Page 36 of Always the Lyon Tamer

“How did you know it was me?” He cringed at the petty tone in his voice. He was a gentleman, a marquess! He should not be cowed by a conversation with the woman he loved!

Rebecca shook her head. “Really? Think now, John. Who else would bring me here?”

Stepping forward, he removed her blindfold and fought the strong impulse to kiss her, there and then. She deserved better than that. She deserved to know why she was here and what he wanted from her.

Rebecca glared, and John took a few steps back.

“Look,” he said hastily, knowing he had to get his words out quickly before his courage left him. “I made a huge mistake.”

Rebecca nodded. “Yes, you did. You should not have agreed to marry me.”

“No, that is not it at all,” said John with a nervous smile. “I…I should not have waited for you to tame me. I shouldn’t have waited for a gamble. I fell in love with you months ago. I should have done something about it. I should have proposed marriage to you. I should have told you how much I loved you.”

The words wereEnglish, and yet they did not make sense. They couldn’t. Not coming from John’s mouth.

Rebecca swallowed and attempted to collect herself.What was he saying? That he…that he loved her?

“Look,” John said into the silence, sighing heavily. “I am not too proud to say when I have made a mistake, and I have made a huge mistake.”

How was it possible that his words still cut her so deeply?Mistakes, love, it was all too mangled together for her to discern y what he wanted.Did he just want to insult her further? Say that he loved her, but that it was a mistake?

Her concern must have been visible on her face, for John swiftly stepped forward.

“Please, do not misunderstand me. Miss Darby…Rebecca, I have never been one of sharing my true feelings. ’Tis easier to jest and quip with the ladies rather than share my…my heart.”

There was real anguish in his features, and Rebecca found the protective walls she had built around her heart the last few days start to crumble.He had said he loved her, hadn’t he?

“I…Rebecca, I fell in love with you months ago. I should have done something about it. I should have proposed marriage to you. I should have told you how much I loved you.”

But those were empty words, easy to say, easy to promise. Why had he not spoken them before?

Part of her wanted to reach out and touch him, feel the reassuring strength of his presence, but Rebecca knew she would never control herself if she did.

John had such a way about him. He was sure to convince her of anything if she got too close. Besides, she needed to understand before she allowed her heart to get away from her.

Was he…was he saying…?

“You say you should have said something before,” she said hesitantly. John nodded. “Why did you not?”

“I told you, in this very room, that I w-was shy,” said John quietly to the floor. “I spoke the truth. ’Tis most difficult when one is suddenly thrust into a titled family, to adhere to society’s expectations. I can be quick with my tongue, but only when…when it does not matter. When I lost my heart to you.”

Rebecca took a step toward him. It was impossible not to. Everything within her was drawn to him, the man she loved, the gentleman she had adored for so long.

She had risked so much to be with him, and now it appeared…well, if she was not mistaken, that he wished to be with her, too.

Was it all too good to be true?

“Most gentlemen do not bother to understand the woman before them,” she said quietly. “Most gentlemen, when they are jesting, do not consider matters of the heart.”

It was then that John looked up with a wry smile. “I did not realize my heart was in any danger until it was. From that moment, I have wanted to…wanted to say things I did not have the words for. Wanted to offer for you, Becca.”

The longing in John’s voice made her body warm all over, and he stepped forward. He was right before her now, only inches away. If she had the temerity to, she could have reached out and touched him.

“We made love on that bed, and you blush when I call you Becca?” John said teasingly.

She laughed shyly. “Well—well, yes, I do not know why.”

“Becca, I want to marry you.”