She rose to her feet.
*
Matthew watched Elizabethcross toward him.Her expression was one of determination.He wondered what was running through her head.He set down his knife.“What can I help you with, luv?”
She stopped right in front of him and placed a hand on his chest.Her chest rose and fell as she sucked in a deep breath.“Yes.”
Confused, he covered her hand with his.“Yes?”he asked.
“Yes, to everything you whispered while you held me last night.”
His breath caught.“You heard that?”
“Yes, I want to be yours.To be part of this family you have built.”Her eyes shone with emotion.“Yes, I will marry you.”
He cupped her face with both hands.Had she just agreed to be his wife?“Yes?”
She gripped his wrists.“I love you, Matthew Reeves.And for the first time in a long time, I feel hopeful.I want to take a risk on a future with you.”
Overcome, he leaned down and kissed her.“I love you,” he murmured against her lips.Then he slid to his knees.The room went silent, but he didn’t care.All he could see was Lizzie, so fierce and independent, agreeing to be his.
He grasped her hands.“I was going to buy you a big ring to sweeten the deal.But for now, you’ll have to just take my sincere declaration.Everything I have is yours, my heart most of all.I promise to take care of you and your son with every breath I take.I don’t know what the future might bring, but I can promise to stand by your side and fight for the good things and help to fix the bad things.”
A tear slipped down her cheek.She nodded over and over again, a smile stretching across her beautiful face.“Yes.”
Clapping erupted around them.He rose to his feet and grabbed her around the waist.With his heart overflowing with joy, he kissed her long and slow, dipping her back until she giggled against his lips.
“Don’t let ’im forget about the ring,” one of the girls called out.
He laughed and kept on kissing his girl.
Chapter Thirty
Matthew handed Lizziedown from the coach in front of the large mansion in Berkeley Square.He whistled low as they stared up at the manse.“That’s your grandmother’s house?Why is it you are not speaking to her?”
Lizzie slid him a wry, sideways look.“Because she unceremoniously cut me out of her life for getting pregnant out of wedlock.”
“Even though Robert’s father was a ducal heir?”
“Our engagement hadn’t been announced, and after Robert and his father were murdered, I was too afraid to say who the father was to people like her.Not that she ever gave me a chance to explain.All she could see was that I had ruined my season by mooning over a man who died.There were plenty of rumors that circulated about the circumstances of their deaths.”She sighed.“My father always supported me, and that was a blessing.”
He squeezed her hand.“Are you sure you want to go inside?I say, fuck her.”
“Yes, my curiosity is piqued.I am glad you’re here.”
They climbed the steps to the front door.A starchy butler took Elizabeth’s wrap and showed them into a large, opulent drawing room.He spotted her grandmother immediately.The Marchioness of Rollinsford stood in the center of a group of elegantly dressed guests, holding court.Her silver hair was piled high, and set within it was a golden tiara dotted with sapphires.When she saw them, she immediately headed toward them, the guests in the crowded room parting to give her way.
The marchioness held out both hands as she stopped in front of Lizzie.“My dear, I’m so glad you could come to my little dinner party.”
“Thank you for inviting me,” Lizzie replied.“I must admit, I was quite surprised to hear from you at all.”
He placed a hand at her waist and squeezed.Good for her.Don’t give the old biddy any quarter.
“I hope you don’t mind that I brought a dinner partner.May I introduce my fiancé, Matthew Reeves?”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Rollinsford,” he replied politely.
“Your fiancé?”Her grandmother looked between them with clear surprise.“Oh, I hadn’t heard.”
