“What question?” Her breath inexplicably quickened. Goodness, she did adore this man. She loved that she didn’t always know what he was thinking, and that there was more hiding beneath his crusty exterior. And that she was one of the few, if not the only one, that he had allowed to see what was underneath it. The soft center where his heart lay.
“I want to know if you would do me the honor of marrying me.”
Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open.
He couldn’t have just said what she thought he did. Marry him? She supposed quick proposals were not unheard of, but she had not thought Leonard the type. He liked to think things through.
Perhaps shewaswearing off on him.
“I don’t want to face life alone anymore,” he said, walking a step closer and taking her hands in his.
Her eyes burned as tears sprang to them. “Neither do I.”
Releasing his grip, he lifted his hands to her face, his thumbs tracing circles on her cheeks. “I am going to kiss you again. But I promise my intentions are honorable.”
A laugh lifted from her throat, and he leaned forward, awkwardly putting his lips to hers as she couldn’t seem to stop smiling. He pushed his hands into her hair, and she gripped his lapels, tilting her head as her lips molded to his.
He pulled back, his eyes stormy and dreamy and full of so many things that she could hardly believe.
“Marry me, Honora,” he whispered, still holding her cheeks. “Marry me in two weeks. In two days. This very night. Just say you will.”
All she could do was laugh. A laugh from the depths of her stomach—of sheer joy and disbelief.
His smile faded, and his eyes surveyed the room around them. “I will even live here in this room with you, with all the ridiculous tapestries and tasseled pillows.” But his serious demeanor cracked, his mouth lifting in a faint smile as a laugh slipped out. “All of it. I will take it all as long as I can have you along with it.”
She bit her lip as she shook her head. “Why? Why would you want to marry me? I feel like I only exasperate you.”
“I feel like those are the questions I should be asking you.” He lowered his hands until they were clasped together behind her lower back. “You realize you would have to live with me and endure my moods.”
“That sounds like the loveliest offer I have ever received, actually.” She grinned. “Leo.”
“You know,” he said, his face softening and his lips pulling into a grin. “I don’t hate it as much as I thought I did. And do you know what else?”
She touched the tip of her nose to his. “What?”
“After all the grief we put each other through, in the end, you seemed to have saved me from myself. Which really is quite remarkable since I didn’t even realize I needed saving.”
She stroked his hair. “It really is too bad you had to lose the wager only to end up being married in the end anyway.”
He drew closer, his lips nearly touching hers. “I have no regrets. Not a single one.”
And then he kissed her. Her. Miss Honora Gillingham, who had once roamed the backstreets of London, who was the subject of rumors and gossip, who was seen as next to nothing in the eyes of most. She felt loved. Cherished. Desired. And she felt a peace beyond understanding. For, apparently, she would now get to love this wonderful man for the rest of her life.
Epilogue
“Fitzroy already tied it, Honora,” Leonard said, fighting a smile. Her head bobbed in front of him as she straightened his already impeccable cravat knot. She loved fussing over him. And as her husband, who was he to stop her?
With an impatient huff, her eyes flicked up to his. “It was crooked.”
“I don’t think it was.”
She straightened, ready for war until she saw his smile. “I only want us to look our best.”
“Are you nervous?” Leonard put his arms around her back, pulling her close. She didn’t fight him. Instead, she propped her chin on his shoulder and nestled in.
“I am,” she admitted. “I haven’t met Charles, Rowan, or their wives. What if they don’t like me? What if they have heard—”
Leonard took her shoulders in his grasp and pulled her back so he could look into her eyes. “They will love you.”
