Page 16 of Tempting Fate
I’m Gabriel Sauvageau living as Gareth Severand. You’ve seen my ruined face. You’ve been terrified of me before. Having me beneath your roof might prove more dangerous than if I left you alone.
Because I am a violent man, and other violent men want me to remain dead.
They’d try to tear you apart just to make me watch.
And then you’d meet the real me.
The one drenched in blood.
No, best he stayed a dead man. A distant memory. Someone she could say a polite fare-thee-well to when the time came. He could slip back into the lonely shadows, leaving her in the light where she belonged.
The fact that her family— that her own twin— hadn’t confided the Severand names to her made it clear that they also wanted their sister protected from the truth. At least for now.
Christ, this was complicated.
Something she’d just said permeated the maelstrom of his thoughts. “Wait… you have a full servants’ quarters? A full staff, only for you?”
“Well…” Her lips twisted in adorable chagrin. “I couldn’t let any of them go, could I? Not when I could afford to keep them. It’s not their fault Cresthaven emptied out rather quickly. First Nora, then Pru, Mercy, and my parents… The staff rely on me for income. Should I put out the second cook who is raising her grandchildren? Or perhaps Heather, one of our upstairs maids, a widow who cares for her ailing father? Or Mrs. Winterton, who was once my governess, but is recently orphaned and destitute. Why, she pays for the schooling of her younger sister. I’d be a monster to let her go.”
“But have they anything to do?” he queried.
“Certainly.” Her eyes shifted as she searched her thoughts for an answer. “I mean… our silver has never gleamed so brightly, and I challenge you to find a speck of dust.”
Lord, but she was kind.
Her exceedingly gentle heart was what had set her apart from her twin in the first place. Mercy Goode was like a storm, whirling about with a charming and brilliant chaos that endlessly entertained and enchanted his brother.
Gabriel liked the woman, there was certainly no reason not to, but he wastiredof chaos. His life had been one hurricane after another. One long and endless battle surrounded by subordinates equally as dangerous and untrustworthy as enemies.
Felicity was a cool and quiet breeze in contrast to her sister’s bluster. The gentle rustle of leaves, the swish of long grass, and the flap of a hummingbird’s wings.
She was the music that one must be still and quiet to hear.
And he appreciated her all the more for it.
Her heart was as large as the black hole swirling in his own chest, and he often wondered what it must be like to care so much. To feel so deeply. To love with such unabashed confidence.
Such trust and grace.
The self-conscious clearing of her throat made Gabriel painfully aware that he’d been contemplating her in silence for much too long.
“Well, here I shall leave you to be settled…” She tucked a stray tousled ringlet behind her ear.
“Miss Goode, I—”
“Would you join me for dinner at half eight? I would like to discuss the particulars of my—our— upcoming schedule for the season. I’m certain you’ll find it exceedingly tedious, but—”
“Yes.” He’d listen to theIliadread in its original language if only to share a meal with her.
“Excellent. Good afternoon, Mr. Severand.” She held out her hand, though her timid gaze didn’t lift above his vest.
That was twice in one day she’d reached for him.
Holding his breath, he took her hand, afraid to put any pressure on the tiny bones of her elegant fingers. He shook thrice, forcing himself to let them go with an unstable exhale.
She directed a winsome smile at his cravat, and scurried away.
Gabriel shut the door and leaned against it, suddenly feeling as if he’d been released from some sort of velvet rope. A manacle chaining his body to hers. She could have walked him like a hound, and he’d happily submit to her leash.
