Thomas sat up straighter and blinked at her. “What did she say?”
“‘Verus amor nullum facit errata,’” Delilah repeated more slowly. “Or something like that.” She waved a hand in the air.
“You know what that means, don’t you?”
She shook her head. “You know I didn’t pay attention in my Latin classes. Or any classes, for that matter.”
He gently tugged at one of the curls that had come loose from her coiffure. “It means: True love makes no mistakes.” He brushed his fingertips along her cheek.
Tears filled Delilah’s eyes, and she leaned her head against his. “It’s true. Madame Rosa was right all along. My mother never truly loved me. She’s been nothing but awful to me my whole life.”
Thomas nodded. “It’s unfortunate, but it’s true,” he said softly. “But you have friends who love you dearly. And you’re about to have a husband who couldn’t love you more.”
A sly smile curled Delilah’s lips. “I also may have toldMother that I intend to marry you, and that she’ll never see our children or be welcome in our home.”
His eyes widened. “Truly?”
“Yes, you and Lucy tried to tell me for years how awful Mother was to me. I didn’t want to believe it. But now I see you were right. You were always right, Thomas, and you and Lucy are the ones who’ve always been there for me. Family isn’t always the people who you were born with.”
He tipped up her chin with a finger and kissed her. “I’m glad you’ve finally realized that. You’ve beenmyfamily for years. Now we’re simply going to make it official.” His lips descended to hers again and the kiss deepened.
“Thomas?” she asked a few moments later, breathing heavily.
“Yes?”
She hid her smile against his shoulder. “If Miss Adeline lives in a duke’s household and belongs to a duchess, does that make him a lady?”
Thomas rolled his eyes. “I suppose this means Miss Adeline is coming to live here eventually.”
“Of course he is,” Delilah replied brightly.
“You’re going to have to tell him he’s not allowed to bite me.”
“On the contrary.” She wagged a finger in the air. “You’re going to have to have a talk with him. Perhaps you can convince him that your intentions toward me are honorable.”
He trailed kisses along the side of her neck, sending gooseflesh scattering across her skin. “But what if my intentions aren’t honorable? I can take you straight to Gretna Green if you like,” he murmured against her ear.
Delilah tipped back her head and smiled. “Oh, no. I think we should make Mother and Lord Hilton pay for an elaborate wedding worthy of a duchess. Derek told me they wanted me to marry Clarence so they could keep my dowry.”
Thomas cursed under his breath. “Don’t give them another thought. I’ll marry you whenever and wherever and however you’d like. And money is no object.”
She sat up straight and faced him again, both arms wrapped over his wide shoulders. “There is someplace I’d like to go now, however.”
He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. “Your wish is my command, my lady. Where to?”
She bit her lip and glanced up at him from beneath her lashes. “Your bed.”
His brows shot up. “Truly?”
“Yes, truly,” she whispered. “Can you make that happen?”
“With all due haste.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
Thankfully, Lord Stanley had taken Lavinia and her maid riding in the park, while Thomas’s mother was out shopping for the afternoon. They only had to dodge the servants to make it upstairs to Thomas’s bedchamber.
They peeked their heads out of the study and looked both ways in the corridor before sneaking toward the foyer. They hid against the wall while the butler walked through the foyer, then they dashed across the marble floor for the staircase. Thomas grabbed Delilah’s hand and led her up the stairs to the second floor and down the long corridor to his bedchamber at the end of the row of doors.
