At last he came to a halt at the last stall on the left.
“He’s not fully healed,” he said in a rush. “His leg is fragile still, but the gash has closed, and there’s no longer any risk of infection.”
Iris peered into the stall, and for the second time that day, her knees went so weak they threatened to buckle.
Chaos. Finn had brought Chaos to her.
She tried to speak, but all she could manage was a choked gasp as she raised her shaking hand to cover her mouth.
The horse’s sleek gray coat had been brushed to a glossy shine, and his liquid black eyes were as clear and alert as Iris remembered. As soon as he saw her he whinnied impatiently, as if he were scolding her for taking so long to come to him.
“Captain West said the bone is mending much faster than he expected.” Finn shifted from one foot to the other, his uncertain gaze fixed on Iris. “There’s quite a lot that can be done for a fractured cannon bone, it turns out, if one has the patience to see it through.”
She remained silent, still too overcome to speak, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. This was the reason Finn hadn’t returned to London at once. He’d stayed in Hampshire with Chaos, to heal the horse and save him from having to be shot.
He’d done it for her.
“It was a neat trick getting him here from Hampshire without putting any strain on his leg. Have you ever seen a horse van?” The words began to tumble faster and faster from Finn’s mouth when she still didn’t speak. “The famous racehorse Sovereign was brought to Newmarket Racecourse in one last year, and Captain West suggested we try the same with Chaos. It took five days to get from Winchester to London, but you see how fit he is, even after such a long journey…”
He trailed off into an awkward silence, and it was then Iris realized he was nervous. Lord Huntington, the grand marquess, the quintessential English gentleman, was nervous, because he wanted so badly to please her.
And after all, he wasn’t Lord Huntington, was he? Not to Iris. To her, he was Finn, the man she loved, who’d given her the most precious gift she could ever hope to receive.
Himself.
“We’ll have to be careful with him for the next several months, but after that you’ll be able to fly over the ground on his back through Richmond Park, just as you told me you always wanted to.”
Iris gazed up at him, still too dazed to speak. What could she say? How could she ever put into words what this meant to her?
“Iris.” Finn’s tone was pleading. “Say something, sweetheart.”
“I—he’s…this is…” She curled her fingers into his waistcoat and buried her face against his chest as her breath caught on another sob. “There’s nothing you could have done that would mean more to me than this.”
He groaned as his arms closed around her. “I’m so sorry, sweet. That day, in Lady Hadley’s drawing room…I want you to know I never doubted you, Iris. I turned away from you because I doubted myself. It’s haunted me, the sadness on your face that day, and the way I let you leave. I never should have—”
“Shhh.” She touched her fingertips to his lips to hush him. “I turned away from you, too. I left Hampshire without a word, and I’ve regretted it every single day since. What you’ve done for me…” She gestured helplessly at Chaos as she struggled to find the words. “The two gentlemen I love more than anything else are here with me, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
He clasped her face in his hands and took her lips in a passionate kiss that left them both breathless.
“I can think of one more thing to ask for,” he said, when he’d eased her away at last.
“Oh? Do you want me to read the rest ofSchool of Venusto you?”
His eyes darkened, and he let out a husky laugh. “Two things, then.”
She traced his lips with a gentle finger, then pressed a kiss to the dimple on his chin. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t give you, Finn.”
His forehead touched hers. “I love you, Iris. I want you to be mine.”
His. Not just a wife, and not just the Marchioness of Huntington, buthis.
Iris rose onto her tiptoes and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I already am.”
Epilogue
Three months later.
“If you don’t stop that at once, my lord, you’ll make me fall, and then you’ll be sorry, indeed.”
