Chapter 12...
Gabriel found that it was all but impossible to catch Devonny alone over the next few weeks. She had abandoned her walks in the gardens. She no longer lingered in the stables talking to Orion and the other horses in hushed tones as she slipped them apples and carrots from the kitchen. Even they seemed to miss her presence.
She was ever in the kitchens helping Ursula with the meals or helping Sadie launder the bedding or mend clothing. The only break in her routine came when Theodore Edmondson would call. She would allow him to accompany her on short walks or on a ride about the property. Teddy Edmondson was the only one for whom her somber façade seemed to crack.
But she did not look well. She looked drawn and tired. It seemed as though every bit of spark that she possessed had gone out of her.
It was killing him.
Elijah had taken to showering her with elaborate gifts , all of which had been surreptitiously been returned to his quarters at some point.
Gabriel was ever watchful for an opportunity to speak to her but none ever came. He wanted to avoid arousing the interest of the rest of the household but it looked as though it could not be helped.
He strode into the kitchens that were bustling with activity in preparation for the evening's dinner party and multitude of guests. The kitchen was filled with people he'd brought in from the village to help in the work. He spotted Devonny amidst the chaos attempting to slip outside in the commotion.
"Devonny." His voice boomed over the milieu halting all activity.
They all turned to him with wide eyed looks. All except Devonny who froze, her delicate shoulders hunching.
"I would speak to you now, please," he said and her honey colored eyes grew round.
Defiance flickered in her gaze and for a moment he thought she would refuse him. But she seemed to think better of it as her gaze passed over the stunned faces of the kitchen's other inhabitants.
He allowed her to pass before him as she shot him a glare. He nodded to the staff, watching him in mild shock. "Please continue," he nodded and departed, but not before Moira who was overseeing everything fixed him with a warning look. He smiled thinly at her in reassurance.
Devonny awaited him in the main hall, her expression apprehensive.
"To the study if you please," he motioned for her to continue ahead of him.
Gabriel inhaled deeply as he followed her. He would fix this. He had much to tell her.
Devonny entered the study ahead of him and turned expectantly when he entered and closed the door behind him.
He gestured to one of the armchairs set before a low table and the settee. "Will you sit?"
She eyed him warily. "No, sir," she murmured.
Gabriel's dark brows lifted. "No?"
She said nothing in reply but merely continued to look at him with those bewitching amber eyes of hers.
"You are angry with me," he said, a statement not a question.
"No, sir," she said softly. His face betrayed his shock and confusion at this and she continued. "All is as it should be."
Gabriel blinked at her, stunned and Devonny knew he understood her completely. They were not friends. They were not having a dalliance. They were done unwittingly hurting one another, she hoped. She was as distant from him as she had ever been and it was as things should have been from the moment she entered his employ.
Gabriel inhaled, his face thoughtful. "I had wished to apologize."
She seemed to consider this, a slight frown appearing on her lovely face. She shook her head. "That isn't necessary," she said as much to herself as she did to him. A man such as him did not apologize for hurting his servant's feelings, she reminded herself. She flinched inwardly at her own thoughts but she drew herself upward and forced herself to look at him. She kept her gaze on the center of his chest. It was not right that she meet his gaze. "I am a servant. I am poor and my skin is dark. I am not good enough for you. And you..." she swallowed thickly. "You mean....nothing to me." Her heart beat wildly in her chest, blood seeming to rush in her ears as heat suffused her face. "Was there something else you wished, sir?"
Gabriel stared at her, feeling as though a fist were clenched around his heart. She was right of course. Oh, she was more than good enough for him. She was all that was beauty, grace and goodness but she was not for him. She was always right but he did not believe a word that came from her mouth. His voice was low. "No, Devonny. There was nothing else."
"Sir." She dropped a small curtsey and he held study door for open for her to leave.
She moved by him without sparing him a glance and made her way back towards the kitchens.
Gabriel closed the door behind her with a sigh. No, an apology would not suffice as he had thought. He would have to earn her regard by some other means.
***
Devonny tucked the ends of her apron up into the waist tie and sighing she dropped a couple of apples into the pouch she'd created. She'd been neglecting the horses, depriving them of her attentions for fear of finding herself alone with Gabriel or Elijah.
Elijah's gifts distressed her. His gifts were the primary point of their discord and yet every day there was some new trinket artfully wrapped and sitting in front of her door.
She'd returned every last item to his quarters but it didn't seem to deter him. It was quintessential Elijah; throw money and gifts at a problem completely missing the point and the grounds for the dissention in the first place.
Gabriel on the other hand seemed to be more brooding than usual if that were at all possible, his hooded gaze following her wherever she moved.
Moira did not ask her what had occurred between Devonny and the Davenport men though the rift was obvious.
Devonny made her way toward the stables, lost in her own thoughts. She'd occupied herself with mindless tasks perfectly suited to keeping her out of sight and hopefully out of mind. But she missed riding and she missed brushing Orion's flanks to a high shine while his tail switched in delight. Hence, she gathered up a bunch of apples and slipped out of the kitchens intending to make up for lost time.
At least it seemed that she had finally achieved some modicum of distance between herself and the Davenport brothers. Perhaps she could manage to preserve the last shred of her dignity and her sanity.
She shook her head. She missed Elijah's companionship fiercely. She doubtless had considered him her dearest friend and confidant. But she had been wrong and he manipulated her. His callous single-mindedness has wounded her deeply.
The distance between herself and Gabriel was not unfamiliar. It always seemed that as soon as they had reached a tenuous peace, that peace was uprooted and reduced to cool glances and furrowed brows.
'Good,' she reminded herself. 'Distance both physical and emotional would make it all the more uncomplicated to leave when the time came.
She was deep in her melancholy thoughts when the toe of her boot caught a stone causing her to trip and stumble on the hem of her skirt just short of the stable entrance.
Letting out a small yelp, she caught herself against the side of the building but not before an apple slipped free of her apron and fell to the ground to with a dull thunk, rolled away from her into the arch of the entrance.
She shook her head. She never considered herself exceedingly graceful. At least she hadn't torn her gown.
Swearing lightly under her breath she reached for the apple and crossed the threshold only to be confronted with the blurred sight of hooves coming rapidly toward her from the stable interior.
Devonny straightened with a shriek and threw herself backwards as Titan reared, pawing the air. Apples tumbled from her apron as she landed on her rump and watched in horrified as shocked Gabriel Davenport was dumped unceremoniously from the saddle to fall hard on the ground.
