Page 53 of The Gilded Lady
Zane was a good man. He would’ve done those things whether or not he’d meant it when he’d told her that he loved her. Hadthe words said in a moment of crisis actually meant anything to him?
He leaned forward. “I’m sorry, Glory. I told you that he wouldn’t hurt you anymore and then I let him take you.” Shaking his head, he added, “I’ll never forgive myself for that.”
“Please, don’t be sorry.” Her fingers were shaking when she brushed back the hair that had fallen over his forehead, needing to touch him. “It wasn’t your fault. No one expected him to start a fire.”
“I should’ve expected it.”
She sat up, taking his face in her hands. “No, Zane. You did everything you could. Please don’t let him take anymore from us. He’s gone. It’s over.”
“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered, his voice breaking.
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I thought so too. When the house exploded and you were inside…I was so scared, Zane.”
He closed his eyes as he dropped his head so that his forehead rested on hers. “Forgive me for being a fool. I let my fear push you away, but I want you, Glory. I want to live the rest of my life with you.”
She made a sound that was half laugh, half sob. “I never should have wanted to keep us a secret. What do I care if the staff knows about us? Sally accused me of always making excuses for not living my life, and she was right. I do it because I’m afraid too. But I don’t want to live in fear anymore, Zane. I want to live with you. Every day. I love you.”
He pulled back enough to look down into her eyes. He kept looking at her as if he couldn’t believe she was whole. His eyes were soft and sweet as his gaze stroked her face. “Marry me, Glory. I love you, and I don’t want to spend another day without you. I want you to have your own house with your own rosegarden. I want to see Emily and Edward grow up with you as their mother.”
She could barely see him through the tears in her eyes as he offered her everything she’d ever wanted. “I do want that, but there’s something you should know first.” Her breath stuck in her throat as she tried to figure out how to say the words. It was the last obstacle in front of them, but it wouldn’t be fair of her to accept without giving him the choice. “I can’t bear children. When I lost the baby, he made the doctor do something that would ensure I wouldn’t get pregnant again.” She said it fast to get it over with.
His face was a mixture of pain and rage. “That bastard. I’d kill him all over again if I could.”
Uncertain if this had changed his feelings on marriage, she hurried to say, “I know that I should’ve told you before. I knew that I should, but I couldn’t find the words or the right time—when is it appropriate to tell someone that?—so I waited. And then you said what you said about love, so I thought it wouldn’t even matter—”
He took her face in his hands and covered her mouth with his. She fell into the kiss, needing the affirmation that they were together. That they’d survived. When he pulled back, he looked down at her and his face was so full of love that her chest ached. “I want you, Glory. As long as I get to be with you nothing else matters.”
She did cry then. Relief made her weak, but it didn’t matter because he held her. She wrapped her arms around him and he climbed into bed beside her, holding her against him. He brushed kisses along her hairline and down to her jaw, so she turned her head and took his lips again. He groaned and deepened the kiss.
When they pulled back for breath, she asked, “Are you sure, Zane? I know that you think love is fleeting.”
He groaned again, laughing at his own words. “That was a stupid thing to say. I know that my love for you isn’t fleeting. It won’t go away, not as long as I have breath in my body.”
She smiled and brushed away a tear. “And I’ll make sure every day that you know how much I love you.”
He smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “Then we’ll get married as soon as you’re better. Wherever you want.”
She didn’t care where, as long as it meant she’d be his forever. But it made her think of her home. “How bad is Victoria House?”
“It’s mostly gone, Glory. I’m so sorry.”
She nodded, having already expected that to be true. After the explosion and the fire, whatever was left would probably have to be torn down. Her heart should be breaking. Her life’s work was gone. The boardinghouse she’d struggled to make into something that would help people was gone. And yet, she felt strangely free. She’d spent so many years hiding within the walls of Victoria House that she almost felt giddy with the prospect of not having to hide anymore.
“What about the staff and the ladies? Where have they gone?” she asked.
He explained that Able had found rooms for them at hotels and boardinghouses for the time being. She knew it was only a matter of time before they scattered to other parts of the world, because she didn’t plan to build Victoria House back. She had a very different future in mind.
As if he read her thoughts, he said, “I have some money saved up from my years with the Jamesons. Enough to build a small house. Hunter offered me a portion of the ranch at a good price. We could raise horses. You could rebuild your boardinghouse.”
She smiled up at him. “That sounds lovely.”
He grinned. “It does?”
“Yes, every bit of it.”
“You won’t miss the fancy lounges or your fancy chef?”
She scoffed. “Who says I can’t keep my fancy chef? He can move with us and cook for our family.”
