ink.”
Gabriel lowered his arms, but it was Samantha who quickly moved away, seeking to put some distance between them. Without his warmth surrounding her, the damp she’d barely noticed before seemed to sink deep into her bones, making them feel old and brittle. Sinking back down on the window seat, she hugged back a shiver.
Gabriel stood still and silent for a long moment, as if deep in thought. Then, instead of reproaching her for meddling as she expected, he tugged open the drawer. His hands didn’t fumble at all as they unerringly located the contents of the drawer. As he turned and tossed the thick bundle in her direction, Samantha was so startled it almost slipped through her grasp.
“If you want something to read for your amusement, you might try these.” Although scorn darkened Gabriel’s face, Samantha sensed that it wasn’t for her. “I think you’ll find they contain all of the elements one usually enjoys in a farce—witty banter, a secret courtship, a pathetic fool so drunk on love he’s willing to risk everything to win his lady’s heart, even his life.”
She gazed down at the ribbon-bound packet of letters. The linen stationery was worn, yet perfectly preserved, as if the letters had been handled often, but with great care. As Samantha turned them over, a woman’s perfume drifted to her nose, as evocative and sweet as the first gardenias of the season.
Gabriel dragged the chair out from under the knee well of the desk, turned it around, and straddled it. “Go on,” he commanded, nodding in her direction. “If you read them aloud, we can both enjoy a fine laugh.”
Samantha toyed with the ends of the silk ribbon, a ribbon that had once been wound through a woman’s lustrous hair. “I hardly think it would be proper for me to read your private correspondence.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself. Some plays are better performed than read anyway. Why don’t I start with the first act?” He folded his arms over the back of the chair, his face hard.
“The curtain rose over three years ago when we met at a house party at Lord Langley’s country estate during the Season. She was so very different from the other girls I’d known. Most of them didn’t have a thought in their pretty heads beyond snaring a wealthy husband before the Season was done. But she was warm and bright and funny and well read. She could discuss poetry and politics with equal ease. We shared a single dance, and without even surrendering so much as a kiss, she stole my heart.”
“And did you steal hers as well?”
His lips curved in a rueful half-smile. “I made a valiant effort. But unfortunately, my rakish reputation had preceded me. Since I was an earl and she the daughter of a humble baronet, she couldn’t bring herself to believe that I would do more than trifle with her heart.”
Samantha didn’t know if she could blame the girl. The man in the portrait on the landing had probably won—and broken—more than his fair share of hearts. “I would have thought both she and her family would have been thrilled to catch the eye of such an esteemed—and wealthy—nobleman.”
“That’s just what I thought,” Gabriel admitted. “But it seems her older sister was involved in some unfortunate scandal involving a viscount, a moonlight rendezvous, and the viscount’s enraged wife. Her father’s fondest wish was that his youngest daughter make a match with some stolid gentleman farmer or perhaps even a clergyman.”
A fleeting image of Gabriel in a curate’s collar nearly made Samantha laugh aloud. “I can see why you might have been something of a disappointment to him.”
“Precisely. Since I couldn’t sway her with my title, my wealth, or my charms, I set about trying to win her with my words. For several months, we exchanged long, bantering letters.”
“Secretly, of course.”
He nodded. “Had it become known that she was corresponding with a gentleman, especially one of my reputation, her good
Gabriel lowered his arms, but it was Samantha who quickly moved away, seeking to put some distance between them. Without his warmth surrounding her, the damp she’d barely noticed before seemed to sink deep into her bones, making them feel old and brittle. Sinking back down on the window seat, she hugged back a shiver.
Gabriel stood still and silent for a long moment, as if deep in thought. Then, instead of reproaching her for meddling as she expected, he tugged open the drawer. His hands didn’t fumble at all as they unerringly located the contents of the drawer. As he turned and tossed the thick bundle in her direction, Samantha was so startled it almost slipped through her grasp.
“If you want something to read for your amusement, you might try these.” Although scorn darkened Gabriel’s face, Samantha sensed that it wasn’t for her. “I think you’ll find they contain all of the elements one usually enjoys in a farce—witty banter, a secret courtship, a pathetic fool so drunk on love he’s willing to risk everything to win his lady’s heart, even his life.”
She gazed down at the ribbon-bound packet of letters. The linen stationery was worn, yet perfectly preserved, as if the letters had been handled often, but with great care. As Samantha turned them over, a woman’s perfume drifted to her nose, as evocative and sweet as the first gardenias of the season.
Gabriel dragged the chair out from under the knee well of the desk, turned it around, and straddled it. “Go on,” he commanded, nodding in her direction. “If you read them aloud, we can both enjoy a fine laugh.”
Samantha toyed with the ends of the silk ribbon, a ribbon that had once been wound through a woman’s lustrous hair. “I hardly think it would be proper for me to read your private correspondence.”
He shrugged. “Suit yourself. Some plays are better performed than read anyway. Why don’t I start with the first act?” He folded his arms over the back of the chair, his face hard.
“The curtain rose over three years ago when we met at a house party at Lord Langley’s country estate during the Season. She was so very different from the other girls I’d known. Most of them didn’t have a thought in their pretty heads beyond snaring a wealthy husband before the Season was done. But she was warm and bright and funny and well read. She could discuss poetry and politics with equal ease. We shared a single dance, and without even surrendering so much as a kiss, she stole my heart.”
“And did you steal hers as well?”
His lips curved in a rueful half-smile. “I made a valiant effort. But unfortunately, my rakish reputation had preceded me. Since I was an earl and she the daughter of a humble baronet, she couldn’t bring herself to believe that I would do more than trifle with her heart.”
Samantha didn’t know if she could blame the girl. The man in the portrait on the landing had probably won—and broken—more than his fair share of hearts. “I would have thought both she and her family would have been thrilled to catch the eye of such an esteemed—and wealthy—nobleman.”
“That’s just what I thought,” Gabriel admitted. “But it seems her older sister was involved in some unfortunate scandal involving a viscount, a moonlight rendezvous, and the viscount’s enraged wife. Her father’s fondest wish was that his youngest daughter make a match with some stolid gentleman farmer or perhaps even a clergyman.”
A fleeting image of Gabriel in a curate’s collar nearly made Samantha laugh aloud. “I can see why you might have been something of a disappointment to him.”
“Precisely. Since I couldn’t sway her with my title, my wealth, or my charms, I set about trying to win her with my words. For several months, we exchanged long, bantering letters.”
“Secretly, of course.”
He nodded. “Had it become known that she was corresponding with a gentleman, especially one of my reputation, her good
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