Page 76 of Wedded to the Deviant Duke

Gabriel’s smile persisted for another moment or two, then faltered into something far more reserved. “You are serious.”

Thalia nodded curtly. A small part of her wondered if she’d been too presumptuous, wounded his ego in a manner he found rather distasteful. There was a time that such considerations would never cross her mind.

But more time had passed between them, and Gabriel Harding was no longer that terrifying wolf stalking in the woods. He had a tamer side, though to call him a trained dog was an insult in itself. He was… a beast with compassion, a hunting hound with a wild streak still alight inside him.

And right now, his smile was not one of a predator cornering his prey… but a man allowed to briefly let his guard down.

“On the rare chance there is, in fact, something I cannot do… I will let you know.”

“Will you?”

He nodded slowly.

Thalia let out a sigh of relief, leaning against the back of the bench as a brief flicker of sunlight poked through the clouds. “Thank you, Gabriel. That’s… reassuring.”

Gabriel waited patiently. If Thalia wanted, she was certain he’d wait a hundred years for her to speak.

“Would you–” Thalia’s face flushed terribly, feeling as if steam itself were rising from her cheeks. “I mean, we don’t have to, if it doesn’t sound pleasing.”

She paused, waiting. Gabriel simply waited for her to continue.

“Perhaps, if we’re all not too exhausted,” Thalia continued. “Would you like to… accompany Charlotte and me to a Seasonal event? To Madeline’s I mean—it shouldn’t be too chaotic, and the invitation mentions it's for the evening, so we could spend the morning resting… if you’d like.”

Gabriel visibly rolled her proposal about in his head, and Thalia couldn’t help but giggle nervously. He really wanted to stretch this out. “Do I get to choose your attire?”

Thalia rose her brow slightly. “That depends; will you permit me to wear anything at all?”

Gabriel’s laughter filled her with a sort of warmth the rising sun could have never provided. “Alright, yes. But afterwards…” his voice trailed off, leaning close to catch Thalia in a sudden, deep kiss. She pressed into him, arms loosely coiling around his shoulders as his hands settled perfectly against her hip.

Afterwards. Yes; they could always consider everything that came next afterwards.

CHAPTER33

The entirety of last night’s affair was told, in full, during a very late breakfast at Egerton Hall. Christian wove a fantastic tale out of it, gesturing wildly while occasionally popping chunks of fresh fruit in his mouth. Charlotte was positively enraptured, with Louise sitting beside her husband, hand-in-hand, occasionally offering a raised brow or bemused grin.

Thalia found it difficult to listen—she’d hardly touched her own bowl of porridge, the strawberry slices having long since sunk to the bottom—and instead found her attention solely on Gabriel. Every so often, he’d offer a slight scowl or a roll of his eyes at some exaggeration Christian made, though he made no indication of interrupting the narrative.

“You should have seen his face after Gabriel took him down,” Christian cackled. “I’m certain the little marquess lost a tooth during that skirmish.” He stabbed his fork into a link of sausage, gesturing toward Gabriel with a wide grin. “Truth be told, I’d half-expected the plan to have only involved knocking him out.”

Gabriel shrugged lightly, his hand finding Thalia’s before setting it against his leg. Thalia’s face lit up, and she hoped feverishly no one would take notice.

“I cannot believe I missed that,” Robin groaned, having polished off his second bowl of porridge before pulling his still-full plate closer.

“I’m not the one who told you to wade in sewage,” Gabriel reminded him lightly.

“No, but you–!” Robin caught his sister’s seething glare, filling his mouth instead with a huge bite of sausage.

“Well, I’d say it all came together quite nicely,” Louise beamed, taking a gentle sip of tea. “Though, I must say, I’m eager to hear how you’ll be helping to fix my bathroom, Duke of Stonewell. And there were quite a few linens I had to throw out after last night’s escapades.”

A tinge of embarrassment covered Robin’s face as he shoved a forkful of eggs into his mouth.

“Don’t worry,” Gabriel assured. “I have a few thoughts as to how Mr. Sutton can pay you back.”

Again, Robin looked ready to argue, only to be shut down by Thalia’s stare. “You could start a fire with that look,” he grumbled, taking a huge swig of juice before snagging a stray cut of toast.

Thalia chuckled lightly, offering a glance Gabriel’s way. His expression immediately defaulted into its typical cold and stone exterior, though she could still detect a hint of a smirk beneath it. He was very much proud of himself, and he had every right to be so. If anything, Thalia was thrilled that she was privy to his true emotions, however fleetingly they lasted.

“As much as I enjoy all your banter, I’m afraid Thalia and I have business to attend to.” Gabriel offered his hand beside him, to which Thalia graciously accepted. “Would you be so kind as to join me? We agreed to coordinate our outfits last night, and I want to ensure we make the perfect statement at Madeline’s get-together.”

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