loved in him. It was to prove to herself and to him that there was no longer anything between them - to prove that when he rejected her, he’d killed whatever feelings she’d had for him.
Lydia raised her chin to assume that regal posture she’d been taught from her youth and lowered her gaze to the bed.
"Everyone tells me you’re improving by the day. I came to see if there’s anything you need."
"There’s nothing. Thank you."
She should leave, knew Austin wanted her to, and perhaps even Gabriel did. Instead, she lowered herself to the chair beside the bed and clasped her hands in her lap in a relaxed posture, as if being this close to him was the most natural thing in the world.
"When you’re better, you and Austin can go riding. Harrison still has that big gray you used to ride. No one’s ridden him since you left and he desperately needs the exercise."
Gabriel smiled. "He was a beautiful horse."
Austin held out a glass laced with laudanum but Gabriel motioned it away.
"But not as fast as Hercules," Austin said.
"You can tell Austin longs for the country," she said. "He hates the city nearly as much as you used to, although I can’t understand why. The entertainment here is endless."
"Do you...enjoy London now?" he asked, his voice still weak.
She snapped her gaze to where he lay on the bed watching her. She knew what he meant by his question. There’d been a time when neither of them could wait to set up a home far away from London. A time when neither of them enjoyed the noise, the filth, or the smell. A time when they both shared the same hope.
Until he’d shattered her dream.
"Yes. I love the city."
She rose from her chair and walked to the window. She pretended the need to adjust the drapes as an excuse not to look at him. "There’s never an end of things to do." She looked over her shoulder and focused her gaze on Austin. "Did I tell you I’m attending the Biltmore Ball tonight? The Marquess of Culbertson has invited me to accompany him."
"Liddy, don’t," Austin said, but she ignored his warning. It was important for Gabriel to know she’d picked up the pieces of her life and had moved on. That she intended to have the future she’d dreamed of having – without him.
She released her hold on the curtains and turned to face the bed. "You don’t mind listening to my plans,
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