Page 39 of The Duke's Treasure
“But what if I cannot give you heirs?”
“If Arthur never marries, then someone else will inherit.” He shrugged. “It doesn’t overly matter to me.”
“But your mother?—”
“She will come around. She’s not as bad as she seems at first. She knows only the ways of the British nobility and she speaks what she thinks, but often her honesty is actually refreshing in this world. And I know that Charity is ever so pleased at the thought of being your friend. You can have any place in this estate as your own. If you want another estate entirely, I can find one for you.”
He paused and released a soft sigh. “If you still want to return, however, I completely understand. You can do as you please with the treasure, and I will see you home.”
“Not all the way.”
“Of course I will. I couldn’t bear the thought of anything happening to you.”
“But then I would be worried about you on your return.”
He grinned, a twinkle coming to his eye. “It seems we have a problem.”
She tightened her grip on his hand.
“Why would you do all of this for me?” she couldn’t help but ask.
He looked at her, his face inviting and open. “For one, you would be the one sacrificing everything you know. This is not much in return. But more so… because I love you.”
Mariana had to blink back the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks at his words.
“Oh, Edward,” she said softly. “I love you too.”
He lifted their hands so that their bodies came closer to one another, his lips pressing against the knuckles of first one of her hands and then the next.
“Does this mean you want to stay, or am I going to have to spend the rest of my life returning to Spain to see you?”
“I like the idea of returning to Spain now and again,” she said, finally allowing all of the reservations she had been holding onto to fade away, allowing her heart to finally tell her what it wanted. “But I think I have found home.”
“At Castleton?” he said hopefully, although his smile dropped when she shook her head and said, “No.”
But then it lit his face again when she added, “With you – wherever you are.”
He let out a whoop of glee and lifted her up, swinging her around in his arms before pressing his lips to hers, holding her close against his body.
“Have I told you that I love you yet?” he said when they finally came up for air.
“You have, actually.”
“Well, allow me to tell you again. I love you, Mariana.”
“And I love you, Edward.”
“You will stay and marry me, then?”
“I will,” she said. “I apologize, Edward, for not believing in you nor in us. I thought… well, I thought that I would make life difficult for you. I still am worried about that.”
“Life would be far more difficult without you in it,” he responded.
“I realize that now,” she said with a smile.
They began walking, hand in hand, back toward Castleton, lost in one another and the future they had to look forward to, when suddenly Edward came to an abrupt halt.
“What is it?” she asked, and he nodded his head forward, his mouth set in a grim line. There were uniformed men standing at his front entrance – in uniforms Mariana well recognized. “It seems that Spain has come to you.”
