Page 62 of Alone with a Scarred Earl
When Gabriel spoke, his breath stirred the hair at her temple. “I love you,” he said, as though it had always been so, as though the words had simply waited for the right stillness in which to be spoken.
Genevieve turned toward him, her heart full, and her lips curving. “I love you,” she said, and the moment felt like the beginning of everything.
Epilogue
The air inside the restored glass houses was warm with the breath of summer, as filtered light cast a soft wash over the foliage. The orchids had begun to bloom in earnest, their vivid petals unfurling with delicate extravagance amidst ferns and mosses. Genevieve moved carefully between the raised beds; linen skirts gathered to avoid brushing the fragile growth. Her hands, steady and sure, eased a rare Anguloa into its new container, the soil had already been prepared with precise attention. She tamped the edges with a practiced touch, satisfaction humming low within her chest.
These glass houses, once forgotten and overrun, now stood proud and whole, every pane gleaming, every beam reinforced. The structure breathed around her, no longer a relic of decay but a sanctuary reborn. She had fought for this place, for its restoration and its promise, and the victory warmed her more deeply than the sun filtering through the roof.
The familiar creak of the outer door roused her attention. She glanced up, wiping her hands on a cloth tucked into her apron. Gabriel ducked beneath a thick drape of hanging vine, shoulders filling the narrow entrance. He held several folded letters in one hand, but it was the tempered satisfaction on his face that arrested her breath.
“I thought I might find you here,” he said, his voice lower than usual, mellowed by the weight of contentment.
“You are predictable, then,” she said, a smile teasing the corners of her mouth as she straightened, brushing stray strands of hair back from her temple. “Or I am.”
He feigned a sweet, innocent expression
“You, never,” he said, and crossed the space between them, planting a lingering kiss on her brow before offering the letters.
She took them with mild curiosity, but he did not release them immediately.
“It is done,” he said, his gaze holding hers with a steadiness she no longer questioned.
Her heart missed a beat.
“Tell me,” she said, filled with anticipation.
Gabriel’s satisfied expression grew louder by the second as he paused dramatically.
“Charles and Richard Harrington remain in Newgate,” he said. “Their appeals have been formally denied. The papers arrived today from London. They are to be transported within the month to a penal colony outside New South Wales. Multiple charges were sustained, including conspiracy, attempted murder, unlawful restraint, and bribery of Crown officials.”
She drew a breath and folded her arms across her middle, the finality of it echoing through her.
“They cannot harm you now,” he said, softer.
She looked up at him with affection.
“They cannot harm us,” she corrected gently.
He nodded once.
“More than their schemes against us came to light, it seems,” he said. “The magistrates uncovered a network of young women, misused inheritances, and coerced land transfers. It was never about me alone. Smite’s testimony helped build the case beyond speculation. The Crown prosecutor credited him by name.”
She allowed that news to settle, recalling Smite’s bowed head and the tremor in his voice when he spoke of the Harringtons’ manipulations.
“And Thomas Wilkins?” she asked, voice cooler.
Gabriel nodded.
“Transportation,” he said. “Seven years, labor in the Indies. His personal resentment weighed less than his complicity in sabotage and aiding known felons. He confessed under pressure.”
Genevieve looked down at the orchid she had just potted. Its bloom curved toward her like a question, bright and unafraid.
“Do you regret sparing him?” Gabriel asked after a long moment.
“No,” she said after a long moment. “To harbor vengeance is to give him power still. I would rather plant things that grow.”
Gabriel studied her, his expression unreadable. Then, with quiet finality, he reached for her hand.
