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Rosamund rose quickly and strode out of the drawing oom’s doors and onto the upper stone terrace. There, she could see that a groom was holding the reins of Peregrine’s stallion. The Duke himself looked ready to mount his horse.

For a moment, she was frozen. She was looking at the man she thought stole Ashbourne from her family. Now, he had just given it back to her and was about to ride away without requesting a conversation at least.

“Peregrine!” she called.

Her voice rang loud and clear. The horse shifted, its hooves pressing hard on the gravel. Peregrine, holding his horse’s reins, stopped. For a moment, there seemed to be a flash of hope in his eyes, but he blinked, and it was gone.

Rosamund gathered her skirts and descended the steps as swiftly as she could without tumbling down. She walked toward him, while he kept a respectful distane.

“I received the papers Mr. Honeycutt sent me,” Rosamund declared, surprised that she had manage to keep her voice steady.

“I know,” Peregrine murmured. Rosamund still could not get used to seeing him without his arrogant posture and rakish smile.

“Why did you give me Ashbourne?” she asked.

“Because it was the last thing I was still holding over your life,” he replied simply.

“Listen. I did not ask you to give it to me for nothing,” Rosamund reminded him. ‘Did you not remember that I raised funds to purchase it back?”

“It is precisely why I needed to do it,” he said quietly. He looked around him, as if trying to absorb as much of the scenery as he could. Then, he turned back to her. “When I first bought Ashbourne, I believed I did it because I was protecting Henry. I kept it to honor him. Then, I told myself that I knew what you needed better than you did. I justified myself with reasons of love and duty when I was deciding for someone else.”

He inhaled deeply, his breaths shaky, as he let himself be bare before her.

“I was wrong. Ashbourne is yous now. What you do with it is your decision to make. Whether you forgive me is in your hands. Whether you love me is also yours to decide. And whether you want to see me again will be your decision. I will not be coming her unless wanted.”

His words were delivered plainly, without theatrics and pleading. Rosamund could not help but think of how different he had become. She blinked back hot tears. She had to do her part and be calm, as well.

“Do you still love me?” she asked, searching for a clue in his face.

“Yes,” he replied, without hesitation.

“What do you intend to do about it?” Rosamund wanted to know, before this man galloped with his horse away.

“Nothing you do not invite me to do,” he replied.

Rosamund began laughing, but it was interrupted by a sob until she was crying and laughing at the same time. She wiped away her tears hastily, shaking her head. She did not mean to lose her composure in front of Peregrine.

“After months of behaving like the most impossible man in England, you have chosen this moment to become perfectly reasonable!” she complained. “It is extremely irritating!”

“I have worked very hard on it,” Peregrine said drily, although some of his old mischief shone through.

Rosamund took one more step closer. Two. Three. She did no think the irritating man would do it hiself. She only stopped when her dress billowed against his trousers.

“I do not forgive what you did to my father simply because I love you,” she said sincerely.

“I do not expect you to do that, Rosamund,” he countered.

“There will always be a part of me that wishes you had waited,” she confessed, keeping her eyes locked on his.

Peregrine nodded, as if agreeing. “There will always be a part of me that wishes the same.”

“I cannot promise never to be angry about it again,” she admitted.

“I would be alarmed if that happens,” Peregrine said.

Rosamund raised an eyebrow, as she felt the familiar rhythm of banter returning. The conversation still remained serious. Nothing was being taken for granted or treated humorously.

“But I can tell you what I am able to forgive,” she said, still trying to keep her voice from trembling. “I can finally forgive the man who trusted me with the truth. I can forgive the man who gave me a choice, even though it might mean losing me. I can fogive the man who chose to change before he knew if he would be rewarded for it.”