She shifted. “A while ago, you offered to tell me about your past. That deep, dark secret we both know you are carrying around.”
“Ah yes, my secret room of portraits I’ve painted…badly,” he said solemnly.
She shook her head at his teasing. “I lost the first wager where that secret was the prize, so I didn’t get to know it. But I’d still like to.”
He seemed surprised by her request, and for a moment she thought he might refuse her, but he nodded. “Very well. My secret is the prize if you win. And if I win…then after the ball, after I peel that pretty dress off with my teeth and make you shake with pleasure, after all of that…I want you to stay with me in my room. All night.”
She swallowed hard. “You want me to sleep in your bed with you?”
“Yes.” His voice grew rough. “Very much so, Abigail.”
She worried her lip a moment. The reason she had avoided sleeping with him was that it felt so intimate. Even more so than sex, somehow. To sleep in the same bed was to fully trust a partner, to surrender the most vulnerable moments with them.
It was one of the last barriers she had left between them. And yet she could see how much it mattered to him and she wanted to give him this boon.
She nodded. “Yes.”
He grinned. “Then may the best man…or woman…win,” he said as he crossed the room, swept her into his arms and kissed her gently, as to not muss her. When he set her aside, he offered her his arm. “Shall we go, Your Grace?”
She drew in a deep breath and then took his arm. “Lead the way, Your Grace.”
He did so, taking her from the room and leading her to the next step in their path together. The next step toward their future.
The ball was in full swing, and no one could have counted it as anything but a rousing success. Nathan had watched, swelling with pride, as Abigail embraced her role as duchess to the fullest. She was such a natural at making people feel comfortable, welcomed, no matter their station or income or title. He realized now that was one thing he had always admired about her, loved about her. Seeing it in action only made that love swell higher.
Now she had just entered the dance floor with Owen and the two began to waltz. Her movements were graceful and lovely, and all eyes seem to move to her.
He managed to pry his away and looked around the room for Celeste. He found her at the edge of the ballroom floor, watching them as he had been. He moved toward her with a smile.
“Care to join the fray?” he asked. “Since your husband and my wife are dancing together?”
She nodded. “Oh yes, I do love to dance.” He led her to the floor and they fell into the steps with the others. “Owen would only dance with me,” Celeste said with a laugh. “But I told him he must be freer with his favors.” She blushed. “At least the dancing ones.”
Nathan smiled with her. He did like Celeste so much. “He is very good at it. Though I can understand his desire to only dance with his wife.”
Celeste glanced up at him. “You would only dance with Abigail, then.”
He cocked his head as he pivoted her. “Are you going to pretend you don’t know every single thing I confessed to Rhys and Pippa days ago? As if I don’t know you all talk together about us?”
Her blush spread to her cheeks again but her eyes danced with playfulness as she said, “It would be polite of you to allow me to pretend that rather than calling me out right here on the floor.”
“My wife would say I am never polite,” he said.
Celeste shook her head. “You two do tease. It is very different from the rest of us. But there is something so lively in it. Like you’re always having fun.” She gazed across the floor toward Owen and Abigail again. “She is changing, Gilmore. We can all see it. Whatever you are doing, it does seem to be working.”
Nathan swallowed, all the mischievous words fading from his mind. He looked at Abigail too. She did seem more relaxed now. And yet he knew she was still reluctant when it came to him. Fearful.
“I hope it’s enough,” he said softly. “It’s a tightrope, you know. I try to give her space so that she knows her life is her own to control. But then I also must push those same boundaries, try to create some space where I can wiggle my way in closer to her heart. It’s a bit like a battle. Attack and retreat, attack and retreat, hoping to make little gains each time.”
“You’ve given her a great deal.” Celeste squeezed his hand as they danced. “She went on and on about the garden she is planning when I saw her earlier tonight.”
He nodded. “That is part of the plan. And my pleasure.”
“But have you…” Celeste trailed off. “Perhaps I should not pry.”
He wrinkled his brow. “I welcome any advice you might have, Celeste. Not only do you know my wife very well, but your own union seems very happy.”
“Have you given her yourself?” she asked. “Because of what happened last year, so many of the worst moments in her life became public knowledge. We all know one of her greatest pains. She’s a private person, and I’m certain that stings her.”
He nodded. “Yes.”
“It might make her feel less exposed if she also knew something about you.”
Nathan thought of his wager with Abigail tonight. He had been trying to win the bet in order to keep her in his bed. But now he reconsidered. Celeste was right, after all. He knew about so much of Abigail’s life: her heartbreak over her sister, her drive that had come out of that tragedy, her humiliation at the hands of Erasmus Montgomery. He even knew about her sacrifice to save his sister.
But he had not told her much about himself. Not because it was such a deep, dark secret as they often teased each other. But because he was so focused on her. But his past could be a gift. A way to offer vulnerability and perhaps show her that he could be trusted.
The music stopped, and Nathan executed a bow to Celeste as she curtseyed in return. As he led her from the dancefloor, he said, “You’ve given me something to think about. Thank you for that and for your support of our marriage.”
She smiled. “You will always have it. I only wish you two the greatest happiness together.”
He squeezed her hand. “I must see my sister before she dances too much tonight. Will you excuse me?”
Celeste seemed confused by that request, but she nodded regardless. He dashed away, seeking out Ophelia in the crowd. He found her at last, standing with some old friends, laughing at something they were saying. When he reached them, his expression must have spoken for itself, for her friends backed away.
“You look very driven,” Ophelia said with a shake of her head. “What has you so intense, Nathan?”
“How many dances have you danced tonight?” he asked, almost breathless with hope.
She gave him an odd look, but removed her dance card from her reticule and fanned it out to look at it. “Er, it looks like I’ve danced six times tonight. You know, I had a dance with Louis Blankenship, the brother of the Earl of—”
Nathan shifted his weight in impatience. “Yes, but how many others have you promised?”
She pursed her lips and glanced at the card again. “It looks like two more spots are full at this point. I’m leaving my options open.”