“Jackie, are you sure? After what happened?”
“I should have listened to you, too,” she confessed. “Rather than to people I do not know. You are the one I trust, and the one I love. That is all that matters now.”
He took her hands in his, so elated that he was about to kiss her, when he froze. She was perfectly happy with his looks, he believed that, but such physical intimacy was another matter entirely, not to mention inappropriate until they were married.
But then he felt her hand on his cheek, her lips placed softly on them in a way that made him almost fall to his knees. It was the side of his face that had suffered the most burns, the side that he could scarcely look at himself, yet here she was kissing it gentlyas if she treasured it, as if she treasured him. Tears fell down his cheek, and at last he pulled her close, her head against his chest so closely he swore she could hear his heartbeat.
“We shall move at your pace,” she promised. “But I love you, and I want everything to be all right again no matter the cost.”
There was no doubt about it, not that he thought any different. This was love, and this was the woman for him, and she wished to be his wife. It was the most surreal yet perfect moment in his life, and he almost thought he would awaken from a dream, but the sun continued to rise, and he did not wake up.
She was perfect, and she was his.
Chapter 27
Philip loved being in love.
He thought himself foolish for it, but then he quickly decided that if being in love made him a fool, then so be it. He had not needed to propose, as one day she came to breakfast wearing his mother’s ring, which he later discovered his mother had given her, and he hadn’t been able to stop looking at her finger since.
He loved Jackie, and now that they had said as much to one another and were to be married there would be nothing in their way. Not even a ball, which would be that evening.
He had almost forgotten about it with everything that had happened, but now that it was approaching, he had to admit that he was quite concerned. He was not one for parties, and he did not wish to disappoint Jackie, who was readying herself with Elizabeth.
However, he aided himself by remembering that she would soon be arriving in a gown with her hair done perfectly and looking her best, which he considered his reward for attending.
And what a reward it was. Her hair was not tamed into submission, which pleased him greatly as he preferred its natural glory, and her gown fit her perfectly, a far cry from the ones she wore upon her arrival. She was almost unrecognizablefrom the woman he met, yet she was exactly the same lady that he had fallen for.
“My girls,” her father sighed when they appeared. “You are both so beautiful. You shall have the most wonderful evening.”
“We shall indeed,” Jackie smiled. “Should we ever arrive, that is!”
They all bundled into carriages and left for the ball, Philip fixing his mask for the first time in a long time. It almost felt foreign to him, and he was unsure of what to think about that. It had been the one thing he wore at all times until Jackie came, and it was familiar to him until then.
“Will you be speaking with Ophelia?” Elizabeth asked Jackie in the carriage. “After all, nobody would blame you if you wished to show your little victory in front of her.”
“It is not my style, Sister, and you know that. Besides, I believe that the duke and I arriving together and dancing only with each other is all the proof that she would need to say that she lost.”
“Ah! So there is that spirit in you. Tell her, Your Grace, that it would be the perfect vengeance.”
“It certainly would,” he considered. “And I think it would be best for us to announce our engagement to all those in attendance, so that it is on our terms.”
“Well, when you put it like that,” Jackie nodded. “I suppose it would be the right thing to do.”
Philip would enjoy it, he knew that much.
He knew that he would enjoy it all the more when they arrived to see Ophelia and Lucien in the corner, sipping their drinks with faces like thunder. They had no way of knowing that he and Jackie were engaged, as they had kept it secret, but he had not gone back to Ophelia as she had hoped, and she was no doubt furious about that. Perhaps that was why they were together?
Upon their entry, the two of them stormed over, Lucien almost purple in the face.
“Do not make any further trouble for the two of us,” Philip commanded. “For one, it will not work, and for another it is not wise to anger a duke.”
“But Philip,” Ophelia began. “You must know that—what is that?”
She was looking directly at Jackie’s left hand, to which Jackie turned her hand carefully so that the ring sparkled in the light.
“Please tell me that is not your mother’s ring. It was meant for me.”
“It was, and then you handed it back to me if I recall correctly, saying that you couldn’t marry a man as terrifying and deformed as I am.”
