chapter 3 and some of 4

Chapter 3


Constance was sitting next to Gabriel in his black phaeton as they made their way around the park. She could see all the people that were watching her and Gabriel. To them they felt that it was a fantastic match for her, she would be getting a tide and she was marrying up in the world. Constance on the other hand was still unsure about this being a good match. She was fond of Gabriel and he was polite to her¸ but he didn’t love her.

Gabriel could feel a difference in Constance, he couldn’t pinpoint it, but he knew that something was bothering her. No doubt, she was still upset about him coercing her into marriage. He looked over at her in her lavender riding gown and matching hat and noticed her face. She was enjoying the feel of the sun, but she wasn’t as talkative as she normally was. He needed to know what she was thinking about, for in his gut he feared that it might be Lord Foxhaven. “Constance, you do not seem to be yourself right now, is there anything bothering you, my dear?”

She turned to look at him with a smile that was strained. “No, my lord.”

He slowed up the two bays so he could give her more of his attention. “I want nothing but honesty between us. If something is affecting your mood, you must tell me.”

“As I said, nothing is wrong, my lord. I am just enjoying the afternoon sun.”

“Are you thinking about Lord Foxhaven?” Gabriel asked, not knowing if he really wanted the truth.

Constance looked at him as if he had just slapped her. “My lord, I admit that at one point a few years back I believed everything Lord Foxhaven had once said to me. But I can assure you that ever since he walked away from me I have not once thought about him.” That was the truth. By not thinking about him, she was able to move on and stop crying after he left her behind and married another.

“What did he once say to you?”

“My lord, that is of a personal nature. I have not asked you about all the women you have said sweet nothings to. Besides that is exactly what I received from Lord Foxhaven; sweet nothings. There was nothing more than that. My heart was hurt, I shed a few tears, but I have moved past all that.”

Gabriel was upset at the thought of Constance shedding tears for a rake like Foxhaven. He had been a man of many talents, if Gabriel remembered correctly. Foxhaven seemed to have the habit of promising a woman something and never following through. From what Gabriel had learned about Foxhaven, he never laid a hand on the ladies he played games with. When Gabriel learned that he told himself that Foxhaven could live. “I cannot believe that you have shed tears for a man like Foxhaven. Constance, I promise you this. I will not make you cry. I would never want to see tears fall from your lovely eyes. I only want to see passion in them.”

Constance smiled at him, but she quickly retorted, “My lord, you cannot say that you will never make me cry. That is like promising me the moon. That is a promise you cannot deliver.” She wanted more than anything to believe that he wouldn’t make her cry, yet she knew that empty promises were the easiest to break. She had felt the heartache caused by them.

“I might not be able to give you the moon, but I will never want to give you a reason to shed tears. I am no Foxhaven.”

“I do not think you are Foxhaven, my lord. I think you more of gentleman than he is,” she said without looking at him. She wanted to say more but she was thrown into silence by the thought of Foxhaven riding his stallion up to Gabriel’s phaeton. She looked over and smiled at the viscount. “Good evening, my lord,” she said politely; then looked over at Gabriel.

“Good evening, Foxhaven. Nice day for a ride is it not?” Gabriel said.

Foxhaven looked from Gabriel to Constance; he never really took his eyes of Constance. “I have always wondered how you have been Miss Whitmoore. It has been a few years, has it not?” Julian Foxhaven intentionally ignored Gabriel, just to see if he could rile him up. The rumor going around Town was that the Earl of Graywood was incapable of any emotion. He was simply a man without feeling at all. Not many people talked about the Earl, but once he had set his sights on Miss Constance Whitmoore the rumors started to fly.

“It has been seven years, my lord.”

“You have not changed a bit, my dear. You are still as lovely as the setting sun. I have missed you all these years. Do you still try your hand at poetry?”

“No.” Constance didn’t want to say anything to Julian Foxhaven. To her he was nothing more than a memory. He was not the man she had once thought he was. He was mean hearted rake. He had broken her heart and she would never allow a man that power again. Not even the Earl of Graywood could tear down her walls. Not that the he wanted to; she knew that Gabriel only needed a wife and heir. Here she was on her way to a marriage that she had sworn she would never have.

“Miss Whitmoore, I cannot believe that you have given up your beautiful writing. I was the greatest fan of your poems.” Julian said with a smile that made Gabriel want to kick him off his horse.

How Constance could have fallen for his cheap common lines that so many men used to have their way with women. He would really have to talk to her now; to ask her how much of herself was given to Lord Foxhaven. He could overlook giving her heart away as a young woman, but he could not overlook her having lain with another man. “Foxhaven, are you trying to make polite conversation with me fiancé or do you just want to make me angry?”

Julian looked at Gabriel and gave him an evil smile, yet it didn’t affect Gabriel at all. Constance, who had refused to even look at Foxhaven, had glanced over at Gabriel’s remark. She could see the tension on Gabriel’s face and the disdain on Julian’s. “I believe that Lord Foxhaven was only trying to make polite conversation, my lord.”

“Nevertheless, he was not doing a good job of it at all. Now, if you will excuse us. I must see that Miss Whitmoore gets back.” Gabriel never looked at Julian, he just gave his stallions the command and they took off at a fast trot.

“My lord, that was rather rude of you. I’m sure that Lord Foxhaven was only being polite. No doubt, he forgot how horrible he acted all those years back.”

“He most likely hasn’t forgotten his actions. Men like him never do.”

“My lord, is there a reason that you are so upset?” Constance asked. She couldn’t believe that a man like Gabriel would be remotely upset from another man talking to her. She told herself that because of her history with the Viscount that he might find it a trifle odd for them to start talking again. How could she reassure Gabriel that she was not about to let history repeat itself with Lord Foxhaven, or even himself for that matter?

“I am upset because you are taking his side. You have recklessly thought yourself in love with him in the past; then today you take his side. Damnation Constance, you are engaged to be married to me. I want your full loyalty.”

“I regret to inform you that I am not a dog, my lord. If you want my loyalty, then I bloody hell want your trust.”

“Stop swearing, Constance. You sound like a cheap, tawdry, flamboyant actress of the stage.”

Constance looked at him silently. She knew now without a doubt that her uncle had made a terrible mistake. She was going to spend the rest of her days married to a man that didn’t trust her, and a man that could throw insults around like they were nothing. She was going to have to find a way to end this horrible engagement. She wasn’t about to let him see that he had offended her so she raised her head, squared her shoulders and looked the other way; fully wanting nothing but silence.

Gabriel didn’t like this awkward silence between him and Constance at all. He knew that he was the reason for it, but he wouldn’t apologize. He wanted; no he needed Constance to know where he stood; even though he didn’t really know where he stood. He knew that he wanted Constance, yes; he wanted her more than anything. He wanted he to be happy, of that he knew. Yet, the more he thought about what he wanted the more confused he became. He wanted all these things for her and now that he thought about it a wife and an heir were no longer on his list. He wanted her to not only be loyal to him, but give him her heart as well. Gabriel knew that that was too much to ask from her; she wasn’t just going to give it away. She might not be able to; another man named Julian Foxhaven might still have her heart.

That thought made him incensed. He didn’t even want to think about her loving another. He would have to make sure that only he was on her mind when he finally made love to her. He shook his head; where was all this coming from? He knew how society was. If she did love another once she had given him his heir she would be free to have discreet affairs. It was nothing new. His whole family was about affairs. His mother had her paramours; while his father had many mistresses in his time. It was a loveless marriage that they were both happy in. He thought that he had wanted a marriage that he could be happy in so he could do whatever his own heart desired, but for some reason he only wanted Constance.

Constance was content with the silence. It allowed her to think of all the ways that she could get out of this horrible engagement. She didn’t want to spend her life stuck to someone that didn’t and wouldn’t ever love her. She thought about all the things that she could do and the one thing that stuck out in her mind was getting away by running back to Northampton. It was the only thing that could get her away from Gabriel and he would be free to find someone else to wed. He might even want to try his hand at the lovely Miss Weatherly.


Tonight was the night that she planned on getting out of town. Only two people knew of her plan; herself and Phoebe. She had confided her intentions to Miss Jamison, only because she could rely on her best friend to help her. The plan was to go to the soiree at Lord and Lady Harpton’s and after a certain amount of time she would sneak off and go to catch a coach. By the next morning she should be at Whitmoore Manor. She was sure that Gabriel might be angry, but she was sure that he would get over it. He wasn’t one to hold on to strongly.

Constance had made sure that when Gabriel has asked her about her plans that she had misled him to think that she would be be going to the ball at Lord and Lady Hathonby’s. Even though she was sure that he wouldn’t have made an appearance; ever since that evening in the park she hadn’t seen him very often. Most nights he must have stayed in or gone to his club. It’s not that she had wanted to see him, but she didn’t really want to leave town without touching him again. She wanted something, some memory to take with her.

“Constance, are you sure that this something that you want to do?” Phoebe asked. She was concerned about her best friend. She only agreed to help her with this crazy, reckless notion because she was sure that after a night or two that she would give up and accept her fate. When Phoebe realized that Constance wasn’t going to give up on her plan she took matters into her own hands and sent an unsigned note to Lord Pearson.

“Yes, I am sure. This is for the best. I have to get out of town and away from all this. I’m sure once Gabriel realizes that he doesn’t have to marry a reckless hoyden he will be much happier with someone else.”

“Maybe, Lord Pearson really only wants to marry you. Have you thought of that?”

“Lord Pearson only wants an heir and he must be married to achieve one. I, on the other hand, never want to marry; at least not someone as priggish as Lord Pearson.”

“I do not think that Lord Pearson is a prig. I think that he may be old fashioned. I also think that you may be making an error.”

“My only error would be to marry Lord Pearson. Please Phoebe I need you to understand that I cannot spend my life attached to someone who is incapable of love.”

Phoebe could see the pleading look in her eyes and almost felt bad for telling Gabriel about Constance’s plan. She wanted her friend to be happy and now she was scared that she might have ruined that chance. She was hoping that Constance was right and Gabriel would just deal with the ended engagement and find someone else. If Gabriel really did make Constance that unhappy Phoebe didn’t want Gabriel to marry Constance. Constance was a light of love and understanding and if she married someone who didn’t nurture her; that light would fade.

“I can see that you are set in your ways.”

“You know that I am a determined lady. You have known me for many years.”

“I also know that I will be unable to talk you out of going through with this ridiculous notion of running away.” Constance looked around the ballroom; she wasn’t sure exactly what or who she was looking for, but her heart sank when she saw that Lord Pearson was walking towards her. “Why is he here?”

“Who?” Phoebe asked as she followed Constance’s gaze and she saw Gabriel walking towards them. She smiled to herself because she could see that he had fully intended to follow through with the arrangement that he had made with Constance’s uncle. “Oh, well maybe he just happened to show up.”

“I think something is in the wind. He looks rather angry, do you not think?”

“I think he looks rather dashing and he is almost up on us. Constance, do not be too harsh on him. You can always rearrange your plans.”

“You may be right. I will just act as if nothing is out of the ordinary.”

Gabriel spotted Constance clear across the room; he made his way through the crowd of people with ease. She has some explaining to do; he thought to himself. Then he thought that maybe it was all a hoax and she wasn’t intending on running away from him. He wondered how long she had been conspiring to leave town to get out of marriage to him. Most likely since he made it known that he intended to marry her. Was marriage to him really that horrible in her mind? Would she ever give him all of herself or would she always hold back? “Good evening, my dear. Would you be so willing to let me have this dance?” Gabriel asked; not wanting her to know that he was aware of her plans.

“Of course, my lord.”

He led her out onto the ballroom floor and gracefully spun her into a waltz. Even though his temper was almost at its boiling point and he wanted to lecture her to no end; when she was in his arms it all went away and only she mattered. He wondered if it would be the same in the bedchamber. Would everything of the outside world disappear when she was under him and he filled her completely? He could only imagine that it would. He found himself aroused at the thought of her lying under him naked, writhing with pleasure. He could see her cheeks flushed and her lips parted awaiting his deep penetrating kiss.

“I am sure glad that you were able to make an appearance tonight, my lord,” she lied. “The night would not be complete if I couldn’t have had one dance with you.” Constance could tell by the look in his eyes that his mind was on something else. She was yearning to know what he was thinking.

His eyes were a haze and she could feel his hands tighten on her pulling her even closer to him. If she was not mistaken he was…aroused? Or maybe he was irritated; maybe he had somehow managed to learn her plans and was offended that she would rather run away. No, he couldn’t be offended he didn’t even have any strong emotions toward her.

“My lord, would you mind if we got some fresh air?” Constance asked hoping to draw his attention back to the present.
Gabriel looked at her and smiled. “Of course,” he said as he took her hand and made his way to the outside balcony. He stopped raised on foot onto the marble bench. “Did you want to talk, my dear?”




Chapter 4


“No, I did not want to talk, my lord. I simply wanted some fresh air.” Constance said.

“Well, my dear, I would like to talk. What were you thinking scheming to run away from your future lord and husband? Did you think that I wouldn’t find out about your plan? Let me make one thing clear; if you ever think of running away again I will hunt you down and claim you completely. I can only be happy that you did not make me chase you this evening.”

She looked at him; her eyes wide. What exactly did he mean by claim you completely? “Would you have beat me if you would have had to chase me?”

Gabriel looked at her completely dismayed. He placed his hand under her chin and made her look at him. “Constance, I would never become violent with you. I might be upset at some of your schemes, but I will never lay a hand on you in anger.” Gabriel took a step closer to her, “I will only touch you in passion.”

Constance tried to move away from him but he wrapped his arm around her; pulling her close to him. His eyes were burning with a passion that she had never before seen. Constance could feel her heart beat harder in her chest; before she even realized what was going on Gabriel’s lips were firmly on hers.

Constance was taken aback at the sensation that coursed through her body. She had experienced a stolen kiss or two when she was younger and thought that Lord Julian Foxhaven was courting her. Yet, she had never felt this way with his kiss. She was astounded at how he was making her feel.

It was almost as if fireworks were going off in her mind. She relaxed into Gabriel’s kiss; when he ran his tongue along her bottom lip she opened for him. When he slid his warm tongue into her mouth she gently sucked on it; she wanted to see his reaction.
He pulled her even closer to his lean inflexible body. His hands sliding down her arms; then back up till his hands rested on each side of her face. He opened his eyes to look at her as he pulled away from this kiss. “I should probably get you back inside.”

Constance looked at him, her eyes blanketed in desire. She wanted to Gabriel to continue his kiss; she wanted to feel his hands on her. She wanted to caress him while he explored her mouth with his tongue. She had felt sparks that had grown into fireworks; she had realized with that kiss that maybe a marriage to Gabriel wouldn’t be that bad.

What? She was now contemplating marriage to Gabriel; why? What had changed? When had she decided that marriage might not be so bad? Was it his kiss? Did he now have some sort of control over her? She must have gone out of her mind to envision marriage; besides could one kiss really change her whole stance on marrying Gabriel?


Constance couldn’t get the thought of Gabriel’s kiss out of her mind. It was as if he had invaded her mind and there was no way to get him out. She remembered the feel of his rough hands on her skin; how she felt when he pushed his tongue into her warm mouth. She could only imagine the things that he could do if they had had more time. Would he have let his hands trail further down her body? Would he have kissed her with more passion and allowed her to touch his body? Would he have whispered sweet things in her ear?

Constance walked in to her uncle’s library; she was looking for a book to take her mind off the kiss. She was skimming over the books when her uncle walked in. “Good morning, Constance.”

“Good morning uncle. Would you mind if I talk to you?”

“Of course not, my dear. What is on your mind?” Lord Whitmore asked.

“I have decided to make the most of my impending marriage. You have been correct; Lord Pearson would not be a bad husband.”

“I am glad to hear that you have changed your mind. What made you realize that marriage is not a bad thing?”

“I have had time to think and I think that it is time that I left your care and be in the care of another.”

“Constance, dear, do you think that you are merely tolerated here?”

“No, I just know that it is my duty to get married. I know you and Aunt Clarinda love me. I know that I filled the void of you two never having children-“

“Now now, see here, you never were just filling a void. Constance you may only be my niece, but I love you as if you were my own daughter. Don’t ever forget that. Your aunt and I want nothing more than to see you happy.”

“Of course I will never forget that. I love you like my own father. You are the only father I have ever known. Sometimes I am sorry that I never got to know my parents, but I am glad that I have you and Aunt Clarinda for family.” Constance said as she crossed the library to hug her uncle.

It was the first time that she had ever shown a strong outward affection for him and to her surprise he pulled her tighter into the hug. She closed her eyes and let the tear roll slowly down her cheek. She had really only been emotional with her aunt.

Constance pulled away from her uncle’s embrace and wiped her eyes. “Thank you for being there for me when I needed you.”

“No, thank you Constance, you have been a blessing in my life and I know that your aunt loves you just as much as I do. Now, enough of this jibber jabber. I hope you really will be happy with Lord Pearson.”

“I will be. I am sure that he will make a wonderful husband.” Constance spoke the truth she wasn’t sure how she would fair in the whole ordeal of marriage, but the idea of marriage wasn’t something that she was honestly looking forward to; yet she was beginning to feel some deep strong feelings towards him. She wasn’t ready to say that she loved him, but she was definitely growing fond of him. Wasn’t she?

Her uncle just looked at her and smiled. “I am sure that you will make him a wonderful countess.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.”


Baron Whitmore was sitting at his library desk when he received a letter from Gabriel. He was being summoned to Lord Pearson’s townhouse. He had no notion of what Gabriel wanted, but there was only one way to find out.

Whitmore was let into Gabriel’s home and shown into the library. Gabriel was sitting at his desk looking over some papers. He looked up when his butler, Brannon, announced Baron Whitmore.

“Good afternoon, Whitmore. Please come in. Sit down.”

“Afternoon, Graywood.” The Baron said as he walked over to the chair in front of Gabriel’s desk. “You summoned me.”

“Yes I did. I have decided that I may want to move the wedding date up a little bit.”

Randolph Whitmore looked at Gabriel with questioning eyes. He wasn’t sure that he had heard Gabriel correctly. “You want to move the wedding date up? Does Constance know about this? Is there a reason that you are in a hurry to wed her?”

“I have recently been informed that there is some repairs that need to be made at Graywood Hall that need my immediate attention. To answer your question; No, Constance does not know of my intention to no longer wait for the wedding.”

“Repairs, you say? You can always come back to town and have the wedding.”

“Honestly, I cannot foresee how long I shall be away and I would feel much better if Constance was with me when I left for Graywood Hall.”

“I understand, well, there is no stopping you when you have decided on something. That much I know about you.”

Gabriel smiled. He wondered how many people gossiped about him and his ways. How many people would gossip about Constance if he left town without wedding her first? Would they assume that he had run away from marriage to her? Would she be ostracized? How would Constance feel if he left? Would she miss him? Would she try to run away again before he was able to come back? That was a chance that he was not about to take.

“I think that her and I will marry at the end of the week and that we will be leaving for Graywood Hall two days after that.”

“I will make sure that Constance knows what will be going on.”

“No need. I will tell her tonight at the Elmoore’s ball.”

Randolph looked Gabriel over quickly and gave him a smile. “I cannot wait to see how she reacts to the news.”

“Neither can I. Neither can I.”