Her slender shoulders shrugged. “It is of little matter.”
It wasn’t of little matter and they both knew it. “I am truly sorry if your feelings were hurt,” he said. “Had I known he was going to explode at me, I would have stopped him before his words could reach your ears.”
Her head came up and he was struck by the pain in her bronze eyes. He tore his gaze away from her long enough to look at Caroline.
“Will you leave us a moment?”
Caroline obediently climbed out of the cab. Matthew helped her to the street. He then climbed into the carriage, causing the thing to lurch dangerously under his weight. He was far too big to be in it. But he wasn’t about to leave Alixandrea like this.
“Nothing he said was a surprise to you,” he sat across from her, gazing into her pale, sorrowful face. “I cannot change the past, much as I would like to. But it was wrong of Mark to throw it in your face like that. He’s angry with me, and because of it, he is trying to get back at me by hurting you.”
She inhaled a long, deep breath. Her eyes moved to her new ring and she toyed with it, absently. “So her name was Mena.”
“Aye.”
“So now the reason has a name.”
He sighed. “I told you that the reason no longer exists. I meant it.”
“Were you in love with her?”
“I thought so at the time.”
At least he was being honest. She could not fault him that. “Did you want to marry her?” she asked.
He lifted an eyebrow thoughtfully. “Strangely enough, not particularly. I thought that I was too young to marry. I did not want to marry anyone.”
“Especially me.”
“Especially you.”
A tense hush fell over them, each lost to their own thoughts. Matthew was praying she would forgive the distress and Alixandrea was struggling to do so.
“We’ve known such joy over the past few days, Matt,” she said softly. “I suppose I would like to think that we have bothwaited all of our lives for this time. I know I did. But I am also well aware that you did not. Hearing her name spoken… it was a bit of a shock. It somehow made her more human, not just a faceless, nameless ghost from the past.”
He leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. “I have said it before and I will say it again. I was a fool. Mark was right; I treated our betrothal horribly. I disrespected all that it should have stood for. I did not want to marry you and it was my own personal rebellion to live loosely before the bonds of matrimony could tie me down.” He reached out, gently taking her hands and holding them tightly. “But do you know what? I was wrong. I was so wrong that I cannot even begin to comprehend what a complete idiot I was. Though the past cannot be erased, I will make you this promise for the future; I swear on my oath as a knight that I will never stray, that I will never disrespect you, that I will always be kind to you, and that I will love you for the rest of my life as deeply as any man has ever loved a woman.”
Tears suddenly spilled over in her eyes as if a bucket had been dumped. They literally coursed down her cheeks. Matthew moved to sit beside her, taking her into his arms and ignoring the extreme rocking of the carriage. He held her close, his lips against her forehead as she wept softly against him.
“No tears, love,” he murmured. “We have much happiness ahead of us. I swear that I will do my best to always give you joy.”
She looked up at him, her cheeks wet, and he pulled his thumbs across her face to dry the tears. “You do give me joy,” she whispered. “And I will love you too, until I die.”
He smiled faintly at her, warmed by her words, warmed by the moment between them. Whatever feelings had been developing between them had now come full circle, anchoring deeply into their hearts, never to be cut loose. He did not care what his brother thought; he adored the woman and would be plain about it. His grin broadened.
“I do love you,” he murmured.
“I love you, too.”
He laughed softly before kissing her, so deeply that she had to pull away from him so that she could take a breath. He continued to kiss her, every part of her face and flesh that his lips could come into contact with.
“I will tell you this every day, so you had better become used to it,” he murmured.
Her hands were on his face, his neck, as he forcefully kissed her. “It will never become tiresome, I assure you. Tell me with every breath you take and I shall be glad to hear it.”
“Then do not let Mark, or anyone else, remind you of my horrid past. It is of no matter. All that matters is that I am your husband now and I worship you.”
She nodded, overwhelmed by his attention, and he finally pulled away. He sat a moment, gazing at her.
