“I know. He’s a good brother, Beau Bellham. I love him very much. It was shortsighted of me to think that you weren’t as good a man as Beau is. I know for certain Beau would never hurt me, or Marianne, or anyone, for that matter.”
“That’s true,” David said with a nod. “I promise I will never raise a hand to you, Annabelle. And if you’d like me to give up drinking, I will.”
Annabelle shook her head. “No. You don’t have to do that. Beau has made the choice to do that, but I don’t want to be a prisoner to my father’s poor decisions. I want to be free, David. Free from the monsters in my memory. I told you once that a great deal of the correct behavior in thetoninvolves pretending. The truth is, I’ve been pretending for years. Pretending I was aloof, instead of admitting I was frightened. Pretending I didn’t care, when I really just wanted someone to love me for myself. I didn’t think that was possible until I met you. I don’t want to pretend anymore, David.”
“Neither do I. And you’re right. I may not be like the other noblemen. But I’m the only Earl of Elmwood there is. I’ll be the most unconventional earl in London if I must. I refuse to be anyone other than who I truly am. And if I bungle a title or use the wrong fork at dinner, so be it.”
“That’s the spirit, Lord Elmwood!” she said, clapping a hand on his knee.
David pulled her into his arms and kissed her again. “I cannot wait to take you to Brighton and show you the cottage where Marianne and I grew up. It’s the only thing I own that wasn’t my grandfather’s. It’s mine. It’s my home, and I want to share it with you.”
“It sounds like the perfect place for a honeymoon,” Annabelle replied with a laugh. “We can smoke cigars and do as we please.”
“I like how you think.” He kissed her deeply again.
A few moments later, a knock at the library door interrupted them. They broke off their kiss just before the door swung wide and Bell and Marianne, Worthington and Julianna, Kendall and Frances, and Lady Angelina all came traipsing into the room one after the other.
Worthington took in the sight of David and Annabelle smiling and holding hands and said, “So, does this mean there will be a fourth happy wedding here tomorrow morning?”
Annabelle nodded. “It does, indeed, Your Grace. I cannot wait to be Lady Elmwood.”
“I’m just glad you didn’t accept Lord Murdock’s suit,” said Julianna with a sigh. “I was quite worried for you.”
“Oh, that reminds me,” Frances said. “I went poking around this morning before all the guests left, and you’ll never believe what I learned from one of my friends.”
“What?” Annabelle asked.
“It turns out Elspeth planned the entire episode. She wanted Lord Murdock for herself,” Frances replied.
“You must be jesting,” Marianne interjected.
“No. I have it on good authority that Lady Elspeth told anyone who would listen that she was behind the entire affair,” Frances replied. “She spied on Lord Elmwood last night and followed him to Annabelle’s bedchamber. Then she went to fetch her mother to have a witness when he left.”
“Good God,” Worthington said. “A young lady with a mission in the marriage mart is a formidable foe, indeed.”
“Apparently, she’d set her sights on Lord Murdock before the Season began, and she refused to be thwarted,” Frances added. “She was convinced that Lord Murdock was about to ask Annabelle to marry him.”
David shook his head and chuckled. “And here I thought Lady Elspeth was afterme.”
“She was spending time with you, Elmwood, to make Annabelle jealous so she’d leave off with Murdock,” Frances explained.
“What? That’s madness,” Annabelle said, shaking her head. “Elspeth is a scheming liar. She told me at the Talbots’ ball that she meant to have David because she was the most sought-afterdebutanteand he was the most sought-after bachelor. She was lying the entire time.”
“If shewasafter Lord Murdock all along, she can have him. If you ask me, those two deserve each other,” Marianne said, shaking her head.
“I couldn’t agree with you more,” Julianna replied, nodding.
“Yes, well. I suppose Icouldhave been a marchioness, but I heard Lord Murdock is a dog kicker,” Annabelle said with a sigh, winking at David.
David squeezed her hand and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’ll just have to make do with a husband who is a lowly earl, and become a lowly countess.”
“I take offense to that,” Lord Kendall said, his grin belying his words.
“As do I,” Frances said, also smiling.
“Well, we cannot all be dukes and duchesses like Worthington and Julianna here,” Bell replied with a grin.
“Or marquesses and marchionesses,” Marianne added with a laugh, before her face turned serious. “Oh, Annabelle. I just realized. When you marry David, you will be my sister twice over. I cannot wait.”
