“See? Like that.” He grinned and was rewarded by a twitch at the corners of her mouth. “And let the kids play with me.”

“I don’t want them bothering you. You’re a paying guest and-”

“And in the interests of good hospitality, you shouldn’t be making me feel like one,” Gabe said flatly. “You should be making me feel at home.”

“I’m trying, but-”

“Very trying,” he agreed. “Come on. One more smile,” he urged. “It won’t kill you. I’ll pay extra for it.”

Freddie laughed reluctantly. And her laugh made the exhaustion of the day go away. It made Percy’s pomposity and Beatrice’s worries and John’s disapproving silence fade into insignificance.

Gabe smiled, too. “That’s better,” he said softly. Then he reached out a hand and, with one finger, touched hers.

She jerked hers away, of course.

“Okay,” he said. “We’ll stick with smiles. For now.”

He didn’t touch her again. He’d made the connection. That was what mattered.

“You’ve taken a boarder, I hear.” Mrs. Peek regarded Freddie over the top of her teacup.

It was four days since Gabe McBride had taken over their lives, and Freddie was sure that the news had reached Mrs. Peek within hours of the event. But the rain and sleet had been relentless until now. This morning it was no more than a fine drizzle. Mrs. Peek never let a fine drizzle slow her down.

Freddie concentrated on paring an apple for a pie. “He’s gone a great deal of the time. So it’s really no bother.”

“Of course it isn’t,” Mrs. Peek cackled. “Never a bother having a han’sum fellow put his feet under your table. Better yet in your bed.” When Freddie spun around to protest, Mrs. Peek said, “Time you married again, m’dear.”

“I’m not interested in marrying again.”

“Bah. Fine young gels need husbands. No sense pining away. Us never pined.”

When she wasn’t having a fling with Lord Stanton, Mrs. Peek had been marrying all and sundry. She’d been widowed at least four times-the last as the result of the death of Thomas Peek last winter.