Page 109 of The Duke and Lady Scandal
“But even in that wrongness,” he said more quietly, “I knew the truth. That you mattered most. That meeting you was the most important moment of my life.”
“Oh, Ben—”
“There’s more,” he said with a delicious grin that made her heart thud against her ribs. “I like how you changed me. I like all the ways you defied me and were honest and impulsive and turned my single-minded world upside down.”
He reached into the upper pocket of his overcoat and hesitated. One brow winged up, and he glanced over her head at the assembled ladies.
Silently, he was asking her permission to make a scene.
Allie smiled in reply.
With two fingers, he dug deeper and soon emerged with a small, perfect box.
“Alexandra Prince, I would like to request a lifetime’s worth of you turning my life upside down.” He took a step closer, crunching across fallen leaves.Then he lowered himself to one knee and opened the box. “Will you marry me?”
Inside sat a lovely gold ring with a single round diamond surrounded by polished green stones.
“Are those what I think they are?”
“You said green amber is rare, but Mr. Gibson managed to find a stone to cut into all the tiny ones.”
“So you two have been conspiring.”
He chuckled. “A bit.”
“What’s your answer, Miss Prince?” Agnes barked. “We’re a quarter of an hour late al—”
“Hush,” several of the ladies crowed in unison.
“Take your time, Allie,” Jo offered in a kind, soft voice.
“Marriage is a trap for women,” Agnes grumbled, “so she should take all the time she needs.”
“Agnes!” Marion Russell hissed. “Really?”
Allie kept her eyes on Ben while the ladies murmured behind her.
“It won’t be a prison,” he said quietly. “I know you value your independence, and I won’t take it from you.”
“I’ll keep running the shop.”
“Of course you will.”
“And you’ll stay on at Scotland Yard?” Allie couldn’t forget that he’d used the job as a rationale for putting his feelings for her aside.
“I’m considering my options.” There wasn’t an ounce of regret in his tone. In fact, he sounded downright hopeful. “Private inquiry agent might suit me better.”
“Maybe it would.” She didn’t like much of what she’d heard of Sir Felix Haverstock or his hold over Ben.
“So will you, Alexandra?”
“Yes.”
He stood and pulled her into an embrace, pulled her right off her feet, and she didn’t mind a bit.
“With all my heart, yes,” she whispered against his neck.
“With all my heart too,” he murmured in her ear.
