Page 48 of Wedded to the Deviant Duke
He must have noticed, quickly releasing his hold before pulling away from her. Gabriel stood before her, disheveled and sleepless, a clear twitch of anxiety causing him to pace slightly.
“Gabriel–”
“You slept past dinner,” Gabriel stated plainly.
Thalia’s mouth closed, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach.
“You drifted in and out of consciousness, and whenever you were lucid—the things you said–!” Gabriel looked ready to tear something in half, though opted instead to pull a nearby chair across the way before dropping into it.
“Gabriel, I’m so sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me he wanted you like that?”
Thalia’s blood ran cold. She could only stare helplessly at Gabriel, watch as his foot bounced and his fingers curled against the chair’s headrest. Smoke; gracious, but she’d miss the smell of smoke on him. “It… it doesn’t matter, now.”
“It does matter.”
“There’s nothing you can do about it–!”
Gabriel was suddenly at her side, barely a breath of space between them. The snarl that rumbled deep from his throat hummed in her chest, and Thalia found herself prone to swoon once more. “When will you understand there is nothing I cannot accomplish?”
Thalia opened her mouth to reply, finding herself at a loss for words. Lost in the intense glare of his eyes, of an anger not direct at her, but for her. The thought curled in the back of her mind, flickering into a gentle warmth that crept across her body and pooled into her middle. Had anyone ever been angry for her sake? Her breath hitched; she couldn’t rightly remember.
She suddenly felt quite feverish, trying to push the comforter off in an attempt to put distance between them. “What happened with Giles, then?”
“He was completely disarmed by my feminine charms, of course!” Charlotte’s cheerful demeanor broke through the tension, her grinning face appearing around the door’s frame as she welcomed herself into the room. “It was quite a sight, if I do say so myself. There was nothing he could do but submit to all my wishes!” She dramatically flicked a strand of hair behind her shoulder, smiling smugly.
Thalia couldn’t decide if she should be impressed, or horrified. “You…really are a Harding, through and through.” She turned to address Gabriel, finding he’d retreated back to the chair against the bedside. A slight pang of hurt filled her chest, but Charlotte quickly grabbed her attention, bounding over and gently grasping at her hands.
“How are you feeling, Thalia?” she asked. “I won’t pry and ask any details, but Gabriel’s been going quite mad with all the waiting.”
Thalia glanced Gabriel’s way, noting his shoulders visibly stiffen at the comment. “I’m… groggy, I suppose. How long was I asleep for?”
“Only a few hours,” Charlotte reassured. “It’s about… one? Maybe one-thirty in the morning.”
“One thirty-seven,” Gabriel corrected, a pocket watch suddenly set in his hand.
And you’ve been in here this whole time…Thalia realized. She sighed, giving Charlotte’s hands an apologetic squeeze. “You two are very sweet to be concerned with me. But, I promise, I’m feeling much better than before. She rolled her next words around in her head for a moment, then decided it would be best to give the Hardings at least a bit of information. “I went faint from exhaustion, for the most part.”
“You truly looked as if you’d been running for days,” Charlotte said. “And, Giles didn’t…?”
“Giles didn’t hurt me,” Thalia fibbed, her chin still aching from his grasp. “Not in any significant way, at least.”
The look Gabriel cast her way sent a shiver down Thalia’s spine. He knew the truth, though his gaze flickered back to the pocket watch.
“He made you faint in public! And he tried to play it off as hysterics and besmirch your good name,” Charlotte argued.
Not that her name wasn’t besmirched as it was, but Thalia opted to keep that thought to herself.
“At any rate, you can rest easy about him,” Charlotte continued. “Giles is, without a doubt, banned from entering Stonewell, for any reason. Not that Gabriel would let him take even one step inside,” she added with a wink. “But the staff and servants know to keep an eye out for him, or anyone associated with him. Servants, maids—heavens, even his butler won’t be allowed!”
Something horribly sour welled up in Thalia’s throat, and she nearly fell out of bed trying to stand. “Oh, God—I have to find him!”
“What? Find who—Thalia!?” Charlotte’s arms flew out, but Gabriel was faster, grabbing Thalia and catching her around the waist before she fell completely out of bed.
“I have to find George!” she cried out, trying to push free in a desperate bid for the door. “I—Giles let him go, and it’s all my fault!”
Immediately, Gabriel’s arms wrapped around her form, and she did everything she could to break free.
