Realm 04 - A Touch of Grace Read Online Free Page B

easily within his reach if he was willing to permit its admittance, Gabriel had bid his friends farewell.
    When he returned to Gossling Hill, he would send for the Three Roses and permit them to do a bit of matchmaking. His father’s sisters had repeatedly “encouraged” him to wed, but he had deftly avoided their previous maneuverings. Now, he would welcome their devious attempts. He would open his London townhouse and stand attendance on all the ladies his Aunt Rosabel, Aunt Rosalyn, and Aunt Rosaliá deemed suitable. He would make polite conversation until someone struck his fancy.
    He had made a mental list of the qualities he would require in a future mate. Gabriel would share those requirements with his aunts prior to their search: attractive beyond the ordinary, a quick mind but not overly opinionated, the usual accomplishments of fine ladies, resourceful, and above all other qualities–loyalty. Gabriel had known too many women who kept their wedding vows only long enough to produce the required heirs. He would not tolerate a woman who spent her favors among his acquaintances.
    Gabriel would like to know the deep soul-cleansing love his friends had found, but he would settle for a woman who did not immediately bore him. The requirement for him to produce an heir loomed, and Gabriel might lower his standards a bit, but only a fraction. “Surely, with the number of women who make their Presentations each Season, a man may discover an appropriate match if he sets his mind to it.” And even if the lady did not engage his heart, he would perform his duty and beget several children. He had always desired a large family. Without brothers and sisters, he had spent a lonely childhood, the only issue of much older parents. Privately, Gabriel had decided some time ago he wanted, at least, three children. More if possible. It was not a fact a man discussed even with his most intimate companions, but Gabriel had long ago settled the fact as an absolute.
    Setting his mind to a different course, Crowden had ridden leisurely away from the Sly Fox Inn. With a new determination, he set his horse’s pace to bring him to Gossling Hill’s doorstep within three days. He had crossed Midlothian and Peeblesshire and was likely in Dumfriesshire when the shot rang out. Despite the sudden pain in his chest, Gabriel jerked Balder’s reins hard to the right, turning the stallion in a tight circle. He searched from where the bullet had come, but he found nothing unusual. He had thought to locate cover, but when another bullet whizzed by his ear, he kicked Balder’s flanks and grasped the reins tightly to maintain his seat.
    The blood squirted from the wound. Each beat of his heart sent another gush of fresh blood. He managed to remain in the saddle, but after a mile, Gabriel abandoned the effort. Reining Balder in, he clumsily slid from the saddle and half crawled to shelter behind a large boulder. Jerking a second handkerchief from an inside pocket, he pressed it to the wound and prayed to stop the blood flow. He cursed himself for not considering the possibility of a highwayman’s attack or even of Jamot seeking revenge. He had been so consumed with the idea of finally knowing happiness he had not listened to the knell of his own death’s bell. Placing more pressure against the gaping hole, Crowden closed his eyes and prayed for a second chance.

     

Chapter Two

    She had ridden for two days in first one mail coach and then another. As she shot a glance out the small window, Grace reflected once more on how much her life had changed the day her father had lost his hold on his favorite hunter’s reins as the animal jumped a low-cut hedgerow in the midst of the annual Cletherwoode Hunt, receiving a fatal blow to the back of his head. The former Baron Nelson’s actions had up-ended her hopes of home and family and a loving marriage. Her father’s small estate rested outside the Honour of Clitheroe, but her parents were always included