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Lord Portland reeled back, working his jaw before reaching into his pocket, and the steel of a knife glinted in the moonlight.
“Oh, came armed, did you,” Gabriel sneered. “Do your worst, you peacock!”
Portland swung the blade, but Gabriel evaded the swipe of the knife and landed a blow to Portland’s midsection, taking the movement to kick Portland’s foot under him, but Portland leaped away.
Their shouts must have alerted the rest of the guest as soon a circle of horrified onlookers surrounded them.
Rushing in, Portland’s blade arched again, and Gabriel had had enough of humoring the man. He slapped the knife away and rammed his fist into the other man’s gut, the force loosening the weapon from his grip. Gabriel’s fist smashed into Portland’s face before he grabbed the man’s arm, and with a wicked twist, somethingsnapped,and Portland screamed.
Dropping him like a filthy rag, Portland groaned and lay limp, and Ana bolted into Gabriel’s arms as soon as her attacker hit the ground.
Gabriel caught her in a fierce hug. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, nowhere near,” she cried into his neck.
Gabriel held her tightly against him. “I was ready to kill him,” he admitted.
“I was ready to let you,” she replied.
“Portland!” Margaret cried as she pushed through to fall at the man’s side. She grabbed at him and then glared at Gabriel. “What did you do to him?”
“What I promised I’d do to anyone who hurts Ana,” Gabriel said icily, “And after you’d sent yourparamourto seduce my wife-to-be, you are lucky I didn’t put a bullet through his head.” Horrified gasps rang around the room, but Gabriel didn’t care.
Aunt Elizabeth rushed to the front, her face white with fright. “Margaret! What on earth is happening? What did you do?”
“I’ll tell you what they did,” Gabriel replied. “I was on the upper east balcony when I overheard two voices whispering about how to ruin a lady. Your precious daughter said, and I quote, ad verbatim,you’ll get the one-up on that man, and I’ll get this tart to stop usurping my place.I could only conjecture the two hatched this plot as they had two mutual enemies, me and Lady Anastasia.”
Her aunt clutched her pearls. “Margaret is this true!”
“And that all happened after I saw them kissing,” Gabriel interjected smoothly.
Portland’s face went red, and he spluttered a denial that no one believed. “We have not touched each other!”
Aunt Elizabeth’s face was clothed with shame. “I cannot believe what I’m hearing. I’m sorry, Margaret, but you two will have to wed, and there is no other way.”
“And I will be seeing restitution after your ill-conceived attempt to damage a lady twice your worth,” Gabriel promised. “Please do me a favor, and do not invite Ana or me to your wedding. You two are fit for each other.”
Steering Ana away from the crowd, Gabriel took her inside and to an empty room where he grasped her face. Before he could say a word, she pointed out, “You have dirt all over you. What happened to you?”
“I jumped through a window to escape your conniving cousin who tried to trap me as Portland attempted to do to you, but that is not here or there. I need to tell you, I’ve already fallen—for you, Ana. I’m sorry, sweetheart. I know I have confused you in the last week but not as much as you have changed me. I am not the man I first was when I met you. I’m in love with you, Ana. You’re my first thought every morning and my last thought every night. Marry me. Please.”
She gazed, wide-eyed. “What?”
“I need you, Anna. I’m baring my soul. I’ll give you everything I am, anything you want, anything you need. Please say yes.”
“Gabriel—”
He tugged off his jacket, tugged his cravat off, and undid his waistcoat. He nearly ripped his shirt open to take her hand and press it on his chest. “Feel this,” he said. “I thought I would never feel anything for anyone, that I would be the rakehell of London, a man without emotions, but you changed me. Somehow, I fell in love with you without knowing it. I cannot stand the thought of you marrying someone else, Ana. I know it makes me a selfish bastard, but I want to be yours—”
“A selfish bastard?” Ana asked.
“Whatever you want,” he answered. “Marry me.”
She gazed up, her glimmering eyes growing wet with tears, and Gabriel felt the horrid feeling that he was about to be rejected. He cupped her face, “Ana, please, please don’t cry. I’ll go if you—”
Her lips slammed on his before he could think, and after a moment, he kissed her back. “I c-can’t help it,” she said between choked breaths. “I love you too.”
“You’ll have me then?”
