Lords of Retribution (Lords of Avalon series) (8 page)

This arrival was special
. It was her dear friend, Robert Penrose and his two granddaughters; one of whom, Morwenna to be precise, Morva hoped to see marry her son, the Duke, and someday fill her shoes as the Duchess of Penrose.

Though Tremayne and Tristan had preferred she not come outside with the threat of intruders meaning harm to Menadue, Morva had insisted on meeting
this
party.

“Mother, what are you doing outside?” Trevan mildly scolded as he slid off his tall bay
. He opened the carriage door and held out his hand.

Morva held h
er breath, then smiled when she saw Wenna Penrose alight from the carriage. She noted the way Trevan and Wenna smiled at one another. Hope rose in her heart. Had they patched things up? She wanted it to be so. She was a mother and knew in her heart that her son Trevan would never be the same if Wenna Penrose rejected him again.

“Wenna!” Morva smiled as she opened her arms to embrace the woman she hoped would be her future daughter-in-law
. “You’re as beautiful as ever. It’s so good to see you, my dear.”

“Aunt Morva, it’s wonderful to see you.” Wenna kissed the tall, slender woman’s cheek
. Morva Penrose’s black hair was streaked with silver, but her eyes were nearly the same color as Trevan’s. She was a strikingly handsome woman for her age. Wenna had always loved her.

Morva’s gaze moved to the carriage once again
. She watched as Gabriel stepped down and turned to offer his hand. She smiled as sweet, wide-eyed Senny stepped down. She clung to Gabriel’s hand. Morva knew Senny was highly sensitive to other people’s energies. It was then she noted the way Gabriel looked lovingly down at the golden-haired beauty. She heard the tenderness in his voice as he spoke soothing words to Senny. She watched as Senny smiled brightly up at him and visibly relaxed.

Morva smiled again
. One of her dearest friends throughout her life, and a second cousin, Ailla Michelmore Penrose, Wenna and Senny’s mother, would have been so happy to see such a thing. It appeared Ailla’s prediction from twenty years before; that Gabriel and Senny would marry, was indeed possible.

There was something in the way
that Gabriel looked at Senny that led Morva to believe that her nephew was quite taken with Sennen Penrose. Morva’s heart sang. She was certain she felt Ailla’s presence beside her at that moment. Ailla had always worried what would become of her very special daughter, Sennen.

“S
enny! Oh, you’re as beautiful as an angel.” Morva smiled as she opened her arms to the girl.

Senny smiled a
nd allowed Morva to hug her. “Thank you, Aunt Morva. You are beautiful as always. I always thought you and Mama to be the prettiest women I’d ever known.”

“Oh, you dear
, girl!” Morva kissed Senny’s cheek then turned to Gabriel. “How are you, my dear nephew?”

“I am very well, Aunt.” Gabriel gave
his aunt a loving peck upon her cheek.

Morva was about to
reach for Senny’s hand when she realized Gabriel intended to do so. Morva smiled inwardly and allowed Gabriel to take charge of Senny. She stood by as Tristan and Tremayne lifted Robert from the carriage into his Bath chair.

“Robert Penrose, my dear friend, welcome to Menadue!
” Morva rushed to him and bent to give him a hug and a kiss on his withered cheek.

“Morva
, how is it that I get older every day and you do not?” Robert grinned.

“Robert, I’ve earned every one of these gray hairs from raising my stubborn, strapping sons. By the time
they and my daughters are wed, I expect to be completely white-headed!”

The two laughed
. One of Menadue’s servants arrived to help Robert inside in his chair.

“I hope you are all hungry
. Dinner shall be served in a quarter of an hour. Relatives have been arriving all day, so we are to be informal here for the duration of everyone’s visit.”

Morva looked to her newest arrivals. “
I’ll have your things taken up to your rooms. You will be staying in the Duke’s wing. There are fewer rooms in that wing, and I think you will find it much quieter. Gabriel, you’ll have your usual room. There has always been a suite of rooms at Menadue for the Earl of St. Mabyn. Senny shall be beside you. Robert and Wenna are across the hall.”

She looked to Wenna, then,
“If you can help me tell the footmen which rooms the trunks should go to, perhaps Gabriel can walk Senny around a bit.” Morva knew Senny needed time to adjust to the chaotic energy of the full house so she didn’t become overwhelmed. Senny was so much like her mother in that respect.

She continued,
“Robert has been taken to the drawing room and Trevan will be with him until we join him.”

“W
ould you like some refreshment before we walk about?” Gabriel asked Senny as he led her inside.

Senny shook her head
. “No, but if you would like something, we may get it first.”

“I’m fine
, Zenny. How do
you
feel?” Gabriel asked her in a whisper as he walked beside her. A few familiar faces, mostly Chynoweth relatives walked past them as they entered offering cheerful greetings. Gabriel responded to them as he led Senny away from the main rooms to find a quieter place for them.

“There is a lot of energy,
” Senny whispered to him as he walked her through the vast entrance hall. “It’s not bad energy, there’s just so much coming from so many directions. There are so many thoughts and f-feelings.” She took a deep breath to try to keep the building noise from overpowering her thoughts.

Ga
briel noticed her hand trembled slightly upon his arm.

“Can you concentrate on
your
thoughts and feelings alone? Perhaps you can consciously block out everything around you. The thought occurred to me you might be able to learn to control what you do and don’t absorb.” Gabriel stopped as they neared an alcove. He drew her into the small space and took both her hands in his.

“Let
’s just try. Close your eyes. Take some deep breaths. Just try to focus on your thoughts and imagine the other thoughts and feelings being pushed away.”

Senny did as he instructed
. She calmed as Gabriel’s soothing voice encouraged her. He continued to talk her through the process. Slowly, she tried to send away the distracting thoughts and feelings from others that were swirling chaotically inside her head. She realized she could tell which ones were hers and which were not. After a time, she was able to hear only her thoughts. The racing, static thoughts from the other occupants of Menadue fell away. She smiled up at him.

Then it happened
. She seemed joined and merged to Gabriel. She felt wonderful emotions, caring, concern and something else. Something warm and exciting raced through her as she experienced these new feelings. It made her skin tingle. She seemed to ache with a curious need down low.

Since the day Gabriel informed her they were courting, he had only held her
hand. It did not feel much at all like they were courting.

They were so close to one another, she could feel the warmth from his body. Tingles raced up her arms as he caressed her hands in his. She wanted him to kiss her. If only he would kiss her, she could be sure he was
serious about courting her.

Suddenly
feelings and thoughts that did not belong to her came into her mind. It surprised her, when she realized the thoughts belonged to Gabriel. She felt that Gabriel wanted to kiss her, yet she heard his voice telling himself he could not. She shivered with anticipation, thinking what it might be like if Gabriel did kiss her. She wanted him to. That warm tingly sensation rushed through her again. That burning need returned also.

Gabriel’s attraction to Senn
y at this moment was so intense he could hardly restrain himself. He wanted to draw her to him, kiss her and more. He had never felt such an overwhelming need to have her. His instincts were to back her against the wall, lift her skirts and drive himself into her. He had never experienced such raw, overpowering lust. He scolded himself. What was he thinking? He was trying to calm her, not overwhelm her further. This was his sweet Zenny. An innocent.

“
Gabriel, I don’t understand. You want to kiss me, yet you tell yourself you cannot.”

At first
, Gabriel thought she spoke the words until he realized they were linked and he had heard them in his mind.

Senny
opened her eyes and looked at him. She cocked her head. “Why do you think you cannot kiss me?”

Gabrie
l caressed her cheek and spoke aloud, “I do want to kiss you. More than you know. We’ll take things very slow, you and I, so you are not overwhelmed.”

“In some ways I am different
and in others I am not. I want you to kiss me. It will not harm me.” She smiled softly.

“Zenny, I do not want to rush you.
” Despite his words, his need to kiss her was still overwhelming. He bent his head then pulled back.

“I d
o not feel rushed.” Senny rose up on her tiptoes. Her hands rested lightly upon his arms. She pressed her lips to his and pulled back. Unsure of what to do next, she pressed her lips more firmly against his this time.

Gabriel responded to her.
Senny’s lips were tender and warm against his. He coaxed her to open to him and he allowed his tongue to explore her warm, sweet mouth.

He breathed in
her light, sweet scent, geranium, mixed with a touch of lemon and mint. He tore away from her mouth for a moment, allowing his lips to press light kisses along her long, slender neck. How he had longed to do that! Her soft moan of pleasure was nearly his undoing. He gathered her closer to him. He had to taste her again. He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her, this time more deeply, exploring more thoroughly, licking, nipping, savoring the dance of their tongues.

When she responded, her tongue
slowly matching the movements of his, Gabriel felt heat course through him.

Senny was lost
in the experience, but strangely she did not feel overwhelmed. She felt alive and completely in tune with Gabriel. She felt the beat of his heart beneath her palm as her hand moved to his chest. She felt adored and revered. The only thing that mattered at that moment was the pleasure she felt at being in Gabriel’s arms, the feel of his hard, muscled body against hers, and the way his lips and tongue demanded response from hers.

When the urge
to lift her skirts and drive into her hit him yet again, Gabriel jerked his head upward and stepped back. He allowed his hands to skim down her arms. Breathing hard, he gazed down at his sunny-haired Senny. Her bright green-blue gaze met his.

“Z
enny, I am sorry, I meant to calm you, not overwhelm you further,” he whispered as he searched her expression for any signs he had overset her.

“I am not
overwhelmed, Gabriel. What you told me to do worked, I was able to block out everything but us.”

Gabrie
l smiled down at her. “Good, Zenny.” He tapped his finger on the end of her pert little nose.

“We will travel
this road together,
slowly
.” He emphasized the last word. He meant it. If he had not found restraint, he might have had her pinned against the wall while he pumped into her to appease the raging lust he felt. The need had been that great, that strong. He could never treat Zenny in such a manner. He could not explain what had just happened to him. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced.

“Come
Zenny, do you feel like you can handle joining everyone in the long gallery? That is the only place large enough to hold us all for dinner.”

“I do.” Senny nodded and smiled at him
. She blushed.

“Why the blush
?” Gabriel whispered to her as they walked toward the Long Gallery.

“I have never been kissed before, Gabriel
. It was very nice, I liked it,” she said shyly.

Gabriel smiled down at her and wi
nked, “I liked it as well!”
He liked it too damn much!
The way Gabriel’s body reacted to her both overwhelmed and surprised him.

Wenna noticed how Trevan was always near as the large party, all familiar to one another and many related to each other, mingled in the seating areas of the Long Gallery after dinner. Her own cousins, the Michelmores, were here.

The gentlemen were about to retreat
into the Duke’s large library to discuss the pressing issue of the threat of brown-coated intruders seen at Restormel and Menadue. As they rose and filed out, Trevan came to stand beside her. He offered his arm. Wenna walked down the gallery with him.

When they were out of earshot of the remaining ladies, Trevan
spoke softly, “Wenna, I may be up late, but perhaps we could talk privately tomorrow? I am sorry that the Brown Coats interrupted our time at Restormel today.”

“Trevan,
what took place today is not your fault.” Wenna felt warm all over as she remembered what almost happened between them in the alcove at the castle ruins. “I had a lovely time. Thank you for giving me the sapphires. I am not tired and I plan to stay up and read after I retire.” She looked at him meaningfully.