Then Mr. Archer was standing there with his arms around her once more. It wasn’t some sudden thing, but neither could she say when they had come so close again. Katherine was certain she hadn’t moved in his direction.
“But to answer your question, Miss Leigh, why would I keep searching for someone else when I have perfection here in my arms?”
Katherine scoffed. She couldn’t help it when he spouted such nonsense. She was many things, but perfection was not one of them. But the sound made Mr. Archer frown.
“I am serious, Miss Leigh,” he said, giving her a squeeze. “That other lady may have turned my head for a time, but it is you who possesses my heart and soul. It’s you who drives me to distraction. I was unhappy when I lost her, but the thought of losing you fills me with anguish. I cannot bear the thought of my life without you in it, and I can say without hesitation or equivocation that I don’t want a phantom or some hollow flirtation. I want you.”
What did a lady say to such a thing? Katherine’s heart knew the answer to that, but she forced her lips closed and studied his expression.
Mr. Archer’s gaze softened, and he whispered, “If you think of me only as a friend and cannot accept me as a beau, then simply tell me. However, I will not surrender if your only argument is that you cannot believe my feelings. I know we share something special, and if there’s even the smallest chance that I can win your heart, I will move to the farthest reaches of this globe, if need be.”
“But your family and the mill—”
“They will find a way to survive without me. But I know I cannot survive without you.”
Katherine had hoped that at such a moment, she would have something witty or clever to say (or at the very least, romantic), but all she could manage was to gape at him like a carp. “Are you truly that determined?”
With a hint of a smile and an arched brow to match, he replied, “Have you ever known me not to be?”
Warmth slipped through the ice encasing her heart, melting it away like the first spring breezes sweeping across the frozen hillside, ushering in a new life and changing the world into something new. It filled her until her heart expanded well past its physical boundaries.
Mr. Archer truly meant it.
“I will sort out the rest,” he said as one hand drifted to her neck. “I should’ve realized the truth long ago, but please tell me I have not ruined things beyond repair. Can you forgive me for my blindness and stupidity? Allow us to begin again?”
He paused, his thumb brushing her cheek and sending a wave of gooseflesh across her skin. Mr. Archer’s gaze held hers, boring into her as though any answer but acceptance would destroy him.
“You are so beautiful,” he whispered in a tone that held far more awe than her plain features deserved.
Mr. Archer’s thumb grazed her lips, and his eyes drifted across her face as though committing each feature to memory. Despite having known him so well for so long, Katherine couldn’t think of any other time he’d said something with such awe and conviction. This was no mere compliment. Simply stated and stripped of any pomp, he spoke from the deepest part of his soul. And try as she might, Katherine couldn’t find any duplicity in his words or actions.
Katherine Leigh was no chum. No convenience. She was his love.
Vision blurring, Katherine’s chin trembled, and she drew in a sharp breath, forcing air into her lungs, but it came out in short bursts, breaking past her control and drawing forth her tears. Mr. Archer’s eyes widened, his brows pinching together as he quickly wiped at her cheeks.
“I apologize—I don’t know what I did—please do not cry—” He stumbled over his words as he held her, and Katherine rested in his arms as her strength leaked out of her along with this ridiculous display. But she couldn’t stop it. Five weeks of kindnesses from her siblings, culminating in a truly special evening, was touching enough, but hearing her beloved friend saying such lovely things was more than her fragile heart could handle.
“I—” Katherine tried to explain, but words struggled out of her grasp as she blubbered and gasped.
“Please, do not cry,” he murmured.
Katherine shook her head, but still, she couldn’t speak. Tugging her arms free of his, she did the only thing she could; when words refused to come to her lips, she had to use them another way.
*
Brows shooting upwards, David held still as Miss Leigh took hold of his face and kissed him. It was a touch awkward and, with her tears, far damper than one would wish for in an embrace, but his heart leapt, and energy thrummed through him until he was certain he could run all the way to Cheshire.
Miss Leigh was kissing him. His Katherine.
Relaxing into her hold, David poured all that newly found strength into the kiss, reveling in the joy of her touch, freely given. His heart skipped a beat as he considered that this did not guarantee anything was settled between them, but he let his heart lead the embrace, refusing to give his doubts any credence. Katherine was not one to throw about her affection. Especially a crying Katherine.
David deepened the kiss, hoping to give her all the assurance he felt. All the contentment and joy.
How had he ever believed that some flirtation at a masquerade would ever compare to spending his life with his dearest friend? If that heady moment with the Mystery Lady had shown David the possibilities rife in sharing a connection with another, this embrace with his Katherine wove their hearts together as one, binding them irrevocably. This was no mere kiss; her touch flowed through him, filling him as no other triumph had or ever could.
Thank the heavens that foolish and all too blind men did not always get what they deserved. For David could never hope to deserve her.
*
