Page 103 of Dare to Love a Duke
Despite the sofa, Lucia remained standing. In case she needed to run.
“I learned only this morning that he loved you.” The duchess faced her, and in the beautifully sculpted lines of her face, Lucia saw echoes of Tom. “He doesn’t favor me with a single word about his feelings for you, a woman of common birth, and today he tells me he intends to offer matrimony.”
“It was equally surprising to me, Your Grace.” Lucia could not yield or show any fear, but taking a defensive stance would set a tone that would resonate for years to come.
“I tried to talk him out of it,” the duchess said bluntly.
“Understandable,” Lucia answered.
“But he would not be dissuaded,” the older woman went on. “He insisted that he would ask you, and await your answer.”
“That’s...”Astonishing. Wonderful. Impossible.
“What is your answer?” The duchess lifted her eyebrow.
“I don’t know,” Lucia said honestly. She looked straight into the duchess’s eyes. “I have learned a great many difficult lessons over the course of my life, Your Grace. Above all, I learned to protect myself, to be cautious. Especially,” she said, “where my heart was concerned.”
The duchess regarded her thoughtfully.
“When it comes to Tom,” Lucia continued, spreading her hands, “I have no caution. His burdens and sorrows are mine. His happiness is my happiness. His heart,” she said, her throat growing tight, “is my heart.” She dipped her head as understanding filled her. “I know you think me a scheming opportunist, Your Grace. If there was a way for me to have Tom but never become a duchess, I’d take that option without hesitation. I want the man, not the title.”
For several moments, the duchess gazed at her.
Then, she opened her arms.
Lucia stared at the older woman. She took one step, and then another, and then she was clasped in the duchess’s embrace.
So long. It had been so long since a mother had held her. The duchess smelled of roses and tea, and Lucia drew the scent deep into her lungs. Only through sheer determination did she remain standing. Yet she clung to the duchess, squeezing her eyes shut to keep the tears from falling.
“There, lass,” the older woman murmured. “Forgive an old bear for guarding her cub.” She stroked a gentle hand down Lucia’s hair. “All mothers dream that someday, someone will love their child as much as they do.”
“I love him so very much.” Saying the words aloud, she saw how true they were. That all the things she had been feeling, all the joy, the pain, the need to be beside him every moment of every day—it was love. Love at last.
“And he knows it, too. But he needs to hear it from your lips.” The duchess slowly released her. “I’d wager he’s out there, dying a hundred deaths to have us in here alone together. Shall we end his suffering?”
Lucia dashed a knuckle across her eyes. “It’s the humane thing to do.”
When she and the duchess returned to the corridor, they did so arm in arm.
Looking hunted, Tom paced in front of the assembled crowd. He stopped in midstride to see his mother and possible future wife walking together like the dearest of friends. The smile that spread across his face made Lucia’s heart soar.
As Tom came cautiously forward, the duchess slipped her arm from Lucia’s and removed her left glove, tugging at one of her fingers.
“Hold out your hand, Tommy lad,” she said. When he did so, she carefully set something in his palm.
A ring. It gleamed, light reflecting on the large sapphire surrounded by diamonds. Lucia had never seen anything half so splendid, and it stopped her heart.No. That could not be... not for me?
“You know what to do,” the duchess said.
His fingers curled around the ring, and he pressed a kiss to his mother’s cheek.
Tom turned to Lucia. His voice rough, he asked, “Will you?”
A handful of the watching noblemen stalked off, but Lucia paid them no mind. She saw only Tom and felt only the pulse of love between them.
Yet—
“We’re not equals,” she said softly to Tom. Because she had to. Because he needed to know, fully, what this would mean for him, and their future together.
