evening heightening as he contemplated the untenable subject he was on the verge of broaching. Opening up this particular chapter of his life was both an unforeseen and an unpleasant step, one he’d never before considered taking, and he wondered why in the name of heaven he’d allowed Hermione to talk him into it.
One glance at Gabrielle, now caressing the oak’s blossom as if it were a priceless gem, provided him with his answer. In truth, his revelation would cost him nothing more than a few moments’ discomfort while, for Gabrielle, it could provide an opportunity to make peace with her past.
And who better than he knew how important that was? He, who had faced that very challenge himself.
Well, that challenge was behind him now. The facts surrounding his true lineage had long since been put to rest, relegated to a place where they lay dormant, tangible but unable to cause him pain. So if sharing the truth with Gabrielle would help silence her own ghosts, the effort would be worth the discomfort.
Sucking in his breath, he turned his attention back to Gabrielle, frowning as he noted her continued fascination with the oak. “Is this the first time you’ve walked this particular path?” he demanded.
Gabrielle looked surprised. “Of course not. I go by here every day, often at a dead run. This grove of trees leads directly to Crumpet’s warren. Why do you ask?”
“Because clearly that oak has been standing here for years. Yet you’re acting as if you’re seeing it for the first time.”
“In a way I am.” She stroked the delicate blossom, then released it. “This bud wasn’t here yesterday. Nor will it look exactly the same tomorrow.” She turned her gaze to Bryce, her cornflower-blue eyes bright with insight. “A great deal depends upon the way one views life, I suppose. It can either be very mundane, or exciting, new, like …”
“Wonderland?” Bryce suggested, amusement lacing his tone.
“Only those aspects of Wonderland that are truly remarkable,” Gaby replied, as solemn as Bryce had been teasing. “The other aspects—the loneliness, the confusion, the turmoil—those we have right here on earth. But then, you know that already, don’t you?”
His amusement faded. “I’ll say it again. For one so young, so isolated from life, you’re surprisingly astute.”
“Perhaps.” She leaned back against the tree trunk. “I’m certainly astute enough to deduce there was a reason you asked me to go strolling.”
“You’re right.” Bryce cleared his throat, realizing for the first time that his whisking her away from the manor might have proved disconcerting. Unlike Lucinda and the other sophisticated women of his acquaintance, Gabrielle hadn’t endured years of instruction on how to properly conduct herself with a gentleman. Quite the opposite, in fact. She was not only entirely unexposed to the subject, she was unaccustomed even to visiting with a man, much less taking a solitary stroll with one. And here he’d rushed her from the dining room into the evening and into a secluded grove of trees without so much as an explanation.
“I apologize for ushering you away so quickly,” he said, determined to put her at ease. “Not to mention without benefit of a chaperon. But what I need to speak with you about is both pressing and private. Please believe me when I say that my motives are entirely honorable, and Hermione is fully aware of our whereabouts.”
Astonishment flashed across Gaby’s face. “I never imagined otherwise. From all I know of you, and from all I’m learning firsthand, it never occurred to me that your intentions would be anything but honorable. Besides,” she added, an impish grin curving her lips, “even if they weren’t, I’m perfectly safe and well protected right here where we stand.”
“By whom?”
“Screech and Brick.”
With a quick glance about, Bryce asked, “Who?”
Gaby patted the tree trunk behind her, raising her eyes upward. “Two of
One glance at Gabrielle, now caressing the oak’s blossom as if it were a priceless gem, provided him with his answer. In truth, his revelation would cost him nothing more than a few moments’ discomfort while, for Gabrielle, it could provide an opportunity to make peace with her past.
And who better than he knew how important that was? He, who had faced that very challenge himself.
Well, that challenge was behind him now. The facts surrounding his true lineage had long since been put to rest, relegated to a place where they lay dormant, tangible but unable to cause him pain. So if sharing the truth with Gabrielle would help silence her own ghosts, the effort would be worth the discomfort.
Sucking in his breath, he turned his attention back to Gabrielle, frowning as he noted her continued fascination with the oak. “Is this the first time you’ve walked this particular path?” he demanded.
Gabrielle looked surprised. “Of course not. I go by here every day, often at a dead run. This grove of trees leads directly to Crumpet’s warren. Why do you ask?”
“Because clearly that oak has been standing here for years. Yet you’re acting as if you’re seeing it for the first time.”
“In a way I am.” She stroked the delicate blossom, then released it. “This bud wasn’t here yesterday. Nor will it look exactly the same tomorrow.” She turned her gaze to Bryce, her cornflower-blue eyes bright with insight. “A great deal depends upon the way one views life, I suppose. It can either be very mundane, or exciting, new, like …”
“Wonderland?” Bryce suggested, amusement lacing his tone.
“Only those aspects of Wonderland that are truly remarkable,” Gaby replied, as solemn as Bryce had been teasing. “The other aspects—the loneliness, the confusion, the turmoil—those we have right here on earth. But then, you know that already, don’t you?”
His amusement faded. “I’ll say it again. For one so young, so isolated from life, you’re surprisingly astute.”
“Perhaps.” She leaned back against the tree trunk. “I’m certainly astute enough to deduce there was a reason you asked me to go strolling.”
“You’re right.” Bryce cleared his throat, realizing for the first time that his whisking her away from the manor might have proved disconcerting. Unlike Lucinda and the other sophisticated women of his acquaintance, Gabrielle hadn’t endured years of instruction on how to properly conduct herself with a gentleman. Quite the opposite, in fact. She was not only entirely unexposed to the subject, she was unaccustomed even to visiting with a man, much less taking a solitary stroll with one. And here he’d rushed her from the dining room into the evening and into a secluded grove of trees without so much as an explanation.
“I apologize for ushering you away so quickly,” he said, determined to put her at ease. “Not to mention without benefit of a chaperon. But what I need to speak with you about is both pressing and private. Please believe me when I say that my motives are entirely honorable, and Hermione is fully aware of our whereabouts.”
Astonishment flashed across Gaby’s face. “I never imagined otherwise. From all I know of you, and from all I’m learning firsthand, it never occurred to me that your intentions would be anything but honorable. Besides,” she added, an impish grin curving her lips, “even if they weren’t, I’m perfectly safe and well protected right here where we stand.”
“By whom?”
“Screech and Brick.”
With a quick glance about, Bryce asked, “Who?”
Gaby patted the tree trunk behind her, raising her eyes upward. “Two of
Similar Books
