Page 2 of Gabriela and His Grace (The Luna Sisters #3)

Gabby laughed as Tío Arturo joined them.

He was correct, of course. She may not have received her parents’ permission to return to Mexico, but her uncle, as the Mexican ambassador, was well versed in the conditions surrounding the war, and had been comforted by word from her sister, Isabel, that travel would not be compromised.

And after the debacle at the Wright ball, Tío was even more inclined to allow her a graceful escape.

She had been relieved by his support, especially as Ana María, Gideon, and Lady Yardley had objected quite soundly.

But she suspected Tío Arturo understood the deep burning desire that flared in her chest to step on Mexican shores once again.

She missed home and everything associated with it… well, almost everything.

This time would be different, though. Her teeth clamped together. She was a different Gabby than she had been: more mature, savvy, and sophisticated. She would show her father that she could be an asset to the Luna family, just as her sisters were. No longer would he view her as—

Determined to lighten her mood, Gabby shook away such thoughts and turned her attention to Gideon, who surveyed the crowd on the docks as if he was searching for someone.

“I can’t believe you changed your mind about me leaving, Gideon.

I thought I was going to have to resort to bribery…

” Gabby narrowed her eyes. “Or maybe even battery, to convince you to let me return home.”

Gideon didn’t smile—he saved all of his smiles for Ana María and Estella—but there was a spark in his dark eyes that Gabby had long recognized as amusement. “Let’s just say that once I learned you wouldn’t be traveling alone, my concerns over your safety lifted a tad.”

“I’ve always appreciated your concern,” she allowed, “but I’m certain Senorita Moreno and I will be perfectly fine.”

Her brother-in-law’s lips twisted in a manner Gabby had never seen before, and she frowned. “What?”

With quick movements, Gideon scooped Estella from her arms and propped her against his chest. Gabby didn’t miss Ana María’s quiet laugh.

“As much as I’m sure you and Miss Moreno are capable of caring for yourselves, there will be another on the ship to provide you assistance should you need it,” Gideon said.

Jerking her chin back, Gabby looked from Gideon to her sister, whose attention was focused on her daughter.

Ana María refused to meet Gabby’s eyes. When she turned his way, Tío Arturo was studying the ship’s masts.

Lady Yardley, however, stared back at her with a broad smile.

Dread dropped in Gabby’s stomach like a rock.

“Who?” she demanded, spinning about in a whirl of skirts, her eyes darting about the busy docks. A name flashed in her mind and she drew up short, her breath catching. Surely not. Of all the people who would be traveling to Altamira, it couldn’t be him .

Gritting her teeth so tightly her jaw ached, she pivoted, following the direction Gideon searched.

It was then that the crowd shifted and her gaze collided with a familiar pair of blue eyes and her skin flushed so hot, Gabby was certain she would combust. Without a thought, she stomped her foot and shrieked, “Ay, no!”

· · ·

Sebastian Brooks, the eleventh duke of Whitfield, knew better than to expect an effusive…or even a cordial greeting from the likes of Miss Gabriela Luna. But he certainly hadn’t expected her to exclaim so loudly she’d frightened several of the sailors working on the gangplank.

Sighing, Sebastian plucked his spectacles from his face and massaged the bridge of his nose. The voyage to Altamira was scheduled for twelve to fourteen days, and then the carriage ride to Dawson’s home would take five to six days. Surely he could survive three weeks in Miss Luna’s company.

Even across the sixty or so feet between them, Sebastian could see the disbelief and frustration sparking in her greenish-brown eyes.

“And here I thought you were a rake about town, Your Grace.” Brodie, his valet, stopped next to him, his head cocked to the side. “But that lass appears angry enough to bite through steel.”

Sebastian snorted as he slid on his spectacles.

Brodie had worked for him for nigh on a decade, and he was used to his easy manners and glib tongue.

He continued to employ the man despite his propensity for bringing Sebastian down a peg because, frankly, no one dressed Sebastian quite like the burly Scotsman.

He should have foreseen Brodie’s delight at Miss Luna’s fiery disdain for him.

Three weeks , he reminded himself. Just three weeks, and he would be in Mexico with his old friend Sirius Dawson, touring the silver mine that had single-handedly brought the Whitfield dukedom out of arrears.

Brodie whistled through his teeth. “She truly dislikes you, doesn’t she?”

“I assure you the feeling is mutual,” Sebastian said, tugging on his cuff links.

“Sure it is.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” he growled, glowering down at his valet.

Unmoved by Sebastian’s annoyance, Brodie lifted a shoulder. “It means that I don’t believe you, Your Grace.”

Sebastian leaned on his onyx-and-gold-tipped cane as he lifted a brow. “My opinion of Miss Luna does not require your approval, Brodie.”

“Of course not,” the valet replied, unimpressed. “But I do so look forward to watching that lovely lass tie you up in knots these next few weeks, especially as you’ll have nowhere to go to escape her.”

Clenching his eyes closed, Sebastian exhaled a long breath. Between the sharp-tongued Miss Luna and his shrewd valet, he was bound for purgatory.

Pushing his spectacles up the bridge of his nose, Sebastian pulled his gaze from Miss Luna’s scowling face to where Fox stood with his infant daughter in his arms. Looking amused. The damn man was almost smiling. Something about the scene made him think of James and David.

“Do you think they’ll be okay while I’m gone?”

His valet didn’t need Sebastian to explain whom he was speaking of, for the older man nodded. “They know you’re coming back. That you wouldn’t have left in the first place if the trip hadn’t already been planned. Old Mrs.Evers and the staff will take good care of them.”

Sebastian knew that, of course, but unease still turned his stomach. “I’m going to tell Mrs.Evers you call her old.”

“Now you’re stalling, Your Grace. You’re gonna have to speak with Miss Luna eventually,” Brodie offered, most unhelpfully.

“Yes, I am aware. But after this moment, it will be almost impossible to be away from her, so I am reveling in my freedom while I can.”

With a long exhale, Sebastian set off toward the group waiting at the edge of the gangplank, their expressions ranging from polite regard to open hostility.

Doing his best to avoid Miss Luna, Sebastian exchanged greetings with Lady Yardley, then Mrs.Fox, and then Mr.Valdés.

When he finally stretched out a hand to his friend, Sebastian couldn’t keep himself from squeezing Fox’s hand tightly.

“It would seem she did not take the news well,” he murmured quietly, careful not to be overheard.

Fox shook his head, amusement still evident in his expression. “I’d say her reaction was very much in character.”

Sebastian couldn’t argue with that. He’d known Miss Luna would be upset when she learned he would also be on the voyage to Mexico, and he also knew she was not a young woman who hid her emotions behind a veneer of placidity.

Sebastian had never doubted where he stood with Gabriela Luna, and try as he might, he couldn’t help but respect her for it.

The majority of people he met acquiesced to him and his desires simply because he was a duke, and Sebastian had come to value those friends who were not swayed by his title.

Gideon Fox was one such friend; Sirius Dawson another.

And while Sebastian would never call Miss Luna a friend, her fierce resistance to treating him as anything other than a bug beneath her fashionable shoe was a trait he found both vexing and charming.

Fox took a step closer to him then, his voice dropping an octave. “I’m sure the voyage will have its trying moments, but I am much relieved that you will be there should Gabby require your assistance.”

“But who will protect me from her?” Sebastian volleyed, affecting an affronted look.

Fox didn’t have a chance to respond because Sebastian felt a tap on his arm. Clenching his jaw, he looked down, not at all surprised to see Miss Luna’s hazel eyes glaring up at him.

“What, exactly, are you doing here, Your Grace?”

Her tone was clipped. Commanding. Sebastian stifled an inner sigh. “I was invited to attend the board of directors meeting for the Camino Rojo mine.”

Miss Luna’s nose crinkled. “Isn’t that the same mine Captain Dawson has invested in?”

Sebastian nodded. “He is the one who courted my involvement in the venture. I’ve been hoping to visit the operations since I first threw my support behind it.”

“Oh.” She blinked for several seconds. “Does that mean you will also be a guest of my sister and Captain Dawson?”

Now it was Sebastian’s turn to blink. “I had assumed you would be staying with your parents. Surely you’re anxious to be reunited with them.”

Her face darkened. “Of course I am eager to see them, but I would much rather stay with Isa.”

“I don’t understand—”

“All aboard!”

Sebastian took a step back, unease curdling in his stomach. In a daze he watched as Miss Luna turned from him in a huff, before she launched herself into her sister’s arms.

The gravity of their situation crashed onto his shoulders like an anvil. Not only would he be sequestered on a ship with Miss Luna for weeks on end, but they would also be guests in the same house. Christ almighty, what had he agreed to?

“It won’t be so bad, Whitfield.” Fox clapped him on the back, while the infant Miss Fox reached her plump arms to him.

Without hesitation, Sebastian brought her into his embrace.

“Despite how your interactions have gone to this point, Gabby is a clever and kindhearted young woman. I’m certain the two of you could be friendly… if you tried.”

“I believe you mean that Miss Luna is wickedly clever and selectively kind.” Sebastian arched a brow. “I have no qualms being friendly to her, but I rather doubt she’ll reciprocate.”

Fox met his gaze directly. “Then don’t antagonize her.”

Scoffing, Sebastian rubbed the backs of his knuckles along the baby’s downy cheek. “Miss Fox, I implore you to remind your dear father that your great friend the Duke of Whitfield would not know the first thing about antagonizing others. He is a virtuous saint of a man.”

Little Miss Fox gurgled what was surely her agreement, and Fox chuckled. Since his marriage to Ana María, Gideon smiled and laughed more often, a feat that no longer shocked Sebastian. Perhaps one day he would be lucky enough to find such happiness—

“Write when you can. I’ll be very interested in all your observations about Mexico, the workings of the mine, and how Dawson and Isabel get on.

” Fox hesitated, plucking his daughter from Sebastian’s hands and propping her on his hip.

His expression returned to the serious facade he was known for.

“Please keep an eye on Gabby. She is brimful of self-assurance, but from what Ana has said, there are those in Mexico who will delight in stripping her confidence away. She’ll need an ally, whether she knows it or not. ”

An uncharacteristic ache thrummed in Sebastian’s chest, and he slid his gaze to where Miss Luna shared tearful goodbyes with her family.

She had gone out of her way to avoid him over the last few years, and he’d done much the same.

Heaven knew Sebastian didn’t need to subject himself to her cutting remarks.

But the idea of someone trying to humble the indomitable Gabriela Luna seemed unforgivable.

Clearing his throat, Sebastian finally said, “And you trust me to be her ally?”

Fox shook his head. “I trust you with her life.”