“Then let us devote ourselves to one another, and never mind the past,” Isabella decided. “Let us forget everything else. Is that possible? Can you do it?”
“I can do it,” he said. “You’re the only thing that matters to me, Isabella—the only thing in my world. I’m only sorry that it took such dire events to make me realize that.”
“Do you really mean it?” Isabella asked, tears springing to her eyes. He could feel her trembling, and all he could think was that he hated the fact that he had made her suffer this much. She should never have had to feel any doubt about the fact that she was important to him, and although she had been clear about the fact that she didn’t want them to concern themselves with blame, it was a hard thing to set aside. He knew it would be a long time before he stopped feeling responsible for what had almost happened to her tonight.
But just as he had allowed his quest for vengeance to get in the way of his relationship with his wife, he knew that he now ran the risk of allowing his guilt to get in the way of their bonding, and that was the last thing he wanted to happen. More than anything, he wanted to do as she had suggested—to leave the past behind them and to move into the future together.
It just seemed like too much to believe that he could have this now. That all he had to give up was the desire for revenge that had sustained him all his life. He could see now how little it had mattered. He had leaned into that longing because he’d had nothing else. He had been afraid to allow himself to feel anything for anyone. Only anger was safe.
But love had found its way in.
He took Isabella in his arms, pulling her up from the chair she was sitting in. She came willingly to him. “I mean it,” he told her. “I love you, Isabella. You mean more to me than anything else ever has.”
“I can’t believe I’m finally hearing you say this,” Isabella admitted. “I’ve dreamed of it for what feels like the longest time, Arthur. I stopped believing that this was something that could ever happen, and now, it is happening. It’s almost too good to be true.”
“I feel the same way about that,” Arthur agreed. “I’ve spent so much of my life focusing on this one thing—revenge for my parents’ deaths. I’ve been so single-minded about it. It was important, but it never felt good. And now, you’ve come along, and I can actually imagine a future in which my attention is reserved for things that make me happy. I can imagine feeling excited to get out of bed each morning because I know I’ll be spending the day with you. It’s something I never thought I would find. Even when I married you, I never dreamed it would be like this.”
He pulled her close, and the only thing on his mind was to finally kiss her for the second time.
But they were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Arthur frowned, wanting to send whoever it was away, but he knew it might be important. “Come in,” he said.
It was one of his footmen. “Begging your pardon, Your Graces,” he said. “Miss Felicity is awake. She’s asking to see you both.”
CHAPTER 34
Isabella fell to her knees beside her sister and clutched Felicity’s hand. “Are you all right?” she asked, anxiety bubbling up within her.
Felicity managed a smile. “I’m all right,” she assured Isabella. “My head hurts a bit. Nothing more. You haven’t anything to worry about.”
Isabella felt the tears that had been threatening for so long break free at last. “You can’t imagine how worried I’ve been, Felicity, waiting for you to awaken. I didn’t know whether you would.”
“The physician told us that everything was going to be quite all right,” Arthur reminded her gently, taking a seat on Felicity’s other side. “How do you feel now, Felicity? You said that your head was hurting—how bad is it?”
“It isn’t too bad,” Felicity assured them both, beginning to sit up.
Arthur reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, restraining her. “You ought to stay in bed,” he said firmly. “Take your time and recover a bit before you try to get up.”
“I’m really fine,” Felicity said. “There’s no need for all this worry.”
“Arthur is right,” Isabella said. “I want to have the physician examine you again before you try to get up, Felicity. You could have been seriously hurt, and even though everything seems fine, I want to be sure before we start taking chances with your wellbeing.”
“Should we let your father know what’s happened?” Arthur asked.
“Oh, must we?” Felicity asked. “He’ll use it as an excuse to prevent me from coming over here again. I know he’s going to be anxious to find an excuse anyway. He barely wanted to allow me to come over this time. I think he’d be much happier to draw a boundary between the two of us, Isabella. He thinks I’ll be easier to control now that you’re out of the house.”
“Don’t worry,” Arthur said firmly. “I’m not going to allow your father to stand between the two of you. I know how important you are to one another—how important it is to have your family by your side. If it would help, Felicity, you may come and live with us here until your marriage can be arranged.”
Isabella gasped. “Would you really be willing to do that, Arthur? To have my sister live here with us?”
“Of course, I would,” Arthur said. “I know how lonely you’ve been, Isabella.”
“But you said that things were going to be different between the two of us now,” Isabella reminded him. “That means…doesn’t that mean that I won’t have to be lonely any longer?”
“It does. But there will be some time before I’m able to fully return to the household.”
“What do you mean?” Isabella felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Surely, he wasn’t about to take back his promise. Surely, he couldn’t mean to disappoint heragain.
