Page 51 of The Heir's Fortune
“Is everything all right in there?” Devon called from outside the cave entrance, and Cassandra rushed to the hole.
“More than all right,” she said, before turning back to Gideon, her eyes shining. “Do you know what this means?”
He knew exactly what it meant – that his prayers had been answered. He was so overcome with gratitude and relief that he couldn’t put what he was thinking into words. Everything that had been weighing on him was slowly lifting off his shoulders, but all he could truly consider was that this meant he could have the woman he loved.
For he was no longer just falling for her, but he loved her with all that he was.
He had what he needed to offer himself to her, to give her his name, to share his life, in the fashion that she deserved – if she would have him. The prospect nearly knocked him over.
He urged Cassandra forward, out of the cave, before encouraging Devon and the rest of their friends to take turns going to look for themselves. When Madeline emerged, she had eyes only for Gideon, as she took purposeful steps toward him.
“It’s a fortune, is it not?” she said in hushed tones, slowly walking backward with him until they were on the other side of the tree line, hidden from view of their friends, except for their feet if anyone should truly take a good look for them.
“It is,” he said with a nod, a grin that he was helpless to stop from widening across his face. “Enough that I most certainly do not need to marry for a dowry.”
“What a relief,” she said, her eyes searching his, “for I have none.”
And with that, he leaned down and kissed her with all that he felt within but had never been able to put into words. His affection, his desire, his very being that yearned for her with a desperation that was becoming more difficult to contain with each passing day was released into the kiss.
But no more, he realized as his heart began to beat far more rapidly with anticipation.
No more.
CHAPTER 19
Madeline was having a difficult time keeping her eyes away from Gideon for the rest of the night.
They all ate and drank in celebration, the brandy strong enough that no one much noticed just how horrible the venison was cooked.
Gideon had attempted to speak to his father about what they had found, but he was not in the right frame of mind to hear it – at least, not from what Cassandra had said. Madeline hadn’t had a chance to speak to Gideon yet.
And yet, she watched him. The smile, which before today had been nearly absent, was now fixed on his face as he made no effort to conceal his glances toward her.
She was shocked by how this discovery had lightened his countenance. The furrow in his brow had eased, his smile more readily lit his lips, and his shoulders dropped by inches.
Madeline had grown to love Gideon for who he was and why he felt he needed to do what he had to do, but this Gideon was a man she could see herself truly enjoying her time with.
She didn’t need him to be one or the other. But she liked that there could be both sides of him.
She couldn’t help her mind from racing forward to the possibilities of what this could mean.
“What do we do now?” Devon asked when there was a moment of relative silence.
“We, along with some of our more trusted servants, will take wagons out to the cave to collect the treasure,” Gideon said. “Then I will have to consult with some experts to determine just what exactly is within it all and what I should do with it.”
Devon looked from one side to the other to make sure that no one was listening before he leaned in. “Can you trust your servants not to say anything or take any of the treasure for themselves?”
“Any that are still in our employ are most loyal. Their families have been with us for generations,” Gideon said. “I would trust them with my life and I will be providing them with some compensation for not only helping us but for staying with us through all the years when times were hard.”
Madeline leaned against the column beside her as she watched Gideon. How had she not realized the generosity within him? It made him all the more attractive to her, knowing that he would consider the needs of his servants as much as he would himself and anyone else in the room.
“As for the rest of you,” he said, lifting his glass, but Ferrington was already waving his words away.
“Do not even think of it,” he said. “We want nothing more than the opportunity to see this through to the end and know that we played a part in it.”
“How do you even know that I was going to say something like that?”
“Because we know you well,” Whitehall said. “Keep your fortune, Ashford.”
