“I have a confession to make.”
She yawned. “Can it wait for morning?”
“I fear not.”
He had her complete attention now. “What is it? You look so serious.”
“I am serious.” He sat her down at the table and took the chair next to hers. Her feet barely touched the floor. Sometimes he felt twice her size. Right now, he believed he was a very little man. “I have a confession to make,” he started. “My conscience won’t let me go until I tell you the truth.”
“Very well.” She folded her hands in her lap.
Matt sat a moment, preparing himself before admitting, “I didn’t choose or even purchase the marriage ring you wear. I hadn’t done anything for the wedding, including asking a groomsman. I contacted Soren in the middle of the night demanding he fill the role.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I wish to be worthy of you. I notice how often you touch the ring.”
She curled her fingers in her lap. “It matches my tastes perfectly. I’m fond of it.”
“And you thought I had chosen it.”
Willa looked down at the ring and then slowly nodded her head.
Matt slid off his chair and came down on one knee. “I’m sorry that I didn’t give you the respect you deserved.” He placed his hand over hers. “But if you will forgive me, I’ll work every day to make it up to you. I love you, Willa. Passionately, fully, and completely. There is no other woman who has ever touched my heart with her bravery and my soul with love. I give all I have to you, Willa. Everything. This is my solemn vow because I never want to lose you.”
Tears welled in her eyes. He feared he had upset her. “Willa, have I said the wrong thing?”
“You have said all the right things,” she answered—and then she threw her arms around him. “Of course I forgive you, but please let me hear you say it again.”
“Ask you to forgive me?”
“No, you buffle-headed man. The part that is important.”
He understood. “I love you, Willa. I’ll always love you—”
She cut him off with a kiss. They took their time of it, enjoying the moment.
Matt rose from the ground, picking up his petite bride. She looked at him. “I have a confession as well.”
“Yes.”
“When I wrote the letter jilting you, I’d hoped that you would come for me, and you did. Now I am no longer a blank piece of paper.”
“What do you mean?”
“The day I wrote the letter, I tried to make a list of all the things I wanted out of my life. I couldn’t think of anything. I was too dull and lacked experience in life. You changed that, Matt. We’ve been kidnapped, and almost murdered, and visited a whorehouse.”
“These aren’t necessarily good things, Willa.”
“But they proved thattogether, we can face anything. And now, take me to bed, husband. We have much catching up to do.”
Matt was happy to oblige.
Epilogue
Cornwall
May 7, 1814
