Oliver held her tight as he considered his answer. “Because I hope it means that deep in your soul, you know who I am.”
“But do you know me?” Kitty muttered against his waistcoat.
He didn’t fully let go, but he stepped back far enough to hold her gaze. “When I look at you, I see a woman with intelligence, spunk, compassion, just enough fire to keep things interesting, and the best bowling arm I’ve ever seen.”
“And my mask?”
“A necessary defense,” Oliver admitted. “I understand why you wear it, but still cherish your moments without it.”
Instead of replying with words, Kitty went up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his.
As Kitty listened to Oliver explain how he cherished the woman behind the mask, all she could think was, “Kiss him.” And before she could think better of it, she went up on her toes and did exactly that. They both froze for half a heartbeat, their lips pressed firmly together, before Oliver reacted. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her so that only the barest touch of her slippers remained on the ground.
She relished the feelings of weightlessness as she snaked her arms around his neck and leaned in as he explored her lips with his own. He had claimed to cherish her, and she felt it with every caress.
“What is the meaning of this?” A shrill scream echoed down the corridor. Kitty dropped onto the balls of herfeet and spun, finding herself face to face with her red-faced mother. “A married vicar! Really Catherine. You’ve always been rebellious, but I thought you had more sense.”
A married vicar? After a long moment, her mother’s words made sense. The green stickpin. “This is Oliver, Mother.” She reached back and took hold of his hand. “The twins switched pins after the game to see who would notice.” Specifically, to see if she would notice. Though she’d been hurt and angry a few minutes earlier, she understood his reasons. Like her, he wanted nothing more than to be seen for who he really was.
“Oliver!” Mrs. Childs all but shrieked. Then Kitty watched as understanding dawned in her mother’s expression. “Oliver!” She clapped her hands together in pleasure. She then leveled a glare at the two of them. “You’ll have to marry now, you know.”
“It would be my pleasure,” a deep voice tickled her ear from behind.
Kitty turned her back on her mother and faced the golden-brown eyed gentleman in front of her. “It would be your pleasure,” she swallowed, “to marry?”
“Yes,” Oliver smiled down at her, “but only if you are my bride.”
Unable to find her words, Kitty once again went up on her toes and kissed him. The delight only lasted for a brief second before her mother pulled her away. “Come now, there will be time for that later.”
Kitty looked up at Oliver, who mouthed “later” and then winked.
Oliver’s hand wrapped around hers as they returned to the drawing room, side-by-side.
Within moments of entering the room, Kitty’s mother announced their engagement. As they were inundated with well wishes and congratulations, Kitty noted that neither Lady Sampson nor a singleLinfield appeared surprised. She looked up at Oliver, who was watching her with soft eyes. How long had his family known nothing was truly feigned?
Kitty then looked at her future brother-in-law, and back at her betrothed. It would appear that Arabella would no longer be the only person who never lost their game.
Epilogue
KittygaveMirandaherhead and leaned down as her beloved mare flew across the fields of Blackthorne Park. When she reached her destination, she found her handsome husband already sliding out of his saddle.
“Would it be so terrible to let me win every once in a while?”
Oliver shook his head as he put his hands around her waist and lifted her out of her saddle before gently setting her on the ground. “We both know you’d never want that.” His breath tickled her ear as he spoke.
He was right, of course. As much as Kitty would love to one day beat him in a horse race, she would never accept a pity win. “We will just have to find something to do where I always win.”
Oliver laughed out loud as he pulled her close. “I believe we just played cricket three days ago, if you’ll recall.”
Kitty smiled at the memory as she wrapped her arms more tightly around her husband. Tim had arranged a full cricket match on the village green, and it had been delightful. Priscilla Childs would have been mortified to watch her daughter run around with a mix of gentlemen and tenants, but she was in London. Kitty no longer had to care what her mother thought or did.
As Kitty stood in her husband’s arms, she thought over the previous few weeks. They had been more amazing than she could have ever imagined. Idyllic, even. After a simple ceremony in the church in Whickfield, Kitty and Oliver had left for a three-week tour of the Cotswolds. When they returned, they discovered that they had set out to surprise each other.
Oliver, it turned out, had written to her cousin the moment their proper engagement had been finalized. And by the time they returned to Blackthorne Park, Miranda was happily munching on oats in the stables. When Kitty had first registered the identity of the chestnut mare, she’d spun around and kissed her husband in full view of the shocked stable hands.
Kitty’s surprise for Oliver had been more bittersweet. She had arranged with Lady Diana and Arabella to redecorate the master and mistress’s chambers while they were gone. A task that both women agreed was necessary. If Kitty and Oliver were going to make a home together at Blackthorne Park, they needed to make it their own.
In the first moments after Kitty revealed her surprise, she wondered if she’d made a misstep. Oliver just stared into the master’s bedchamber, moisture in his eyes. When he finally turned towards her, he spoke. “It looks nothing like I remember.”
