Priscilla knew that was patently untrue. He was a man with a high title in a world built to cater to men and their desires, but she returned his smile nonetheless. She appreciated that he valued her opinion and intelligence, even if he’d ultimately make his own decisions.
“But then Colleen asked me why I loved you and wanted to be with you,” he continued. Priscilla sucked in a breath, the air catching in her throat as he mentioned love for the first time.
“She pointedly asked if the reason I wanted to be with you was because of your status or money. I realized then, as Collen intended me to, that any motivations for marrying you had nothing to do with what had driven my father. I would not be choosing you to appease him, rather, I’d be choosing you for my own happiness. Yes, it’s true he would have approved of you, but I’m following my own guiding principles of making sure my family is happy.”
Priscilla was overwhelmed with joy. “Oh, West. I could have told you that. I know you would never marry me for what I could do for you . . . You don’t think in such a calculating manner.”
“And I’ll be forever grateful that you see me that way. I’m sorry I couldn’t hear it when you told me I was approaching everything wrong. But I’m here now, and I don’t ever want to say goodbye to you again.” He stood and made his way over to where she sat, crouching down before her and buried his face in her neck as he wrapped his arms around her, pulling Priscilla in close.
“I tried to think of some kind of a grand gesture,” he eventually murmured into her hair, “but I couldn’t think of anything that wouldn’t seem a bit ridiculous.”
Priscilla pulled back and looked at him, running her fingers through his disheveled hair. “I don’t need any special gestures, West. All I wanted was to know that you understand me and for you to realize what is between us can be enough. All I wanted was to know that you love me.”
“I do love you,” West said, forceful and sincere in his statement. Leaning back towards her, he kissed her forehead before continuing, and Priscilla thought it might be the sweetest gesture she’d ever experienced.
“I want my arms always to be filled with you. To dance every dance with you, because when we dance, my heart feels full. AndI promise I’ll always stand beside you with handkerchief in hand to catch your tears whenever an orchestra starts.”
Laughing, Priscilla said, “Do you know, I’ve been thinking about this, and I think I finally understand the reason I get so overwrought by music. It’s because the swell of emotion I feel when the strings first come together—that’s what I think love feels like. I felt that exact same way the first time I realized that I’d fallen in love with you.”
West’s face softened as he listened to her describe the sensation of her love, and before she knew what was happening, he was kissing her passionately. She returned his kiss without hesitation and met his fervor with her own. Priscilla’s mind raced as she worked through everything he’d just told her. She felt a little out of balance given how swiftly she had moved from heartache to pure happiness with the utterance of only a few little words—not just “I love you”, but also “you were right.”
But when she came to a realization, Priscilla forced herself to pull out of the haze West’s kisses had put her in. Physically pushing back from him, she asked, “What does this mean? Are we getting married?”
West gave her a look of pure confusion, some of it most likely due to the fog of lust that surrounded him. “Was that not obvious?” he asked.
“Well, you never actually said that was what you wanted, nor did you ask me to marry you,” Priscilla pointed out.
West immediately got down on one knee and grasped Priscilla’s hands between his own. “Please forgive my oversight. Priscilla, my heart and the love of my life, will you please do me the honor of agreeing to be my wife?”
Priscilla had never considered herself a romantic when it came to gestures of affection, but she couldn’t help but tear up at his sweet words. Framing his face with her hands, she leaned down and rested her forehead on his. “Yes,” she whispered. “I’llmarry you. And we can make both ourselves and our families very happy.”
She wasn’t sure how long they’d been kissing, but eventually they managed to stumble upstairs to her bedchamber. Falling to the bed, West couldn’t help but let out a groan of happiness, followed immediately by a yawn.
“Oh, darling,” Priscilla said through laughter, running her fingers through the hair at his temples. “I think you need to rest. You must have ridden through the night.”
“Don’t remind me,” West mumbled, eyes already closed. “But it was worth it, I had to get to you.”
Her heart swelling to the point of bursting, she smiled down at him and watched as he drifted off to sleep. And as she curled up against his chest, she looked forward to a lifetime of mornings waking up beside him.
The next evening, West escorted Priscilla to a ball at the Duke of Carrington’s home. It was their first time out in public now that they were officially betrothed, and West couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
Their friends had greeted them with cheers and congratulations. The Countess of Weston tightly embraced Priscilla at the news while Reid gave him a hearty slap on the back. Eventually, they moved toward Priscilla’s parents, who received the joyous news the prior evening. As expected, The Marchioness of Wrexham was elated her daughter was to be married again, and to a peer of equal standing to her father, though she would be relinquishing her title of duchess.
West knew this didn’t matter to Priscilla, but as she had told him at Hampton House, while her family’s delight at theirmatch was nice, what they thought didn’t matter in the end. All he cared about was that he and Priscilla were happy beyond measure.
It would continue to be a challenge for him to think about what was best for him, the Beaumont family, and the estate first and foremost before immediately turning to thoughts of how his father would have acted. But West could recognize his thought patterns now, and it was the first step in being able to move past old habits and not allow his father to have power over him any longer.
Having been able to clearly determine that his motivation for marrying Priscilla had nothing to with what his father’s would have been, he was fully embracing the match and was eager to make Priscilla his wife. And they weren’t waiting long, as the banns would be read for the first time this Sunday, allowing them to marry in three weeks’ time.
Serious about not marrying Priscilla for her money, West had offered to add a clause in their marriage contract that would set aside Priscilla’s fortune for their future children, making West unable to use it. After sharing the idea, however, Priscilla promptly told him he was being ridiculous and that she wanted him to use the money to bring his plans to fruition. She then proceeded to show him her appreciation, to which he did not protest.
The dancing about to commence, West led Priscilla out onto the dance floor. Preparing for the inevitable, he pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her. She laughed at the gesture, then welled up when the musicians started tuning their instruments and came into harmony, settling on a single pure note.
“Love,” he said to her.
“Love,” she echoed, nodding her head as she dabbed at her eyes.
Pulling her into his arms and assuming the position for the waltz, West felt complete. He knew for the first time in his life that he was accepted and loved just as he was. He hated that he’d resisted his own feelings for so long, causing Priscilla so much heartache in the process, but now everything was as it should be. As they swirled around the room together, he’d never felt happier in his life.
