The words were lodged in his throat, desperate to escape, and before he could stop himself, Ambrose called out, "Daphne, wait!"
"Let her go, Your Grace," another one of the husband begun to lure back him. "It is causing quite the scene."
Ambrose shook himself free from his grasp, being the stronger one of the two. Daphne had not bothered to turn back. If he lost his chance now, heaven knew when he would get to see her again.
"Daphne, if you leave now then you shall never get to know how I feel about you. Because the truth is... I have fallen in love with you," he was practically shouting the words now, not caring that the entire park could hear him.
That made her stop dead in her tracks, and finally turn back to look at him. Even from a distance, he could see that the expression on her face was one of pure shock.
"I have fallen in love with you," he repeated, the words feeling oddly freeing. He had never expected himself to admit his feelings so publicly. "I cannot stand to see you leave."
Am I dreaming?
Daphne could hardly believe what was unfolding in front of her. Even her sisters were stunned at the Duke's confession.
"Lady Daphne," he repeated, stepping closer. This time no one intervened to hold him back. "Youcannotleave. I beseech you. For I love you."
Even passersby were stopping to look at the scene now – his loud proclamation had seemingly attracted everyone's attention. Slowly, she took a step forward so that they could hear each other without having to shout.
"Your Grace," she started, feeling a strange warmth spread all across her. It felt better than any embrace she had received, or any fire on the coldest winter night. "Do you know it is quite rude to cause a scene like this?"
Despite how warm she felt, she could not resist teasing him. He looked flabbergasted at first, but returned her smile once he noticed the playful expression on her face.
"I know," he said, moving closer, "But I have spent too long hiding my true feelings from you. Now I do not care if the world knows about it."
He said the words with such confidence that it made her heart flutter, and her knees grow weak.
"What brought on this change?" she asked, the excitement seeping into her tone now that the shock had worn off slightly. "The last time we spoke... you said..."
"That was a mistake," he shook his head, "I was a fool then. I cannot stand to see you go, Daphne. But I have learned my lesson – please, marry me. I shall make you the happiest you have ever been–"
She cut him off abruptly by grabbing his hand, and pulling him to a corner. "Your Grace, it would be better if we continue this conversation somewhere a little more private."
She shot her sisters a pleading look, as if to sayplease, give me my spaceand they understood immediately and busied themselves amongst chatter.
"As long as you wish to continue it, I do not care where we have it," he said, determined.
Daphne ran a hand through her hair. They walked over to one of the trees, still close by to her sisters but out of earshot. She began pacing in front of him.
"Your Grace, I have to admit that I am having some trouble processing all of this," she admitted, "I have never seen you behave like this, nor did I ever expect you to in my wildest dreams. Have you lost your mind?"
He gave her a sheepish smile in return. "I have. But it has led me to the truth."
She shook her head, "Did you really mean what you just said back there? Oh," her cheeks warmed, "I cannot believe that you did that in front of my sisters. They will have ample fodder to tease me now for life."
"Daphne," he stepped closer to her, "I meant every word. You know me well enough now that I do not make statements like that in passing."
"But..." Daphne felt doubt creep up on her. "You were firm on your decision to never marry. Your Grace, I suspect someone has slipped something in your food, or perhaps you are inebriated?—"
He reached out for her hand, and she shut up immediately at the contact. Their gazes met.
"No one has compelled me to do any of this," he assured her. "I only regret that it took me so long to confront my fears."
"Your fears?" her tone softened. Now that she thought about it, she had never seen Ambrose even hint at the notion that he could have fears, let alone confess to them. It was so unlike his usual impenetrable outer self.
"I thought that if I allowed myself to love you, and start a life with you, it would suffer the same fate that my parents' marriage did," he sighed, his voice strained. "That one day, I would lose you. I could not stand to put myself in a position that made me as vulnerable as that. I.. I thought it was for the best."
Daphne was touched by his confession. "What made you change your mind?" her voice was barely above that of a whisper.
