There it was again, spoken so casually, as if he said it to her every day, as if it were not the most wonderful, astonishing thing anyone had ever said to her.
“I believe I have loved you since you stole my tailcoat and strutted around the gardens,” he added with a grin. “Or, perhaps, it was when you came to my daughter’s aid through a message sent a great distance away. A brave act that brought you to my door, as if you were always meant to be there.”
Her mouth opened, but his closeness stole the words from her lips.
“I have never been happier than when you were at Alderwick,” he continued. “That manor has never felt more like home than when I knew you were within its walls. So, yes, I said it because it is true… and also because I needed you to step aside, as the thought of any harm coming to you is unbearable to me. I love you, Frances. Whether you are far from me or standing right in my path, I love you.”
“But… you said it would be inappropriate for me to come to Alderwick with you,” she croaked, overwhelmed.
He chuckled. “It would be. However, if you had waited until tomorrow, where I planned to speak with your father, you would have discovered that I mean to remedy that.”
“What?” she gasped, her head swimming, her heart pounding, her hope flaring.
“Will you marry me, Frances?” he said, as he took hold of her hands. “I will ask your father’s permission, of course, but it is yours I care about.”
“Yes!” she practically shouted, uncertain of whether to laugh or cry. “Yes, I will marry you. Yes… my goodness, yes.”
She had been so afraid that this was the end that she had not paused to think it might be the beginning of something wonderful, something ‘appropriate.’ Indeed, never in her adult life had she considered she would ever be married, much less a duchess.
“You will?” His eyes lit up.
“I will,” she replied, as she stepped closer to him, letting her hands slide up his muscular arms, relishing in the feel of his warm, bare skin. “I love you, Dominic. I love you so much that… I fear I must pinch myself, or I shall never believe that this is real!”
He chuckled. “Well, I will not pinch you, my love, but… how about this?”
With his hands gently cradling her face, he leaned in and brushed his lips against hers in a kiss that would surely change the course of her life forever. She smiled and kissed him back, not so nervous this time, rising up on tiptoe so that she could feel the press of his mouth more keenly.
His hand traced a tingling line down her neck and along her arm, before settling in a protective curve around her waist, pulling her in closer. And as she looped her arms around his neck and reveled in the warmth of his bare skin, radiating his heat through her dress, it was like she had finally allowed herself to breathe after so many years of holding her breath.
He would take care of her now, protecting her, loving her, in a marriage that would permit her to be free. A love match that she had never dared to dream of, right there in reality.
“I love you,” he murmured.
She continued to marvel at how he said it with such ease, without hesitation or doubt, as if he had been saying it and feeling it for years, as natural to him as breathing.
“I love you, too,” she whispered back, delighted to feel that same comfort, that same certainty that had been in such short supply in her twenty-five, almost twenty-six, years of life.
He kissed her again, slow and spellbinding, all of Frances’ worries melting away as her mouth moved with his, her arms holding him tighter, until they were swaying lightly together in the room in a private dance, all their own. And as their kiss deepened, she had never been more grateful that she had slapped Lord Sherbourne so hard that it had sent ripples through fate itself, bringing her here, to Dominic’s arms.
EPILOGUE
“What is going on?” Juliet thudded sleepily down the stairs, rubbing her eyes. “Has someone called for me?”
Lucinda, who was already dressed and breakfasted and leaning against the side of the staircase, flashed a grin up to her younger sister. “Not for you, no.”
“Someone has come to call uponyou?” Juliet frowned, as if she did not trust that idea.
Frances, who had tried to perch elegantly on the chaise-longue but could not begin to sit still, got up again and began to pace the hallway outside the drawing room. They had arrived back in London twenty minutes ago, and Dominic had been in the drawing room with her father ever since. Having never had anyone make an offer of marriage before, she did not know if the length of time was a good or a bad sign.
“My father is asking for her hand in marriage,” Harriet chimed in gleefully, though there were shadows beneath her eyes that spoke of the pain that was yet to be healed. “I am sorry to the two of you, but I have every intention of stealing her away. We are going to spend the rest of the Season at home.”
Juliet hurried down the last few steps and came to stand in front of Frances, wide-eyed in shock. “You are going to be a duchess?”
“With any luck,” Frances replied with a nervous laugh. “Although, they reallyhavebeen in there for rather a long time.”
“How?” Juliet rasped.
“I answered an advertisement.” Frances smiled.
