Without hesitation, Amity answered, “Yes, Your Grace. I certainly will.”
He rose to his feet and enfolded her in his arms. When she looked up at him, he lowered his mouth to crush hers beneath his. The kiss was far too full of desire to be tender, but she didn’t mind in the least, pressing close to him, her fingers grasping at his broad shoulders.He was hers!
Against her mouth, Henry said, “Thank you.”
When he drew back, he added, “And will you stop calling me ‘Your Grace.’ It sounds like a condemnation every time you say it. My name is Henry Westbrook.”
“I know,” Amity said, thinking she might be floating for she couldn’t feel the floor. “It is very nice to meet you, Henry.”
His dimples appeared. “I’m so damned relieved. I couldn’t face another day without you as mine.”
Amity placed a palm on either side of his face. “I feel the same way.”
After another moment, he drew back so they could look into each other’s eyes.
“You haven’t mentioned chocolate once, and I’m almost fearful of mentioning it now.” His hands were tight upon her waist as if he thought she might pull away and change her mind.
“I know chocolate-making is not the proper pastime for a duchess,” she told him, feeling him grasp her even tighter as she said it.
“I agree it is not. At least, it never has been ... until now.” He shrugged. “Why not? Who is to gainsay you?”
“Besides you?” she asked, feeling herself start to tremble again, very glad he still held her.
“Yes, besides me,” he said. “And, for my part, I say wholeheartedly you should continue. Moreover, you will find no one else has any business saying otherwise. Except the queen, I suppose, and I believe you’ve already said she adores your confectionery.”
Amity was starting to believe she could do it all — be a duchess, a wife, someday a mother,anda chocolatier.
“The queen could order me to stop,” she pointed out. “Her Royal Highness might say it is unseemly for a duchess. And the rest of thehaut tonwill have their say, mostly in the newspapers, I imagine.”
“After our wedding, Mr. Giles shall burn every newspaper the instant it comes into our house,” he teased.
Amity put a hand to his dear cheek. “Once I enter your world, I have a feeling there are more restrictions than I could imagine.”
With one of his large hands now splayed against her back, he raised his other so he could stroke his thumb across her chin. She had the insane urge to catch it between her lips but refrained.
“There are rules and restrictions, to be sure,” Henry agreed. “Nothing terrible, though, and, quite frankly, nothing that outweighs the freedom of having money and rank. The trick is not to let it go to one’s head, but to use what you have to better the lives of others. I do my duty in Parliament, give alms to the poor, support various charities and workhouses, and sponsor an orphanage. I cannot say all my peers behave similarly, but I know many who are extraordinarily generous. Those are the people I count among my friends.”
She stared at him. Amity had imagined being a duke was all parties and self-interested amusement and was gratified to hear he had social responsibilities. She would like to be a part of helping people who were less fortunate.
But making chocolate?First, she had to tell him.
“I love you, Henry, and that is more important than anything else. Even chocolate.”
His clenched his jaw at her words and his eyes glistened with emotion. “I love you, Amity, and that is more important than anything else, too, even the decorum of a duchess. You shall make your chocolate,” he paused, considering. “Perhaps we could give a percentage of the profits to some charity of your choosing. It would be the new Duchess of Pelham’s patronage.”
“I will make a special chocolate for that very purpose, and we’ll donate them to the children to sample.”
“I don’t want to cause your parents or Rare Confectionery to go bankrupt,” he said.
“We shall work it out. If we can create theBraysonand thePelham, surely we can create—”
“TheAmity,” he finished.
“Maybe,” she said, a little embarrassed at such a tribute.
“Definitely,” he promised. “This party has officially changed from a proposal party to an engagement celebration. We’d best go tell everyone our good news. I believe we have about sixty guests and at least four hundred chocolates to consume. We mustn’t keep them waiting any longer.”
“The guests or the chocolates?” she teased.
