Aaron had listened to all she said, and now he got to his feet. His hands were shaking and he stared down at her, almost feeling like he was looking at a stranger, not his best friend of many, many years.
“Could you truly want this?” he asked, now daring to look at Griffin from the corner of his eye. His heart swelled when he did so. “After what I did to you in the past, you would offer me this?”
Now Letty stood. “I would never be so cruel as to deny two people I adore a happy future. So if fears about me, if guilt about the past, was stopping you, if it caused the friction between you that makes Griffin want to leave…I free you from it.”
Aaron nearly buckled at the weight she lifted from his shoulders. With a gasp, he turned to look at Griffin and found him staring up at him. There was hope in his eyes. And for the first time, Aaron felt the full joy of hope in his own heart.
Letty released his hands and let out a long sigh. “Well, now thatthathas been said, I have a favor to ask of you both.”
“What is it?” Griffin asked, getting to his feet.
“I left my cloak in the old caretaker cottage that is on the path to the main house. I must go rally everyone to head up there for tea now, but would you two mind taking the path ahead of us and fetching it?”
Griffin’s brow wrinkled. “You needusto do that?” he asked.
She smiled as she leaned in to kiss first her brother’s cheek, then Aaron’s. “Quite desperately. Though to be honest, I don’t need the item in any hurry. So go fetch it, but don’t feel a strong need to rush up to the main house. I’ll make an excuse for you.”
She was grinning as she left the room, leaving Aaron and Griffin alone. They turned to face each other, staring for what seemed to be an eternity. Then Griffin cleared his throat.
“I-I suppose we should do as she asks,” he said. “We can talk more freely at the cottage at any rate.”
Aaron nodded. “Very well. Lead the way.”
Griffin swallowed hard and motioned for the door and they left the parlor together to go to the cottage. But as they exited the house and started up the path, Aaron couldn’t help but feel they were starting a new chapter together.
He could only hope it would be a chapter with a happy ending. Because until they could remove the walls between them, happiness was not a given.
Chapter Seven
Griffin pressed open the door to the old caretaker’s cottage, expecting to find it dark and dusty. After all, no one had lived here since his cousin Audrey’s husband Jude still worked for Edward. But as he stepped inside, he caught his breath. The open room in the front was clean and quiet, except for a crackling fire that had been laid there. There was a basket on the table by the window with what looked to be food and wine.
Aaron looked around in wonder. “It’s lovely.”
Griffin nodded as he shut the door and latched it. “I have a feeling this is the Woodley tryst cottage. And now Letty has sent us here to look for her ‘cloak’. With a fire burning and food set out.”
Aaron slowly faced him, his expression unreadable. “And should we look for it?”
“There is no cloak, and I think that’s clear to us both now,” Griffin whispered. “She sent us here because…because…”
“Because she set us free,” Aaron said softly.
Griffin wrinkled his brow. “Are you free, Aaron? Yes, fears of Letty’s reaction were part of our shared hesitations about this thing between us, but it is more than that.Youare afraid of love.”
Aaron scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m not afraid of love. I’m—I’m afraid of losing love. You were right about that. I’d told myself I’d never love again, but once I fell in love with you it terrified me and—”
Griffin caught his breath and stepped forward. “Did you just say you loved me?” he interrupted.
Aaron blinked, and then understanding dawned. “Yes, I suppose I did.” Now he moved forward. “And it is true, Griffin. I am in love with you.”
Griffin shut his eyes as pure joy moved through him. Before he could open them, he felt Aaron’s mouth on his in a kiss. He moaned at the brush of his lips and wrapped his arms around Aaron, dragging him closer as he opened to the man, welcoming him inside in every way.
The kiss was passionate and wild, free in a way they’d never been before. Their union had been blessed by the only person who mattered, and everything else could be worked out after…after…
Griffin pulled away from the kiss and took Aaron’s hand. Wordlessly, he drew him into the bedroom in the back of the cottage. He shut the door and they stared at the bed together.
“There won’t be any oil to ease the way,” Griffin whispered, his voice gruff with the need that now boiled in him.
Aaron turned and began to unloop Griffin’s cravat. “Oh, but there will be pleasure,” he promised.
