Page 61 of A Perfect Gentleman

“Oh, but you were. You were elegant and polite, all the things my father was not. You didn’t try to flatter or seduce me, as the fortune hunters did.”

He chuckled. “So my appeal lay in qualities I did not possess.”

“I suppose so. In a way.” Abby smiled. She wasn’t about to confess that she’d gone weak in the knees when she saw him or that her heart had lifted when he smiled. And she certainly did not want to start examining his reasons for marrying her. She looked out across the view of the house and gardens. “It must have been wonderful growing up here.”

“It was. Lonely sometimes, without any siblings. I saw James frequently, but it wasn’t the same. He didn’t live here.”

“I often wished I’d had a sister—lots of sisters. It seemed like such fun—dressing for a party, doing our hair, gossiping and laughing together. I wished I could wake up one morning and magically be one of the Bennet sisters.”

“Who were they? Friends?”

Abby laughed. “Of a sort. They were in a book. Pride and Prejudice. I used to read it over and over.”

“Ah, I see. I had a few of that kind of friends, as well.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.” He raised a quizzical eyebrow. “Did you think I didn’t read?”

“No. You just seem so . . . I don’t know, so complete somehow. So sure of who you are and where you belong. You are a part of something—this land, your family, your ancestors.”

“I suppose I am. Doesn’t mean I didn’t long for adventure, though. Sir Walter Scott. Ivanhoe Waverly.”

“I loved those, too!” Abby beamed. “Alexandre Dumas?”

“Indeed. The Three Musketeers.”

“The Count of Monte Cristo.” Abby laughed. “There. So we have something in common.”

“We’ll have much more than that in common one day: we’ll have a child.”

“Yes, that’s true.” A warmth bloomed in her chest. That would be an unending bond between them. “Or, at least, I hope we will.” She paused, then said, “It’s a little frightening, isn’t it, the thought of being a parent? What if I do something wrong?”

He smiled at her. “You needn’t worry. I think you’ll make an excellent mother.”

Abby glanced at him, surprised. Was he serious? Teasing? Graeme crooked his finger under her chin and tilted her head up. He kissed her again, not the light brush of his lips as before, but a firm, confident kiss that stopped just short of passionate invitation. A promise, she thought, and a certainty, to be explored fully later.

He leaned back, holding her in the crook of his arm. She nestled against his shoulder, and they simply sat, gazing in idle contentment at the scene before them. A cloud drifted lazily over the garden, casting a fleeting shadow. Abby could hear the hum of bees visiting the flowers.

She didn’t realize she had fallen asleep until she woke up. She blinked, taking in the view and noting that the sun had drifted lower in the sky. “Oh. I’m sorry.” Abby sat up, brushing back a strand of hair that had caught on Graeme’s jacket. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

He smiled in that way that lit his eyes while touching only the corner of his mouth, an expression that never failed to stir a vague warmth inside her. “It’s all right. I rather enjoyed it, actually.”

As she often did, Abby wondered if he meant it. It was difficult to judge the worth of compliments given by such a polite man. She turned aside, tucking the strand of hair behind her ear. “I suppose we should get back to your father’s study.”

“You don’t sound very eager.” He grinned, standing up and pulling her up with him.

“I always hate to leave the garden. But I enjoy digging through the things in the study. It satisfies my dreadful curiosity. Though I do rather wonder at his keeping the receipts for all those hats.”

Graeme laughed. “My father loved hats. He must have had fifty of them. He was, I fear, a vain man.”

“Not surprising.” When he sent her a questioning look, she said, “I saw the man, you know. He was terribly handsome.”

“I’ve heard people say so.”

“Don’t be coy.” Abby gave his arm a pinch. “You know perfectly well he was the sort of man women swooned over. I am sure you also know you look a good deal like him.”

“Are you saying I’m vain?”