“I feel… I am important to you. I do feel that from you. I hope you feel it from me too, Ivan, how important you are to me.”

I pulled her lips up to mine and I kissed her… and I kissed her… and I kissed her.

I wasn’t sure I could ever stop kissing her.

GABRIELLE

I loved it when he kissed me unexpectedly. I could be speaking and telling him something important and he’d just lay one on me and that would be the end of whatever I was saying. Lord Rothvale was a bit of a romantic, it seemed. I wondered if he would be this way after we spent more time together. Would he still be romantic with me?

When Ivan finally ended the kiss, the sun had slipped behind some ominous clouds, looking quite ready to pour down on us. He quickly led me toward the horses, impatient to get going. “Wind has shifted. We need to start back before the rain comes. I won’t have you ill again from being trapped in the cold and wet.”

“Good idea, because I do not want to be ill again.” As he boosted me up onto Athena and then mounted up onto Pontus, the most powerful force came over me when I sent my silent goodbyes and my love to Graham and Imogene, resting together in their crypt, under peaceful willows swaying quietly in the breeze.

As we rode off with the dogs racing madly alongside the horses, I really did feel as if I had met them in person. That I now knew them, as they now knew me. We’d been formally introduced, and now we could communicate together about what to do with their priceless paintings. I could go to them and ask for advice and maybe somehow, through the ether and the magic of being together in the same space on this small spot on the earth, they might be able to show me what I needed to do. I felt they somehow knew I was here to protect and keep their legacy safe for the world to enjoy for generations to come.

We nearly made it before the rain descended. Nearly being the operative word.

The truth? We got good and caught in a summer rainstorm.

As we neared the horse barns, it was drenching down so furiously Ivan shouted over at me, “Just ride her in through the door!”

I didn’t have to be told twice. I steered Athena through the open doors and rode her right inside the barn with no problem. As soon as we were under the shelter of the roof, the sound of the pounding rain on the tiles roared like a freight train up over our heads.

Ivan helped me down from Athena and handed her off quickly to Owen along with Pontus. Both horses would have to be rubbed down and then tucked in their stalls with a blanket. “Owen, can you please make sure they both get an extra scoop of oats?” I asked as he started to lead them away.