Page 57

“Yes, but not like this. You’re brooding.”

“Brooding?” Gabriel forced a smile.

“Worried, upset, cautious about something.”

When Gabriel glanced at his uncle out of the corner of his eye, he saw that he was looking over at Eleanor and Charlotte.

“Again, you describe my normal mood, Uncle,” Gabriel claimed. “And especially so when I have another to oversee. I can accept it if something should happen to myself, but not to Lady Eleanor.”

“So, you’re keeping watch on her from a distance?” Richard questioned.

“I’m keeping watch over her,” Gabriel clarified.

“Mmm,” Richard observed.

Mr. Hilton was currently talking with Eleanor. He was a young gentleman who had traveled from Luton to stay in London for the Season. He did not look particularly interesting.

Still, when he reached out and took Eleanor’s hand, Gabriel took a step forward, ready to go over and release his grip. He didn’t need to step any farther; Eleanor pulled her hand back from Hilton, making her intention clear.

Gabriel let out a breath of relief that annoyed him more.

There was no need for relief when this was exactly what Eleanor should be doing, although it was hard to tell whether she was enjoying herself at times.

“They are moving to the other tent,” Richard observed. “Shall we move too?”

“Yes,” Gabriel agreed.

He and his uncle walked side by side across the lawn to the edge of the second tent, remaining outside the open structure.

Gabriel’s jaw tightened when Sebastian headed straight for Eleanor and offered his arm. Eleanor said something briefly to Charlotte before she was escorted to the dance floor.

Richard nudged his nephew’s arm, but Gabriel didn’t take his gaze from Eleanor, and he merely grunted.

“Lady Fresca has been looking at you since before we came over here. I believe she wants you to ask her to dance,” Richard pointed out.

Gabriel grunted again as he watched Sebastian take Eleanor’s hand and then place his hand on her waist. They were close, but not as close as he and Eleanor had been when they danced previously.

Not as close as they had been when his lips had ravaged hers.

“I’m observing Lady Eleanor while she dances,” Gabriel told his uncle.

“You can observe her from the dance floor,” Richard retorted. “You’ll be even closer to her.”

“I can observe her just fine from here, thank you, Uncle.”

Now that his uncle had pointed it out, Gabriel tried not to look to the side where Lady Fresca was watching him. He dared not turn around and catch her eye, or he might be compelled to go over there and ask her to dance.

He hadn’t come to the event to dance. He had come to watch Lady Eleanor. And he was doing just that, but hoped she wasn’t having too much fun with Sebastian.

“Is it Lady Eleanor you are watching or Lord Fairfax?” Richard enquired.

“It is one and the same thing,” Gabriel replied.

He had watched Eleanor smile while she and Sebastian had conversed, and she looked at ease in his arms as they danced. When Eleanor laughed, Gabriel’s entire body tensed. He was glad when she turned around so he wouldn’t have to see her joy.

He could have her if he wanted to. They had become one for a brief moment when they kissed, before he had to break it off. If he asked for more, she would give it to him. She would give everything to him, but that wasn’t the plan. That wasn’t what Nathaniel had asked. It was neither what he wanted nor what Eleanor needed.

The music stopped, and Gabriel let out the breath he had been holding.