“I do not,” she insisted, her chin tipping up.
He caught that chin in his thumb and forefinger, though he knew he should not touch her. That to do so was courting further ruin, and perhaps a severe drubbing by Devereaux Winter.
But to hell with it. She washis, Miss Eugie Winter, and he would not stop until she realized it too. “What do you want to know about me?” he asked.
Her tongue flicked over her lower lip, and it required every last speck of his restraint to keep from chasing it with his. “What do you like to eat?”
“You.”
She colored furiously. “For dinner.”
“You,” he repeated softly. “And for dessert. Breakfast. With afternoon tea. You are all I want, Eugie Winter.”
“My dowry,” she corrected, still flushing. “My fortune is all you want.”
“No.” He cupped her face now, admiring the elegance of her bone structure, the silken smoothness of her skin. “Only you. I have spoken with your brother, and he has informed me of the stipulations. I have agreed I will receive no dowry. No fortune. Not a shilling until the birth of our first child, should your brother allow it.”
The furrow returned to her brow. “What?”
“We shall have to make some sacrifices,” he told her. “I will not be capable of giving you the life to which you have become accustomed. I was already in the process of deciding which estates must be sold to save the entail. But we shall manage. You will still have your white roses in Lincolnshire, if you will but have me as well.”
“You promised me red ones too,” she said.
“To match your sweet lips,” he agreed. “So I did, and those, too, you shall have.”
“You do not want my fortune.” Eugie’s hand closed over his, and she moved nearer. A half step. Their lips were almost touching.
“All I want is you,” he said. And it was true. His plans for marrying a fortune to save himself from ruin were done. There was only one woman he could wed. One woman he loved. He would sacrifice everything else he had, if only he could have her.
“Me,” she repeated, her voice hushed, tinged with wonder.
“You.” He paused, knowing he needed to reveal himself to her completely. “But I must make a confession to you now. Two, actually.”
She raised a brow, watching him with an indecipherable expression. “What is your confession?”
“First is that I knew about your plan,” he admitted. “I was on the second floor of the library and overheard you speaking with your sister. I knew you were determined to kiss Lord Ashley, and that is why I followed you the day I kissed you in the writing room. I could not bear the thought of anyone else having your kisses. Because they are mine.”
“You scoundrel,” she accused without heat. “I knew I heard the floor creaking that day.”
He rushed on, determined he must make his second confession, which was far more damning than the first. “And the other thing I must tell you is that I love you, Eugie. You stole my heart, and it is yours now. Yours to keep forever. Will you marry me?”
He loved her.
Eugie was frozen, a violent burst of joy holding her suspended in the moment, unable to move. Unable to speak. She could do nothing but look up at his handsome face through eyes made hazy by the sudden prick of tears.
Cam loved her.
Follow your heart, Emilia had urged her.
And she felt that heart now, felt it beating in her chest, felt it swelling and filling with hope. Felt the bitterness which had dwelled inside her falling away. Felt the truth of his words deep within her. It was there, in the tenderness in his face, in the look in his eye, in the gentle way he touched her, as if she were precious. And,oh, that look. He looked at her as if she were beloved to him.
He was willing to give up her fortune. She was certain Dev had told him those things to test him. That Dev would not withhold her dowry. That Cam would not be required to sell off his estates.
But she would worry about all that later. For now, all she cared about was the brutal honesty of such a gesture. Her doubts fled, like rain clouds chased by the sun. And in their wake, the sky was glorious. Everything was brighter. So much brighter than she had imagined possible.
“There is something I must tell you,” she said at last.
He frowned. “Eugie, let me make this right. Let me fix the wrongs I have done to you. You do not need to love me back. I love you enough for the both of us. But please, do not deny me. I cannot fathom my life without you in it.”
