The next day came swiftly and went swiftly. The Castle was silent when Grace made her way back from an afternoon spent reading on the beach. She didn't see anyone as she made her way up to her room to take a hot shower and she was glad.

Grace turned off the water reluctantly after about an hour and stepped out. Carefully wrapping herself in a large towel, she walked into her bedroom.

There was a knock on her door. Her heart jumped. A sixth sense told her who it was.

"Wait a second." She called out in a calm voice while frantically pulling on her robe.

"Grace?"

It was Duval. And he was last person she wanted to see right now.

"Grace, can I come in?"

No.

She didn't answer. Then she thought of how Adrian had mocked her cowardliness. Lifting her chin, she stalked over and opened the door.

Duval was dressed casually. His silky hair was mussed, looking darker then usual in the half light. Gone were the designer shirts and tailored slacks. In their place he wore a gray thin knit cotton shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of faded army green khaki shorts. The shirt fit him tightly across the shoulders and chest and loosely skimmed down the lean length of his flat belly. Her eyes drifted down to take in the sight of brawny legs and strong narrow feet that nonetheless still managed to look excessively masculine even when wearing bright pink flip-flops.

"They were a gift." Duval muttered at the direction her gaze had gone. Grace almost laughed. He sounded so defensive.

Forgetting that she was supposed to be nervous around him, for the moment, Grace was drawn back into the easy warmth of their long friendship.

"They're quite...pretty." She chirpped innocuously. "I've always liked pink."

"It's not pink." Duval stated firmly, but his amber eyes were sparkling with lazy mirth. "It's called New Safari by Gucci. The hottest thing in New York right now."

"Oh, I see." Grace kept the smile on her face even though it now felt frozen. The sandals were obviously a present from Vivian.

Duval caught her changing mood. All traces of boyishness disappeared from his eyes as they became shuttered again. Grace wished that she could bring the old Duval back. The one whose face had been filled with humor and warmth and whatever momentary shadows lingered there was easily banished with a shared joke or two.

"Can I come in?"

Grace nodded in sheer reflex and moved to step aside for him to enter. Then she stopped.

"Uh, maybe I should get dressed and meet you downstairs." She said with an apologetic smile.

He raised an eyebrow. "Worried about propriety?"

"Yes." Grace knew that she was acting like the prude that Adrian had accused her of but the bedroom was far too intimate a setting for a talk.

"We're friends Grace. And we've known each other for a long time." He took a step in. Duval stopped only when she added softly.

"If I were your fiancée, I don't think I'd be too happy to see you go into another woman's bedroom, even if the woman was just your friend."

She would have thought that Duval might have argued but for unfathomable reasons of his own, he simply nodded and said. "I'll wait for you in the kitchen."

Grace shut the door behind her and wondered what it was that Duval wanted to talk to her about. Vivian? Probably.

She looked in the closet and pulled out the first things that came to hand. A pair of plain men's boxer shorts that she had owned for almost forever and a loose black cotton tee-shirt. Wryly Grace considered her reflection in the mirror—this was the result. Damp hair tied in a ponytail. Face scrubbed of make-up and distinctly unglamorous shiny skin reddened by overexposure to the salty ocean wind and sun. She looked about sixteen.

If Adrian saw her now, he would be justified in having called her a 'know-nothing novice'.

"But this is who I am." Grace admitted to the mirror. "And I'm far too tired to pretend to be anything else right now."

She thought about the skimpy red two-piece bikini still tucked away in her suitcase. Now that was an outfit she should be wearing. Too bad it was never going to see the light of day.

Duval was sitting at the table drinking a glass of what looked like milk. He also had a plate of cookies set out on the table. It was peanut butter. She could tell by the delicate shape of fork tines pressed into the soft top of the cookie. Peanut butter cookies were her favorite. When she was young, Elizabeth had allowed her to press the fork on each raw bit of cookie dough before they went into the oven to bake. And she always got the first fresh piping hot bite.

"Milk and cookies?" Grace asked lightly. "I'm not twelve, Duval."

He looked up with a slightly embarrassed grin on his face. Grace caught her breath. There was a soft light in his eyes that she hadn't seen there for a long time.

"Elizabeth told me once that you loved these." Duval looked at her but his thought were far away. "She always made fresh ones and kept them in the jar just in case you dropped by to visit."

Grace couldn't think a bit wryly on how unlikely that would have been since Wales wasn't exactly close by her house. But his comment served to remind her of days gone by. And that was never an easy thing. "Thanks for the cookies." Grace said in a low voice.

She sat down, grabbing one and biting into it. They were good. In fact, they were great. Exactly as Elizabeth had made them.

The bite quickly lumped in her throat and she had to drink nearly the whole glass of milk to wash it down. Duval wasn't eating. He waited patiently until she had finished before saying quietly, "Do you think we can have a serious talk?"

I don't want to. She thought silently. It was too dangerous.

"Where's Adrian?" Grace asked as a way of reply.

"I don't know and I don't give a damn."

"You should care. He's your brother." Grace argued.

Duval shot her a cold look.

"Drop the subject, Grace."

"Fine. So how's Vivian?"

She's asleep; tired from shopping all day."

"That's nice." Was Vivian sleeping in his bed? The jealousy that rose made her forget about everything else. She ate another bite of cookie. It was dry in her mouth. She began coughing and it took another glass of milk to soothe her throat. Her belly was rather full by that time and Duval was trying to fight a smile.

He asked casually.
"Do you like her, Grace?"

"I don't know her well enough to say."

"Don't lie. For as long as I've known you, Grace. You've always had an instant response to people whether or not you would admit it. Either you liked them or you didn't. It was always so simple with you."

"Are you saying that I'm simple?" Grace pushed her empty glass of milk away. She was suddenly feeling morosely honest. "Fine, then. I do—I do like Vivian. She seems like a nice woman."

"So I have your approval?" He asked lightly.

Grace's stomach soured. "Why do you need my approval for anything?" She countered.

"Because you're my friend. And you're family."

"I'm not family really. And it's not up to me. And it's not my life." Then because she was feeling a twinge of odd sympathy for Vivian, Grace pointed out. "And I don't think your fiancée would appreciate you discussing your life with her to me in this way."

"You're right. Let's stop discussing her." He said agreeably. "Let's talk about you. Let's talk about the fact that for almost five years, I haven't heard a word from you. Are you going to disappear off the face of the planet again once you've left La Mer?"

Grace licked her lips. "That again? I was busy. Doctors don't get much time off. And I'll try to keep in touch from now on."

His eyes narrowed. It was a weak excuse and she knew it. However, Grace didn't understand why Duval was pushing the issue so hard. And how come he got to push all the buttons but he flared up like a torch whenever she broached subjects sensitive to him?

"Besides, why can't we talk about you?" Grace finally asked. "Why does it always have to be about me?"

"Is this about Adrian again?"

"And if it is?" She watched him.

He studied her. "So why the sudden interest in him?" His voice held no inflection.

"Why do you care?"

"I never asked, but how did you come to drive down here with my brother?" His tone was beginning to sharpen. "Adrian is hell on wheels with the ladies, Grace. Watch yourself around him. You're not in his league."

Grace wanted to kick him. She might love him, but she didn't like him too much at the moment. Until something Adrian had said occurred to her.

She gave him a close look. Could it be? Was that a hint of jealousy in his face? She felt a flicker of recklessness ignite in her soul. She wanted to push his buttons and see how far she could go. What did she have to lose. Really.

"I like Adrian." She muttered. "We connected right away when I met him at the airport."

"Don't fall in love with him." His voice had sharpened.

"It's not really any of your business." Grace watched his face as unobtrusively as she could. But she couldn't see anything in his poker face.

"He'll just hurt you." Duval said coldly.

"I may not be in his league. Or yours for that matter." Grace lifted her chin. "But that does not mean I'm stupid. I know that a man like Adrian wouldn't be interested in me."

"It's not that." Duval ran a hand through his hair, the movement rough and impatient. "I just don't want you getting hurt."

Oh Duval, if you only knew. All bravado suddenly deflated. The peanut butter cookies sat like a lump of stone in her stomach.

From across the table, Duval watched the emotions play across her face. She was in pain and he knew that it was due to him somehow. How was it that he always ended up hurting the people he cared about the most? It was a curse.

"Gracie..." Duval hadn't meant to say her name so tenderly. He cleared his throat. "I don't know why I'm saying all those things. This isn't about Adrian or anybody else. Just you and I. We were the best of friends once. Now sometimes it's almost as if you hate me. And don't think I haven't noticed that you've been avoiding me since you've gotten here. I guess I just want to know why."

Grace blinked.

"I've told you Duval. I don't hate you." She fiddled with the remains of her cookie, crumbling it onto the table.

"You can't even look at me." He took a breath. "It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. You only came here because of your damn sense of doing what you believe is right and probably some misguided duty you feel you owe to Elizabeth."

"No."

"Yes." He was ruthless. "And I'm telling you now, Grace. I care about you more than any other person on this earth but I'll be damned if I have to spend the rest of my life ashamed because of one moment of weakness—."

"That's not it." She denied miserably. "What happened all those years ago—that was in the past. It's not that."

"Then what is it? Tell me what's wrong."

Why are you so blind! Grace wanted to shout. It's because I love you and I don't want to. She took a deep breath. He was getting married in less then a month's time.

"Look Duval. It's not up to me. Marry whomever you want." She changed the subject.

"I guess I will." He seemed terribly disappointed with her. She was disappointed with herself. The trickle of recklessness came back in a sudden flood she couldn't stem.

"Tell me something, Duval." She raised her eyes. "Do you truly think that it's right to marry someone you've said you don't love?"

The pupils of his eyes expanded with emotion, darkening the amber until they seemed almost black. She waited for his answer. His mouth tightened but that was it. Grace wanted to grind her teeth in frustration.

"You said you don't love her, Duval." She prodded, wanting to get a reaction out of him.

And she got one.

"It's not always about love." He almost snarled. Grace drew back. Duval's perfect mask was cracking. Although his face remained as impassive as ever, he couldn't control as well what his eyes chose to reveal. And now in his eyes, she was observing the imperfect emotions of a very angry man. But there was something else there.

It made her take a step back in shock.

She had just seen something that she never would have expected in a million years. Adrian had been right. There was awareness. Of her. As a woman.

He slowly stood, every muscle in his body taut, chest rising and falling deeply.

"I better leave." She said in a voice that quaked just a tiny bit. She couldn't decipher his expression. She didn't know if she wanted to.

"Why does our conversations always end in arguments lately, Grace?" His eyes didn't allow hers to look away.

Grace couldn't find any words to say. She merely shook her head in the negative. But to what, she didn't know. He was now so close she could see the silkiness of his lashes casting shadows on his cheeks. Her breath was shallow.

After what seemed like a century of silence, he breathed roughly and turned away.

"I have to go. I'll see you later Grace."

"Duval." She cried. Then she gasped and shut her mouth tightly. She wanted to hit herself. If nothing else, she still had her pride. But it was too late to take it back. He turned and looked at her. His eyes were bleak.

It was impossible to stem the flood of tears that suddenly rose. She scrubbed her face roughly and looked away aware that sometimes she thought that maybe she even hated him. Always pragmatic and sensible about everything in her life, her love for Duval was the one thing that she couldn't control and she couldn't justify.

"Grace...please don't cry. I'm so sorry. So sorry." He quickly crossed the room and pulled her into his arms. Did it have to be so wrong? So difficult? She had wanted to be with him for so long.

But the familiar guilt flooded her. Grace knew he wasn't hers.

He belonged to her sister. He always had and he always would.

Before she could giver herself time to think, Grace reached up with both hands and pulled his mouth down to hers. It was a brief kiss because her mouth barely grazed his before he grasped her arms and pulled away.

"Duval?" She was shaking so hard, she could barely speak. Grace reached for him. With another groan, he pulled her tightly against his chest so that she couldn't move her arms.

"Grace." He whispered roughly. "You shouldn't have kissed me."

Grace buried her face against his chest, trying to gain courage. To face her demons as Adrian would have said. Oddly, it was the thought of Adrian that gave her the strength to pull away and tell him the truth.

"I love you Duval."

He stiffened. Grace didn't stop. Despite her fear, there was a tremendous lifting in her heart now that she had made up her mind to tell him the truth.

"Grace—."

She took a deep breath and told him "I came to Wales to see you—to finally get closure and move on. And I've gotten it. Kind of. But before I leave, I had to tell you what I feel."

"You love me." He repeated her words slowly.

His face gave nothing away but his eyes, the bands of gold around his pupil had become so intense they almost seemed feverish. He brushed a rough hand over his face and sighed. "I'm pretty confused here, Grace."

Grace looked down. Now that she had actually told him, she wasn't sure what to do next. Before she could say anything else, he spoke.

"I love you too, you know." His words knocked her off kilter. But then his next words took away any happiness she might have gained. "I love you as a friend, as my dearest friend. We're just both too emotional right now to know what we're doing or saying."

Grace kept the smile pasted on even as his words made her want to sink into the ground and hide. He seemed to be trying to let her down gently and that was the worst reaction possible.

"Grace?"

She wanted to leave. Grace hadn't really thought much further then telling him her feelings. And since he obviously didn't return them—she fidgeted a little and opened her mouth to speak. Then she shut it.

She looked up at him and wondered for the first time in ten years whether she was truly in love with him. Grace had never questioned her feelings for him. Only accepted them. But now that she had said those words out loud—she didn't know what to think.

Because to her dawning surprise, other then the initial pain of rejection she had felt, there was more awkward embarrassment then anything else. The realization made her world tilt askew.

Was she truly in love with Duval?

"I don't know." She pulled away and stared pacing. What on earth was going on with her? Why wasn't she saying the things she thought she would be saying if this situation ever came up? That she loved him and wanted him to spend the rest of his life with her instead of Vivian? Instead, she faced him earnestly and said, "I don't know."

His face was more confused then ever. Grace hardly knew what to think herself. This was her chance, her opportunity to reach out and grab a chance at happiness for herself. Hadn't Adrian been right? Wasn't that the real reason she had come to Wales.

No. Yes. She shook her head.

"What is it?" He asked warily.

"Let me think." She said and frowned. Rubbing her head, she walked over to the patio doors and stared out. For a few frozen minutes they stood silently.

"I love you Duval...but I don't think that—I..." She whispered then stopped.

I just don't think that I'm in love with you anymore. Grace finished her sentence silently and felt as if she'd been hit in the head with a bowling ball. She still loved him and always would...but she was not in love with him. Not anymore.

Was it true?

At that moment Vivian walked through the door and Grace had never been happier to see anyone in her life.

"Hi honey." Vivian obviously didn't see Grace as she sauntered up to a curiously still Duval and kissed him. Dressed in what looked like a pale rose silk robe that barely reached mid-thigh, Vivian looked gorgeously flushed and sleep-rumpled. Her slim legs looked long and tanned in a pair of playful pink slippers. She must like pink.

Grace backed away until her hands found the doorknob.

"Goodbye Duval." She said quietly. Vivian shot her a vaguely curious look. Grace nodded shortly to her then quickly left. She ignored the amber eyes that followed her but felt their vivid imprint between her shoulder blades even after she was safely back in her room.

Flopping down on her bed, she stared up at the ceiling. She touched her bottom lip lightly. No matter what, she didn't regret the kiss. And confessing had been good for the soul. There was a lightness to her heart that had never been there before.

She wasn't quite sure exactly at which point she had decided for certain, but Adrian had been right, life had stopped for her that summer so long ago. It was time to move on and now she just finally may be ready to.

A small laugh escaped her. "I'm just glad Adrian wasn't there to witness my wonderful declaration."

Grace decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to move to a hotel for the remainder of her stay here so that she could enjoy what she could of beautiful Wales without having to be afraid of running into Duval. And to have some time to herself to think about her revelations today. After that, she would leave London. Return back to the familiar routine and comfort of Minnesota—only she would return a changed person.

A free person.

Duval kept a tight rein on himself as he submitted to Vivian's soft kiss. As her slim fingers twined around the nape of his neck, he closed his eyes and wondered how the same act could feel so different when Grace had been the one to do it.

Grace had kissed him. She had told him she loved him.

And stupid him, he had almost admitted something to her that he had never even admitted to himself. But how could he ever look at Grace in that way?

His closest and dearest friend. And the younger sister of Elizabeth, his beloved wife. Completely and entirely off limits. Guilt racked him. He made a small noise.

Vivian pulled back. Her eyes were so bright that they seemed almost violet in the darkening light.

"Come to bed." She said softly.

"Go first. I'll be right there." He gave her a smile as fake as the one Grace had given him earlier. But unlike him, Vivian chose to believe the smile. With another kiss that left him feeling numb, she nodded and left.

He watched her tall lithe figure move away. She had the kind of looks that could stop a man dead in his tracks. And she loved him.

But he didn't love her. Not in the same way he had loved Elizabeth.

And then there was Grace. She had always occupied a part of his heart.

What the hell was he going to do?
Why the hell did Grace have to kiss him?

It had devastated him. The first touch of her mouth on his. It had been like feeling the touch of a wild flame.

But mixed with the crazy pleasure had been a wealth of guilt. It was almost incestuous, wasn't it? Grace wasn't related by blood but he had always looked upon her almost as a little sister.

Hadn't he?

No.

He never had. Not even when he had been married to Elizabeth.

He groaned as he thought about the kiss again.

His feelings for her had never been fraternal. He had called it friendship but that label barely encompassed the whole of his feelings. There was no name for it. Unless it was love. And it couldn't be.

She said she loved him.

What the hell did that mean? His Grace, usually as open as a book was now a mystery he didn't understand.

And he did love her. Grace was a wise old soul in the body of a bright-eyed innocent. He had depended on her in a way that he would never admit to anybody else. There were things about him that only she knew. And just as she knew him, he had known her. Faults, mistakes and everything else that made up a human being.

During his marriage to Elizabeth, Duval had never questioned his instinctive urge to seek Grace out whenever he has troubled about something. The one he unburdened his soul to because he knew that she would keep him sane.

Gripping the edge of the table, Duval lowered himself down onto a chair and put his face in his hands. For someone who supposedly was supposed to fight for truth and justice, he had done quite a good job of hiding his head in the ground for the past years.

"Stupid." Adrian remarked coolly.

He walked into the room and surveyed his older brother. Duval lifted his head up and returned Adrian's gaze in equal measure. For a moment, the two brothers stared at each other in grim silence. Then Duval shoved his chair back with an abrupt squeal of wood against wood.

"What the hell were you doing? Spying on me?"

"Yeah." Adrian gave a deliberate smile. "And it was extremely entertaining I must say. The girl is finally gaining some backbone."

Duval grit his teeth. "Not that you would know, having only met her for three days, but Grace Madison has always had backbone."

"Not when it came to you." Adrian countered lazily. His icy eyes never left his brother's. "But I'm about to change all of that. And I know her better then you think."

"Oh?" Duval's face was shuttered. "Why don't you stop dancing around the subject and tell me what the hell you're trying to say."

Adrian shrugged. A fine smile sharpened his lips.

"All right. Fair warning then, Duval. I mean to have her."

Duval slammed to his feet in an impossible surge of rage. He grabbed his brother by the neck of his shirt and shoved him back.

"Don't touch her." Duval snarled. He almost couldn't see straight he was so enraged. "Don't you fucking touch her."

Adrian knocked his hands away. "A bit unfair, don't you think?"

"Stay away from Grace, Adrian. I'm warning you. I don't know why you're back here, but just stay away from her!"

"Why?" Adrian twisted his lips. "Because I'm not good enough for her?"

"Yeah. And you know why." The word murderer hung between them, silent but unavoidable.

Adrian laughed, the sound hallow. "You fucking asshole." He said in a conversational tone. "Still think you know everything, don't you?"

"I know you. And I know Grace."

Shaking his head, Adrian turned his back to his brother. He stood still for a moment, then without turning around he said softly. "You never knew me. And you probably never knew Grace. As for warning me away from Grace. She's got a mind of her own."

"She'll—."

Adrian began walking away. "She'll do whatever she wants." Adrian finished for Duval. Then he said softly. "And remember, brother, you're getting married in less than two weeks to your lovely fiancée Vivian. You can't have Grace too."

Those words floored him, sharper then knives and deflating whatever anger Duval might have harbored. He watched his brother leave and knew that his brother had only been stating the truth. Face pale, he dropped back down to his chair and buried his face in his hands once more.

Damn Adrian for voicing the fear that had been growing inside of him. It wasn't that he wanted Grace.

Was it?