'So you've arrived, then,' Donata said as I came off the stairs.
'Indeed.' I bowed, leaning heavily on my walking stick. The ride had been long, the hired coach, cramped.
The countess, Donata's mother, looked up. 'This is your captain, Donata?' She gave me the same sharp scrutiny as her daughter. 'Yes, he'll do. We'll take supper in the blue dining room. It is the least stuffy.'
So saying, she hoisted her basket and wandered off into the garden in pursuit of perfect roses.
Donata slipped her hand through the crook of my arm. 'She has been asking me when we will wed.'
'Has she?' I said. 'This winter. New Year's, perhaps?'
She looked up at me, startled. She had been gone before my interview with Denis and Carlotta, and I had not written her of the details, preferring to discuss them with her in private.
Her expression turned suddenly warm, then thoughtful. 'Yes, I believe New Year's would do very well.'
I placed my hand over hers and met her gaze. 'If you will have me.'
Donata smiled up at me, and I realized that I loved her to distraction. 'Yes, Gabriel,' she said. 'I will.'
I kissed her, enjoying tasting her lips in the soft summer's light.
When we caught up again with her mother, she said, 'Mama, Gabriel and I will be married at New Year's.'
Without looking round, the countess snipped another rose. 'Excellent, dear. A special license, I think, in the gold drawing room. It is the warmest that time of year.'
