Page 56 of In Search of a Husband
Which was probably for the best because she could admire his shoulders without any embarrassment. Wide shoulders and a trim, narrow waist. Dressed in clothes best worn in London or Paris, certainly not marching around repairing damaged distillery stills and staining wood floors.
“I ruined…oh.”
She inhaled, remembering now that she had cast up her accounts on him in her room. And she had been furious when he had interrupted her and Elsie. And he had carried her.
“I apologize about the boots. And for my behavior and lack of judgment.”
He neatly tucked his shirt into his trousers and spun around in the bright golden light of the morning. The man was made of gold, the way the sun hit his hair, the warm shine to his eyes, the way he pinned her there in his bed with his stare, as if he weren’t the most handsome man she had ever seen.
“Nothing happened. I brought ye down here and cleaned yer room. I slept there.” He pointed to the pillow and blankets on the floor.
She was half relieved. “You must think me…”
“Kate, dress yerself and meet me at the stable block in fifteen minutes. I’ve a lot of work to do, and ye’re comin’ with me today.”
“What about the girls?”
“Elsie will mind after them.”
She traced her fingers over the embroidery of the navy coverlet. It was fine embroidery and fine fabric. And like Gabriel, it was full of hidden details. She glanced at the giant tapestry on the wall beside the window, overlooking the gardens and glen beyond.
“I chose to act as I did by myself, not influenced by your sister.”
He worried his bottom lip as a piece of hair fell down over his eyes, making him appear absolutely rakish. Which was ironic as there was nothing rakish about him. He was the opposite in every way. And she was certain if he hadn’t hated her before, he must now.
But she wouldn’t allow him to punish her either. London had done a neat enough job of that already.
He whistled for Oscar who sat up, glanced at Kate, then leapt off the bed, and trotted behind Gabriel as he left the room.
Twenty minutes later, Kate was dressed, her hair brushed, and donning the largest bonnet she could find as she strolled out to the stable block. She inhaled the cold air, hoping to settle her stomach. Nothing worked.
Not even while foolishly gazing at Gabriel as he mounted his horse and pointed toward the black mare beside him for her to do the same.
She swallowed and did as instructed, satisfied to see she hadn’t disappointed Gabriel.
“What are we doing today?” she asked. She glanced toward him, then out toward the empty gardener’s cottage and the crumbling stone stable.
Dunsmuir Castle must have been a sight to be seen when it was cared for and staffed. Underneath the rough, there were the ghosts of lush gardens and a great hall once filled with music and good cheer.
“One day,” he said as if reading her mind, “the castle will look as it did when I was a boy, and ye’ll see its magic.”
“I see it now.”
He narrowed his eyes, leaning forward on his mount as he brushed a hand over the horse’s neck. “I ken, Kate. That’s why I want ye to stay.”
CHAPTER 15
They rodein silence through the forest to the village, so that Gabriel could spend his day in the inn. It wasn’t as if he was angry with Kate. Everyone was allowed to make poor decisions. It was only that when it fell back to him over and over again, he was tired of being wanted for something he couldn’t provide.
She was correct. When he was young, he had run whisky for his father with the help of his brother. That was the last time in his life that he had ever done anything without someone wanting something from him. After his father’s death, his brother Tavish became laird and took over the business and the estate, married, and had children. During that span of time, he had somehow taken what had been profitable and a solid family legacy and burned it down to the ground because he could, and Tavish had seemed to enjoy it.
Gabriel could never fix what his brother had broken. He realized that more each day. And at some point, it fell back to him not to correct the wrongs of his family, but to look at the future and see what could be, find the hope there. It didn’t do anyone any good for him to return home to Scotland, Dunsmuir Castle, and see ruin. There was always a fresh start. There could always be hope.
Gabriel glanced at Kate as she rode beside him. The bright whitelight of the sun dappled through the trees in the forest, and it smelled of earth and decay as the autumn bore down on the mountains. He wasn’t mad at Kate. But he was mad at himself for how he had treated her, for how they had shared that kiss in the kitchen, and how he had become the world’s largest coward and fled. It was no wonder that she was furious with him when he had strode in last evening as she drank with Elsie, demanding to know what she was doing. As if he had a right to tell her what to do.
But Gabriel also knew that for him to have any chance to succeed, he needed to work with Kate, and he needed her on his side. Today, that would be his mission. For one day, he would be focused and put thoughts of kissing her away.
Gabriel had built a shipping empire on his own, but it was all at risk now. He wasn’t interested in running whisky when he knew he could make a legitimate business of their distillery. And he needed help.
