“If they see you enjoying yourself as you are, they might start to talk. Dare I say, they might start to talk to you. Years of trying so hard to make everyone fear you dashed in a single night because you cannot control yourself.”
Ronan rolled his eyes. “Perhaps I don’t care what they think.”
Thalia cocked a disbelieving eyebrow at him. “Is that so?”
“Or perhaps I will have to do something later on to remind them that I am not to be messed with.” He pumped his eyebrows. “If I am lucky, another lord might insult you directly, providing me with the perfect excuse to punch him in the face. That ought to do it.”
“Oh yes, let us hope,” Thalia laughed. “I only married you because I rather enjoyed the terror you instilled in the ton. What good are you to me if that façade is lifted? No good at all.”
They laughed together at the silliness of the conversation. Such a state of joy found in one another’s company was a common theme of late and Thalia could not believe it had taken so long to get there.
Not that she minded the journey, for it had been needed. Both she and the duke had their own issues which needed to be worked through, pushed against, fought over, and finally resolved because as important as that journey had been, it was the ending which they both now relished.
As to what that ending was? Simple. They were in love, as happy as they had ever been, and nothing would change that.
Now, what I have to look forward to is what comes next. Smooth sailing from here on out so that the rest of our lives might even be considered boring when compared to how this all began. Not that this concerns me. All things considered, boring is exactly what we need.
It was their first night out together since Thalia returned to the Westvale Estate. Her health had recovered. She and Ronan were no longer hiding how they felt about each other. A marriage which was blooming like a flower reaching toward the sunlight. And most of all, that shared thrill felt because both she and Ronan were not only in the same place for once but were both just as eager to see where things would go from here.
Thalia was the one who suggested attending the ball. She thought it best for them to be seen in public again, this time acting naturally and honestly so that there would be no doubt how much their marriage was flourishing.
And Ronan, to his credit, had not argued. In fact, he seemed to want to attend with her, excited to show her off and prove to all who might dare question their relationship just how happy they were.
They spent the early hours of the ball together, walking among the crowds, speaking to friends and acquaintances, never once leaving each other’s side. Laughter was shared along with jokes and stolen smiles. And while Thalia could see people watching them as they went, she did not let that worry her as she once had done. In her mind, they were simply jealous.
Ronan was the one who suggested that they dance—again, it proved beyond question how much he was changing before her eyes. He wanted to show her how much he loved her. And he wanted to prove that he wouldn’t be reverting to his old ways anytime soon.
Not that Thalia thought he would. Now that he had told her the reason for his withdrawn nature, she understood him better than she ever had. And now that she did, she could see just how hard he had worked to move on from his past so he could enjoy the present and so he could enjoy his wife and all the time they had left together.
And if these last few days had been any indication, the weeks, months and years still left to them would be worth all the effort it took to get there.
“What’s that look?” Thalia asked Ronan, noting the way his brow was furrowed as he led her across the dance floor, concern shadowed behind his eyes.
“What look?” Ronan said quickly, forcing the frown back. “There was no look.”
She raised an eyebrow at him. “I thought we were done with the lies? Do not make me force an answer out of you.”
“It is nothing,” he sighed. “I was just thinking about Olivia. What if she wakes to find us gone?”
“She knows where we are.”
“Still…” The concern passed behind his eyes once more. “There is a chance it might storm later this evening, and I would hate for her to be alone when it does.”
Thalia felt her chin wobbling, and was she not in public, she might very well have burst into tears. Tears of joy, of course, because seeing how much Ronan cared for her daughter brought such happiness to her that she could hardly take it.
He cared so much for Olivia. He cared so much for her too. When they had first married, he promised he would be their protector, and it was a promise he looked set to keep. Not because he thought he must, but because he wanted to.
It was funny that Ronan had always thought of himself as a monster when, in Thalia’s eyes, nothing could be further from this characterization.
“How about this…” Thalia moved with Ronan across the floor; he led her expertly, keeping in time to the music, his footing assured and confident, his grip on her waist and hand commanding. “… once this dance ends, we will head back home.”
“Oh…” Ronan clicked his tongue. “We do not have to go. If you wish to stay?—”
“I want to go,” she assured him. “I think our point has been made, don’t you? Best that we get out now before we do anything that might tarnish our pristine reputations.”
He laughed. “Yes, perhaps you are correct. We wouldn’t want me ruining everything now, would we.”
Thalia laughed along, knowing that Ronan’s reputation was far from being completely rehabilitated, while knowing too that it was headed in the right direction. And try as she might, she couldn’t begin to imagine what he could possibly do to change that.
