Page 155 of A Story of Love

Lori stared at him, both her stomach and her mind churning.

You are arguing with a man who is offering you more than you ever dared to dream you could have! He knows about you and Dorian, and he does not care. You don’t want to write foolish gossip columns or crawl around the docks in the dark to investigate stories, you want to write novels! And yet you continue to argue.

“What is it, sweetheart?”

Lori inhaled deeply and met his gaze. “You expect concessions of me, Fast—well, I have one for you.”

“If it is within my power to give it, I will do so.”

“Most men of your class keep a mistress—or go to places like The King’s Purse to satisfy their carnal urges. I could not live with that. It would destroy me if you were unfaithful.”

“I am not like my father, Lorelei. I have always vowed to myself that if I ever married, I would be a faithful husband. Have I had a lot of lovers in my life? Yes, many. Certainly enough to know when I’ve found a woman who is special and singular and worthy of my fidelity.”

“But you fell out of love once before,” she couldn’t help saying. “What if it happens again?”

He hesitated, looking torn, before finally saying, “There are no guarantees when it comes to love, Lorelei—at least none that I know about. All I can tell you is that I love you with my whole heart. And I honestly do not believe that I have ever felt so deeply for anyone else.” He smiled. “I am well and truly caught and grateful to be so. I have never met anyone like you. You entice, please, challenge, infuriate, and entrance me. I love you, Lorelei. And I hate the thought of living without you.”

Lori’s face blazed at his declaration.

Tell him you love him, too! Tell him!

But she couldn’t make herself say the words. Instead, she nuzzled her face between his neck and shoulder and softly asked, “Are you sure about this, Fast? Truly sure?”

“I’m sure, darling. Truly sure.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. You love him. You know a lifetime with him is what you want.

She sighed, squirmed a bit, and then pressed her lips to the tender skin just below his jaw, kissing and tasting him.

He groaned and pushed himself away, until she was forced to meet his gaze. “Stop tormenting me, you temptress. Will you marry me? Or do I have to carry out my diabolical scheme to make you surrender by seducing you into submission?”

Her body’s reaction to his words shocked her—although why it should at this point, was beyond her.

Stricken with a shyness that was foreign to her, she lowered her eyes before saying, “If I say yes, can we still go back to the Queen’s Chambers so you can seduce me into submission with all those implements?”

Fast gave a shout of triumph that Lori suspected could be heard throughout the entire vicarage and pulled her close to kiss her soundly.

“That is one promise I cannot wait to keep, my adorable darling!”

Chapter 32

Both Jeremy and Sarah were delighted by the prospect of marrying Lori and Fast in their village church.

Sarah, not unnaturally, wanted Lori to wait for at least a week so that all their friends in the neighborhood could attend. Fortunately, Fast stepped in while Lori was scrambling for an answer that wouldn’t spell out just why she had no interest in inviting all their neighborhood friends. He explained that the reason for the small ceremony, as well as the haste, was because of his grandfather’s uncertain health.

That was enough to make Sarah relinquish her dream of a large wedding, but she still remained attached to the notion of hosting a big wedding breakfast.

This time it was Lori who spoke up. “Right now, there is only conjecture in the village about Fast’s identity, Sarah. But the minute anyone knows he is here for certain, he shall be a target for nosy newspapermen and gossips. It is terribly important that the Marquess not learn of his grandson’s marriage in a scandal sheet.”

“Of course, it shall be just as you wish,” Sarah agreed, and then laughed. “To be honest, I am delighted that you are marrying at all,” she added, cutting Fast an arch look. “You should know this is all something of a miracle to Jeremy and me, my lord; Lori has always been a staunch opponent of marriage for women.”

Fast smiled. “I do know that. I count myself extremely fortunate to have convinced her to change her mind.”

Dinner that evening was a relaxed and lively affair. It was clear to Lori that both her brother and sister-in-law were thrilled by the match, regardless of what either of them might have read in various newspapers about his raking past. If Lori accepted Fast, that was good enough for her family.

After the meal Fast and Lori were able to snatch a few minutes alone in the garden.

“Are you sure such a modest wedding will be acceptable to your grandfather?” Lori asked, more than a little concerned that he was engaging in a tiny wedding for her sake alone.