“I memorized all of them.” She clasped her hands to her chest. It worked! “Your hiccups are gone.”
“Your selection worked faster than mine.” His brown eyes shone. “I was right to give you that book.”
Virginia frowned. “You loaned it to me.”
“I gave it to you,” he said firmly.
She shook her head. “It’s an extension of your soul. You can’t give away your most precious possession.”
He took her hands again. “If you come with me, I can have both my favorite things.”
There was nothing she wanted more than Theodore as her husband. But he hated gossip and needed to keep his reputation. To him, she would be an embarrassment and an albatross. Living like that would destroy her; would destroythem. It couldn’t last.
“Marriage is impossible,” she said, her voice small and miserable. “Surely you see that.”
He tightened his hold on her hands. “You accepted me just as I am. Why can’t you do the same for yourself?”
Was it possible? Did he truly see her, just as she was, and want her anyway?
“I’m hopeless in social situations,” she stammered. “I don’t want to anger you or hurt you or embarrass you—”
“In case it wasn’t clear,” Theodore said with a crooked smile, “I am, at this very moment, extremely embarrassed that my heartfelt proposal has not solicited a definitive answer, much less the ‘yes’ I was hoping for. If you’ll promise me your hand, I won’t care about the rest. I don’t want to wed High Society. I want to marryyou.”
Her heart leapt. Might they be able to find some way it could work?
“We wouldn’t need to go to London until you inherit?” she suggested hopefully.
He shook his head. “I have to be in London at least part of the year. But I would never force you into that world all at once. We can practice, little by little, so that you’ll be comfortable when it’s time.”
Virginia’s skin itched. “You make it sound as easy as exercising a wounded limb until it works again.”
“Easy?” His brows lifted. “It’ll be exactly that hard. But I managed. So have all the strays you’ve helped over the years. So can you.”
Her chest tightened. Could she bear returning to London? This time, she would not be alone. Theodore would be by her side. So would her closest friends, who also planned to spend their Seasons in London.
She drew a shaky breath. “Do we have to attend mad crushes?”
“You don’t have to do a single thing unless you wish to,” Theodore promised. “Attend what you like. Stay home when you like. Speak with whom you like. Ignore whom you like.” He pressed a kiss to her fingers. “As long as it isn’t me. I intend to be right next to you, no matter where you are.”
Her breath caught at the picture he painted.
“Just tell me what you need, and it will be yours.” He set his jaw. “I’ll rent Almack’s on a Tuesday so that we have it all to ourselves. If there’s a play you fancy, I’ll purchase every seat in the theatre.” His eyes twinkled. “I’ll even share my private folly overlooking my favorite pond.”
Despite herself, the corners of Virginia’s mouth twitched. “You say thatnow.”
“And I will mean it forever.” He pressed her hands to his heart. “I have never broken my word, nor would I ever break wedding vows. I promise you now your home will always be with me, come what may. But only if you want me, too.”
Want him? She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him with all the love in her heart.
This man was her first thought every morning; her last thought every night. The promise of having him not just in her thoughts but right there in her arms, in her bed, in her body… Her pulse skipped with desire and excitement. Home would be right here in Theodore’s embrace. Her heart soared as joy flooded her. Soon, they would belong to each other.
“Wait,” she gasped and forced herself to pull away.
He touched his forehead to hers. “Not until we’re married?”
“Not until we’re betrothed.” Her stomach tightened.
He pulled back. “That wasn’t a yes?”
