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not prepared him for dinner hour with the Huntingtons and he was finding it difficult to relate to the relaxed banter and lighthearted discussion they indulged in at meals. The more he was surrounded by this unaccustomed wholesomeness, the more lost and angry he became, until he was barely civil to anyone but Jamie. There were moments he felt despair equal to his worst nights at Madame’s as he realized that he didn’t belong anywhere, anymore.
    Over the next several weeks the rhythm of the house became familiar to him. He knew the minute the lights would come on, and when the fire would be lit. Huntington and his sister settled in the library most evenings to talk and compare their days and some nights, bored and lonely, unable to sleep, he would sit on the wide veranda, watching the sky and hugging himself against the cool night air as he listened to the buzz and hum of distant conversation. They’d invited him to join them, of course, several times; they were nothing if not polite, but he had no desire to perch,awkward and sullen, an ugly cuckoo soiling their nest, spoiling the intimacy of their evening. He much preferred sitting in the dark, listening to the soft murmur of voices and laughter. It warmed him somehow, like sitting by a fire on a cold night. Long after they left, long after the last embers had died in the fire, he remained, rocking silently back and forth in the darkness, cold as stone.

C HAPTER
4
    Ross and Sarah sat in the library, enjoying an aged brandy and talking companionably over the chessboard. “Jamie is doing remarkably well, don’t you think, my dear?”
    “Oh, yes, Ross! I swear he’s grown three inches since he’s been home. He’s a delightful boy, curious, eager, and full of energy and good humor. I wish Mother and Father could see him.”
    Ross flinched, uncomfortable with the topic. “Who knows, Sarah? Perhaps they can. I hope, at least, they may rest easy, knowing he’s returned home.”
    Sarah smiled. “Having him back is a blessing and a miracle. Seeing him whole and happy is … Oh, Ross, we owe Gabriel so much!”
    Ross grunted at that, but didn’t deny it. “He is not behaving as I expected. Indeed, I suppose I had no idea what to expect.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Well, for one thing, it appears he’s not tumblingthe maids … or the stable boys.”
    “Good God, Ross! That was cruel and uncalled for! You might be speaking of Jamie, if not for him!”
    “I’m sorry, my dear,” Ross said, somewhat chagrined. “He’s so surly with me I act like an ass at times. Still one didn’t expect him to become a monk, or a recluse. It’s been over three months, Sarah. He doesn’t seem happy here. One cannot say he’s adjusting. What do you make of him?”
    “Gabriel? I think he’s magnificent, achingly beautiful, and so very lost. I don’t know how to reach him. It breaks my heart.”
    Ross patted her hand, somewhat alarmed. Despite her brief marriage, Sarah’s experience with men was rather limited, and she was sometimes too tenderhearted for her own good. Regardless of what the man had done for James, there’d been something calculating and cold in his gaze when they’d first met that reminded Ross of the eyes of a mercenary. “I know you’re grateful, my girl, as am I. He
has
been Jamie’s guardian angel. You must be careful, though, not to romanticize him. He is, I’m afraid, a very hard, and a very dangerous, young man.”

    Later that night, Sarah tossed and turned, restlessin the oppressive heat. The day had been sultry and the night offered little relief. Despite open doors and windows, there was no hint of a breeze and the water lay still as glass. Flinging off her covers, she rose and stepped out onto the balcony. The night was bejeweled, the stars glittering and sparkling overhead, reflected by the flat-mirrored surface of the ocean below. She gasped in delight and imagined herself in a magnificent, celestial ballroom. Lost in fancy, she began to