Page 86 of A Kiss to Stop a Wedding
‘Done? You odious,odiouscreature!’ she cried, struggling against his hold. ‘After weeks of silence, you arrive without a word of warning, denounce my fiancé and convince me you are here only to take back your precious statue! And if that was not enough, you h-have the audacity to call mel-love!’
Matt almost laughed with relief. He pulled her into his arms, ignoring her half-hearted attempts to resist him, and after a few moments she collapsed against him, weeping into his shoulder.
‘And what should I call you?’ he murmured, resting his cheek against her hair.
‘W-we never s-spoke of love,’ she sobbed, her voice muffled against his coat.
He put his fingers beneath her chin and turned her face up towards him.
‘Ah. Well, that was a monstrous error, because you are my world. My life.’ He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. ‘My one and only love.’
For a moment she was motionless, then with a little cry she threw her arms around his neck.
‘Oh, Matt…’ She sighed, her eyes shining. ‘I do love you so!’
She stretched up, meeting his lips with her own in a kiss that expressed all the passion and pent-up emotions of the past few weeks.
* * *
‘So, do you believe now that I love you?’ asked Matt.
He was sitting on the settee with Flora on his lap. She was resting her head against his shoulder and gazing up at him with such a glowing look that he thought he might burst with happiness.
She gave an ecstatic sigh. ‘I do, my dearest darling. I should never have doubted you.’
He kissed her again, then settled her more comfortably against him.
‘I wish I could have told you, but there was no time to explain. Conham and I were obliged to find thesurvivors from Whilton’s troop, obtain their depositions and get back here in time to stop the wedding. And even then, we did not know if we could pull this off. If Whilton had called our bluff, we could not be sure the army would wish to prosecute after all this time.’
She said in a small voice, ‘I thought I did not matter to you. I thought you had come back just for the Rysbrack.’
That was so far from the truth that a laugh escaped him.
‘Oh, sweetheart, how could you think I would prize a lump of stone above you?’ he said, hugging her closer. ‘But I confess that is what I wanted the Viscount to believe. I couldn’t look at you because I was afraid he would see how desperately I love you and decide that punishing us both was worth the risk.’
‘Yes, I can believe he might well have done that,’ said Flora, shuddering.
For a few moments she remained silent, enjoying the comfort of Matt’s arms around her, then she raised her head to voice the question that could no longer be ignored.
‘Matt, howcanyou love me, knowing that my mother…?’
‘That your mother spied for the French? How can you loveme, knowing my father was an inveterate gambler who left his family penniless?’
She shook her head. ‘That is not the same. Andnow you run a successful business, you should marry a woman with a good dowry.’
‘You have a dowry.’
‘A few hundred a year.’ She sighed. ‘My uncle told me it should have been more, but he was obliged to use most of the money my father left to hush up the scandal.’
‘Your money is not important to me, my love. I am not rich, but Bellemonte is flourishing and with your help I am sure we can make it even more successful.’ He took her face in his hands. ‘Neither of us can change our past, Flora. It is you I love, you I want by my side, now and in the future. As my wife, my partner. For ever.’
‘Oh, Matt!’
She slipped her arms about his neck and kissed him, giving herself up to the desire he was rousing in her, until they were interrupted by the sound of voices at the door. She quickly slipped off his lap as Lord Dallamire came in.
‘Where is Lord Whilton?’ she asked, as he closed the door behind him.
‘He has retired, leaving his man in the hall to see us out.’
