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Gabriel was glad in some ways that Sebastian had been the one to find them. They were old friends, and while Sebastian had obviously been pursuing Eleanor—a pursuit that might have led to more—he was also a reasonable man. Gabriel didn’t expect him to cause any trouble.

Sebastian gave Gabriel a curt nod. “I shall be in the library in the east wing.”

“I will meet you there,” Gabriel confirmed.

Gabriel waited for Sebastian’s footsteps to recede down the hallway before turning and facing Eleanor again.

“Go back to your mother,” he instructed.

“How am I supposed to do that now?” she asked.

“That is all you must do,” he told her. “No one knows what happened here, and I’ll make sure it stays as such.”

Eleanor covered her mouth with a hand. “Oh, my goodness, what have we done?” she asked. “We were almost…” She reached down to the floor where her mask had been dropped and picked it up, using it to cover her shame.

“But we weren’t,” Gabriel said.

Eleanor blinked a few times as tears threatened. Her cheeks were rosy, but not the deep scarlet they had been only minutes previously, and her heart was beginning to calm.

“I have you to thank for that, Your Grace,” Eleanor said softly. “I didn’t hear anyone coming, nor did I even think about anyone walking in on us, but someone must have been here to light the candle, and this room is obviously used, and⁠—”

Eleanor placed her head in her hand as she thought through what might have been.

“How could we…? How could I…?” she murmured.

“This was my doing, and I shall deal with it,” Gabriel affirmed.

“Will he tell people what he saw?”

“He didn’t see anything,” Gabriel told her.

“He almost saw⁠—”

“He didn’t see anything,” Gabriel reminded her. “No one saw anything. That’s all that matters. Go on back to your mother.”

“What if⁠—”

“Go on back to your mother, Eleanor,” Gabriel said sternly. “I will come and find you when I’m done with Lord Fairfax.”

Eleanor took a deep breath and looked down at the floor. She took another deep breath, steeling herself for what might be to come. She kept her eyes on the floor and nodded. When she looked up, her lips were pursed tightly together.

She didn’t say anything after that, but took a moment to compose herself before leaving the room.

Gabriel had to admire her bravery, going back out into the masquerade after what had happened and nearly happened, and without him to help guide her. He considered taking her hand, saying a few words, or squeezing her shoulder, but decided against it.

Alone in the room, Gabriel finally took stock of what had happened.

It wasn’t something he had let happen, but something he had made happen, something he had wanted to do, needed to do. The intimacy wasn’t about anything other than pure lust toward Eleanor. If Sebastian hadn’t entered the room, a lot more would have happened.

Eleanor had looked mortified when they almost got caught, but she wanted it as much as he did; that much was clear. And Gabriel was unable to stop himself. That was what scared him.

He left the room to search for Sebastian.

How far would he have gone with Eleanor? If they had been caught, her reputation would have been tarnished. Her Season would have been ruined.

And it would have been his fault.

But if he had the chance to do it all over again with the same level of risk, he knew he would take it, just to savor her as he had.