"With that uncanny awareness of her presence, he stopped exactly a foot short of charging right over her and sketched her a formal bow. "Good afternoon, Miss Wickersham. I hope my attire meets with your approval." "You look quite the proper gentleman. Brummell himself would swoon with envy." She reached up to gently tweak a crooked fold of his cravat before realizing how wifely the gesture was. She hastily lowered her hand. It was not her place. Or her right. Stepping away from him, she said with stilted formality, "Your guests have already arrived, my lord. They're waiting for you in the library." Gabriel turned in a half circle, betraying his first hint of uncertainty. Beckwith caught him by the elbow and angled him toward the library door. To Samantha, he looked terribly alone, marching into the unknown with nothing but his hope to guide him. She started after him, only to have Beckwith's hand come down, gently but firmly, on her shoulder. "However dark, Miss Wickersham," he murmured as Gabriel disappeared into the library, "there are some paths a man must travel alone."