Charlotte felt a painful flicker of irritation. How could he sound so amused by something that hurt her so deeply?
‘Well... yes. It is expected of you, is it not? To marry eventually. Produce an heir.’
He studied her carefully, his features schooled into something more sombre.
‘My faith places me at something of a disadvantage. There are many who would object to a match with me.’
‘What?’ she replied immediately. ‘Of course not. Women would line the street for the opportunity to become your baroness. Miss Pearson still waits for you.’
Then understanding dawned slowly and painfully.
Did he truly believe himself unworthy because of the very thing that made him better than most men she had ever known?
‘No sensible woman would reject you for that,’ she whispered.
His gaze sharpened instantly.
‘Am I to understand that you would not object?’
‘Of course not. Minerva was lying to you. I had no objections whatsoever to your faith, so you may put that thought entirely from your mind. You are an honourable man.’
Her expression softened sadly.
‘But none of it matters, because you already told me you would never consider me for matrimony.’
‘I believe,’ he said slowly, ‘my exact words were that matrimony to you would never enter my mind again.’
Her chest tightened painfully.
‘I know.’
He stepped closer still, close enough now that she could feel the warmth radiating from him.
His expression remained utterly intent upon her.
Then he lifted her chin again, though this time his touch was almost reverent.
‘Because once the thought entered my mind... it never left.’
Charlotte gasped softly.
‘Oh.’
‘I never cared for Miss Pearson. In fact, I made my intentions clear to her at the ball, and she took it rather well.’
Then his voice softened almost imperceptibly.
‘Since the beginning of our acquaintance, you—and only you—have occupied my thoughts. I simply failed to understand it for a very long time.’
He took her hand gently, his fingers closing around hers with quiet certainty, as though afraid she might vanish if he released her.
‘The most beautiful soul I have ever encountered stood directly before me, and I was too blind to recognise it.’
Charlotte could only stare at him.
‘Oh,’ she whispered helplessly, blushing fiercely.
‘And then, like a thunderclap, I realised—as I proposed to you in the library—that I loved you. And in that same moment, I believed I had lost you.’
