Did she dare to admit it? ‘I think I always loved him,’ she said, willing herself not to look away. ‘But I knew it was hopeless.’
‘And even when you brought him to his knees, he still would not tell you he loved you,’ he said with a sigh. ‘He always was a bit of an idiot.’ He kissed her again. ‘How could I not have noticed this before?’ Another kiss. ‘Perhaps plain old Thomas Carew is not as stupid as I thought.’ Still another kiss. ‘Or was it Smith who fell in love with you, first?’ He nuzzled her neck. ‘I have no idea who I am when I’m with you. I feel as if I have taken a long journey, only to walk in a circle and come back to the place where I began. Beginning or ending, it was always you.’
‘But I’ve changed,’ she said, snuggling against him. ‘For the better, I think. I was timid as a mouse when I was in London. But today, I can do anything.’
‘Because you have beaten your grandfather at his own game,’ he said, slipping an arm around her waist.
‘And because you have come back to me,’ she said. She caught another whiff of his delicious cologne.
He caught her sniffing and laughed. ‘If you can do anything, and I believe you can, do you think perhaps you might try your hand at being a duchess?’
He was shifting again, preparing to go down on one knee. Once more she held him back.
‘The ground is dirty and your breeches are very fine. I would not want you to ruin them.’
‘Kneeling is customary,’ he pointed out.
‘But you cannot do that and hold me at the same time. I would much prefer that you keep doing that. Percy will be here soon and he’ll probably make you let go of me.’
‘True on all counts,’ he said. ‘Back to my question. You now have money enough to refuse me and courage enough to live on your own. But I am hopelessly in love with you and I don’t know what I will do if I cannot ever make love to you again. Percy will definitely not allow that without a wedding ring.’
She stroked his lapel, then slid her hand beneath it to rest over his heart. ‘I have heard that powerful men can get special licenses,’ she teased. ‘It is all the rage to marry quickly for ladies of fashion.’
Thomas looked off down the hill. ‘If we change horses and sleep in the carriage, we can drive straight through without stopping. Percy will need to sort out matters with the banks and the lawyers, of course. He can come along as a chaperone.’
‘I am of age and no longer need a chaperone,’ she reminded him, thinking of long hours alone in the carriage with Thomas.
He let out a low, throaty laugh. ‘Miss Skeffington, you most definitely need a chaperone. For the sake of your brother’s nerves, if nothing else. But we can be back in London tomorrow and I will go for the license as soon as I’ve had a shave and a change of linen. Is that soon enough?’
‘I suppose it will have to do,’ she said with a smug smile.
‘Oy! Bonham, take your hands off my sister!’ Percy called from the doorway to the house. To Louisa he sounded half serious, which was far too serious for the occasion.
‘Fetch the champagne, Percival,’ she called back, clinging even tighter to the man she loved. ‘I am to be a duchess and that is not the only thing we are celebrating.’ She stood, pulling Thomas after her. ‘Come along, Mr Smith, we have to tell my brother that he’s lord of the manor.’
‘As you wish, my love,’ he said. ‘As you wish.’
EPILOGUE
The Duchess of Bonham looked out over the crowd in the ballroom of her husband’s London home. She reminded herself that it was never appropriate to eavesdrop on the guests, but sometimes the temptation was irresistible. Especially when the guest in question had a high-pitched laugh and an equally distinctive voice.
‘I saw them when they were courting,’ the Countess of Rinwood announced to the crowd gathered around her by the crystal punch bowl. ‘It was all done in secret. The duke created an elaborate double life to woo her. He was so cleverly disguised that he looked nothing at all like himself.’
‘Really?’ Another woman replied. ‘Was there a false moustache?’
‘Not a moustache. But a wig of a different colour. And spectacles,’ the countess announced. ‘And a northern accent.’
‘I cannot imagine the duke doing such a thing,’ another woman said wonderingly. ‘When I talked to him last Season, he was always so…’ As if remembering where she was, she did not finish the sentence.
‘Stuffy,’ supplied another, who was not so discreet.
‘Aloof,’ confirmed the countess. ‘But after years of friendship, he’d apparently grown quite smitten with Mr Skeffington’s sister. She did not feel free to marry because of the scandal over her inheritance.’
‘I should sincerely like to meet Mr Skeffington,’ one of the women said with a smile. ‘He is quite rich now, is he not?’
‘He will be a baron once his grandfather passes.’ The countess shuddered. ‘I hear they’ve sent the old miser off to Scotland. He is living in a delightful rose-covered cottage, though I doubt he appreciates it. The man is unbearable.’
‘Tell us more about Mr Skeffington,’ said another. ‘Is he handsome as well as rich?’
