15. November 15, 1826

15

NOVEMBER 15, 1826

NUMBER FIVE GROSVENOR STREET

G abrielle woke suddenly from a nightmare that seemed so real, she sat straight up in bed. Next to her, Margot stirred and reached up to soothe her. Her linen chemise was so sweat-soaked, she padded over to her armoire to fetch a dry, clean one.

Margot stood behind and wrapped her arms tightly around her. “How about some cocoa to scare away the night frights?”

Fortified with warm robes and slippers, they tried to slip down to the kitchen level as quietly as possible. Toplofty heard them and immediately came out of his bedchamber to check on them. Gabrielle could swear the man was part cat.

“What’s wrong,” he demanded, his voice gruff with sleep.

“Go back to bed,” Margot said. “We need to make some cocoa so that Gabrielle can go back to sleep. It’s the night frights again.”

He looked at them askance. “Neither one of you can boil water. Fortunately, Mr. Will and Mr. John K are prowling around the kitchen as well. Get them to make you cocoa so you two don’t burn down the house.” With that he waved them toward the general area of the main cookstove and trotted back toward his own bed.

Gabrielle walked slowly toward the stove with Margot, hoping the drapers would still be awake enough to help them fix a hot drink.

Will turned and saw them first. “John, re-fill the kettle. We have company.” He crossed to the pantry and brought out the luxurious block of chocolate Mrs. Collins always kept in stock.

Once the kettle was on to boil and Will had shaved a good-sized pile of chocolate curls, the two men sat down at the long wooden work table with Gabrielle and Margot.

Will spoke first. “Guess you two can’t sleep either.”

Margot nodded toward Gabrielle. “Night frights.”

“Those are bad,” John agreed. “When Will and I moved into our first rooms, he had them for weeks. We’d been sleeping out on the roof coops at St. Mary’s for so long, the closeness of being behind walls with a roof over his head made him uneasy.”

Gabrielle suddenly asked a question of the two men that surprised even herself. “How do you do it?” she asked, leaning her chin into her hands, elbows on the table like a little girl.

Will, of course, was the first to respond. “How do we do what?”

“You know…” She paused to gather courage. “How do you love the same person for so many years?”

Will and John turned to stare at each other at the same time.

She could stop one she’d started. Margot was deathly quiet at her side.

“How did you know John was the one? Didn’t you ever wonder about all the beautiful people in the world who tell you they want you? Maybe one of them is the one you can love forever…” She stopped suddenly, realizing she was the only one in the room still comfortable with the conversation. “I’m so sorry…that was a highly improper question.” She waved a hand frantically. “Forget I ever brought up the subject.”

“No,” Will said, covering her hand with his own. “Those are perfectly reasonable questions.”

John weighed in. “How long have the two of you been together?”

“Four years,” Margot revealed.

“Off and on,” Gabrielle admitted.

“Well, there was that one time…” Margot blushed.

“But the point is you’re still together.” Will tilted his head as if willing them to get what he was trying to explain. “There’s a reason you’ve stayed together so long. The important thing to remember is if you find someone you can be with for that long, you’d be an idiot to walk away just because you’re afraid to commit to loving only one person.

Margot interrupted. “But you don’t know how hard it is…she is such a flirt. You’ve seen her flash those eyes at you.” She stopped and leaned back with her arms folded across her chest.

John summarized. “Will is a very open, lovable man, and I’ve suffered hurt and doubt over the years myself, but you know what I’ve learned?”

Gabrielle answered. “No. What is that?”

“We all want love in our lives, but we can’t receive love without being willing to give trust in return.”

At that point the kettle began to squeal, and the two drapers set to making perfect cups of cocoa for Margot and Gabrielle.

When they returned with the cups, Margot had a question. Now that the blackmailer has been found guilty of murder and he’s going to hang for his crimes, how long will the two of you be staying with us.

Will walked over behind Gabrielle’s chair and leaned down to embrace her with a friendly hug. “As long as the renovations take, or as long as you want to keep us around.”

He and John exchanged a look. “We have a proposal for the two of you.”

Margot threw them a skeptical look. “What do you want?”

“I think we want pretty much the same things the two of you want,” John said, and proceeded to outline a business and personal joining that would give all of them the freedom to live freely as whomever they chose to be for the rest of their lives.

He praised Margot’s talent for numbers and Gabrielle’s design sense.

John asked Margot for her hand in marriage, and Will begged Gabrielle for hers.

“But how will this work?” Gabrielle asked, petulance in her voice.

“However we want our partnerships to work.” Will summed up the essence of how they’d move forward in life, choosing their own roles, not conforming to what society expected of them.

Both Gabrielle and Margot agreed, making John and Will very happy men.