The trip back to Orchy seemed much shorter than Gabriel had expected it to. His father remained blissfully silent during the trip, and his two sisters spoke together in hushed tones as he drifted in and out of consciousness. His dreamy state was pierced only sporadically by excited giggles from his younger sister. They had been told that he was engaged to Lady Valia. No other details had been divulged and after a quick silencing from their father they had not pestered him with questions.
It wasn't until late in the afternoon the following day that he woke up, blinking and bleary-eyed, confused at finding himself stripped to his small clothes and comfortable in his own bed. Gabriel didn't remember arriving home, or undressing, or climbing into bed, for that matter. No one had disturbed him this entire time and that made him more than a little suspicious. He'd expected a long lecture from his father, but he supposed that it was probably still coming. His father had probably decided to wait until he was good and sober for yelling at him.
With a sigh he rolled out of bed and found his clothes still piled unceremoniously on the floor. Apparently Gabriel had indeed stumbled up to his own room and undressed himself, but couldn't remember. Picking up his clothes to put them neatly aside for the maids to collect for washing, he felt something lumpy and fished something from his coat pocket that set his face on fire with embarrassment.
In the confusion of being caught the previous evening, Valia's panties had ended up in his pocket and they had remained there undiscovered and forgotten. Thank goodness he'd found them before sending his coat to be washed. It would have been impossible to explain that away without getting himself into even more trouble. Putting his own clothes aside he shoved the incriminating evidence in a drawer to deal with later.
Calling for servants, the maids took away his dirty clothes and drew him up a bath before leaving him in solitude again. Once he was cleaned, combed, and dressed, Gabriel made his way to the kitchen where one of the cooks gave him a plate, which he ate, although the food seemed tasteless. All he could think about was what had happened the previous evening. He was engaged to Valia; no doubt the news had been announced to the entire duchy by now. With some luck they could keep from having a highly public scandal, but for the two families it was pretty bad.
Considering the circumstances, Gabriel couldn't object to the engagement or the hasty wedding. It was his own fault for breaking social customs and completely shattering what was polite behavior. Not to mention that it was sinful. He mulled over that thought many times, but the two ultimate things that stuck out in his mind was making love to Valia, no matter how briefly, which had been pretty amazing, he couldn't lie. Again he felt annoyed that they had been interrupted. The other thing was her outburst right before they had left for home. Their families would not accept no for an answer, but what if Valia would come to hate and resent him for this? He hated the idea of being married to someone that despised him.
To be fair, she had been the aggressor, the initiator, but he was the man, and he should have shown more restraint. That brought up another disturbing thought. Had it simply been the wine that made her come after him so fiercely? Did she truly find him attractive? Would she have done the same with another man? The idea of Valia giving herself to another man made his blood boil, but no, she had been a virgin, he had felt it. He was the only man she had given herself to so completely, at the very least. It was something she should have saved for her husband, but now he would be her husband so it had just been given a little early, he supposed.
It was evening before his father called him into his study, and they had a long and surprisingly calm conversation. Gabriel went back to his room that night feeling better than he had thought possible all things considered. Still, he found himself having trouble sleeping. After having slept for most of the day he was restless and there was still too much on his mind for sleep. What crossed his mind was insane, unconventional, and improper, but he couldn't fight the urge, it wouldn't go away.
Rising and dressing quietly, he fetched Valia's panties from where he had hidden them and snuck from his room to the stables. It was late and everyone was sleeping, save a few guards that he easily slipped past. In less than an hour the castle was out of sight as he rode along the road that stretched from Orchy, and eventually branched to Highheart. By the time he reached the castle, the sun was beginning to rise.
He left his horse tied to a tree where it wouldn't be seen and slowly he slipped through the gardens, searching for Valia's room. There might be a way to climb up. Gabriel's heart was hammering in his chest, every small noise startled him. If he got caught Valia's father was going to be even angrier with him than he already was, he was sure, but he found he didn't care. More than anything he wanted to talk to Valia, and return her panties, of course.
Finding her room was even easier than he thought it would be. She seemed to be trying to climb down from it! His face was obscured, he'd worn a hooded cloak and his mouth and nose were covered by a scarf. Having people seeing his face as he rode through was something he had wanted to avoid. It was only a matter of time before his father realized he wasn't at home. Sneaking off wasn't going to sit well with his father at all, but he had been in enough trouble already that a little more wasn't going to hurt.
"Going somewhere?" He called out, keeping his voice low and husky, perhaps even completely unrecognizable. Also keeping it quiet so as not to draw unwanted attention.
