“And I, when I saw him,” she admitted. “I didn’t know he was meant to be mine exactly, but I felt a sizzle of interest to discover if I wanted him to be mine.”
“And did you?” he asked.
“Most certainly, I did.”
Not a single one of their parents was bothering to listen.
“But after our long journey together,” Lady Diamond said, “we don’t hate one another anymore.”
Lady Chimes frowned. “Why didyouhate me?”
“Because you so easily took my place with Lord Chimes, as if I didn’t matter. Also, because you’re a mushroom.”
“Shall we take a stroll outside and discuss our future?” Geoffrey asked her.
“It’s rather frosty out,” she reminded him. “Perhaps we could stroll inside the inn instead. Or maybe we could simply retire for the night.”
By her sparkling gaze, he knew they would find something interesting to do in their small but plush room. Offering her his arm, which she took, they left behind their parents, still squabbling and discussing the distant past.
He didn’t care. All he cared about was having fulfilled his goal for the year, finding and marrying the most perfect woman!
Epilogue
“Are you awake?” Caroline whispered.
Geoffrey yawned and rolled over, seeing her green eyes open and her glorious red hair spread out upon the pillow. He grinned.
“We just had our first full night in bed as husband and wife,” he said, as if it was a revelation she might not have realized.
She nodded. “And it’s Christmas day. How did we forget?”
“I guess we had other things on our minds.” He still did, and he started to reach for her.
“Luckily, I have a gift for you, something I was working on in the carriage during our journey to Gretna Green. I thought up a poem and memorized it.”
“I thought you were sleeping quite a bit. I didn’t realize someone could snore while dreaming up poetry.”
She smacked his shoulder. “I do not snore. And I promise you, I was fashioning a poem. I haven’t had a chance to write it down, but as your Christmas present, I shall recite it for you.”
He drew the sheet and blanket down to expose her bare breasts.
“Go ahead.” But one of his hands stroked the sensitive area at her waist, making her shiver.
She laughed. “You are being wicked and will make me forget my poetry.”
“Very well. I will behave.” He placed his palm on her stomach, then brushed back and forth with the pad of his thumb, which was even more distracting.
Taking a breath, she began:
“Like Romeo and Juliet, we were thwarted from the start.
Yet unlike her, I shall not end with a dagger in my heart.”
Geoffrey startled at her choice of words. “Caroline, that’s rather —”
“Shh,I’m not finished!” She cleared her throat and continued.
“At first, I wondered ‘wherefore art thou Diamond?’
