"Have someone else put Elizabeth to bed tonight." He instructed Jacob. He could feel Gretchen's eyes on him, protesting his instruction without exactly voicing her protest.

Jacob bowed slightly and left the room. He turned to Gretchen, half expecting her to voice her disapproval once Jacob was out of the door, but she didn't. She instead sat still in her chair as a maid retrieved the sleeping child from her arms once dinner was over, even if the frown on her face indicated her displeasure in being left alone with him.

He watched the maid leave the room, rising to his feet the second she disappeared through the door. He walked over to where Gretchen sat with her gaze on her plate.

"Walk with me,” he said, holding out his hand to her. He watched as she hesitated for a few seconds; whatever Henrietta had said to her must have been terrible.

"I would much rather go to bed." She answered simply.

"But my love, you already napped with Elizabeth, didn't you?" He raised a teasing brow. "Unless of course when you said you needed to nap as well this afternoon, you had been telling a falsehood just to get out of spending time with me?" He folded his arms across his chest in feigned annoyance.

She released a breath and rose to her feet. She didn't look at him but she took the hand he offered and he led her out of the room, fighting to keep the smile that played at the corners of his lips as they walked through the hallway and out of the front door.

A soft breeze washed over his face as they stepped into the night air but it wasn't the breeze that got Gretchen's attention, it was the white horse that stood just outside the door.

A smile finally spread across his face as he saw Gretchen's lips part in surprise before she turned inquiring eyes to him, finally gracing him with a look.

“I thought walking into town would be too tedious to do." He grinned.

"Town?" She gasped, visibly excited.

Nodding, he took her hand, leading her to the horse where he helped her mount it. He climbed up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, gathering the reins in his hand. Without a word, he whipped the horse into a run and smiled to himself when Gretchen squealed in delight.

The moment he had heard of Henrietta's visit, his mind had begun to think of ways to reassure Gretchen that he loved her, because he knew Henrietta had shown up for the exact opposite. Thankfully, one of the errands Ethan had to run in town would prove to come in handy in reassuring her.

"This is so exciting!" Gretchen squealed, the wind carrying her voice to where he sat behind her. "I have never been horseback riding before! I can't believe I'm on a horse!"

He chuckled, fighting to keep his attention on the road, rather than the extremely attractive female who sat squealing in his arms. He was afraid if he paid too much attention to her, they just might end up in a ditch.