“I love you,” he breathed, his breath warm against her skin. “I think I’ve loved you since the moment you broke into my house.”
“I didnotbreak into your house.”
“We shall have to agree to disagree on that matter.”
She chuckled, cupping his face in her hands. “I suppose it does not really matter, because the plain fact is that I love you too.”
Another smile crept onto his face, and there was less of the wolf in it.
Minutes passed, or perhaps it was a little longer? Amelia had no way to mark the passage of time and no particular interest in doing so. They lay together, mostly quiet but sometimes murmuring to each other, their sweat-cooled limbs tangled.
“Come,” Stephen said eventually, pulling himself to his feet with obvious reluctance. “It’s going to get unbearably cold here overthe next few hours. Even cushions and that single blanket won’t stave off the chill of the small hours. We ought to go back to the house.”
Amelia wasn’t entirely sure that her legs would support her, but she took his proffered hand anyway, letting him pull her to her feet.
“You had better lace me up,” she murmured, biting back a grin. “I can hardly walk back into the house like this.”
He snorted, pulling her close for a quick kiss. She allowed him to turn her around, his chest warm against her back. His fingertips grazed her bare shoulders, sending goosebumps up and down her spine. The contact lasted only for a glorious instant, then he was all business, lacing up her corset with a practiced hand and fastening the countless tiny buttons on her bodice.
Gradually, she returned to respectability.
What a pity.
“I thought that I wouldn’t be able to protect you,” he murmured, after a moment or two of silence.
Amelia stayed quiet, letting him speak.
“I could not be the son my father needed. I couldn’t protect the friends I made at war. I couldn’t even protect myself, so what good could I possibly be to you?”
“I don’t need protection,” Amelia said. “I’ve taken care of myself for years, and my sisters, too. You try to shoulder everybody’s burdens. You were trying to get justice for me, a stranger, at the same time you were seeking revenge. Life gives us enough burdens to weigh us down, Stephen. You don’t need to pick up more.”
He fastened the final button and leaned forward to press a kiss to the nape of her neck. “I suppose you’re right.”
She turned to face him, smiling. “I generally am. And perhaps, in our life together, we’ll see which of us is more likely to be right about things.”
He wound an arm around her waist, pulling her close with a deep chuckle. “Oh, we shall see, my almost-Duchess. We shall certainly see.”
EPILOGUE
“Oh, yes, there’ll be plenty in the scandal sheets aboutthiswedding,” Letitia whispered to herself, with visible glee. “But with the guest list so small and intimate, none of those scribblers will be able to get to the wedding itself. It’ll drive them mad.”
“Well, one scribbler will be there,” Amelia laughed, plucking at her voluminous skirts. “Marjory. And Marjory, I give you permission to sell whatever scandal scraps you like to the papers. You’ll have an exclusive insight into the wedding of the Season.”
“Oh, very clever, Amelia, very clever,” Letitia said approvingly. “Marjory could use that as leverage to have her name put on the article. It could launch her writing career.”
Marjory flushed with pride. “Well, I suppose I shall see. I don’t want to use my sister’s name to draw attention to myself.”
It was very nearly time to enter the chapel. The guests had already arrived. Everything was ready, including the wedding breakfast, which was waiting for them back inside the house. Letitia, Marjory, and Nancy all stood outside the chapel, waiting for Amelia to go in.
She plucked at her skirts again, watching the iridescent fabric glint in the sunlight.
I’m getting married today. I’m marrying the man I love.
What a strange realization.
I’m in love.
“Well then,” Amelia said, smiling at her sisters. “Shall we?”
