Page 80 of My Secret Duke
She blinked. She was in danger of forgetting the questions she wanted to ask him, and the answers she needed before they took the next step. Her fingers trembled as she covered his hands with hers.
“Are you really a smuggler?”
His expression changed, hardened, and he dropped his hands and stepped away. She could tell it was the last thing he had expected her to ask him, and the last thing he wanted to answer. But Olivia came after him. She wasn’t letting him go now.
“You can tell me anything, Ivo, as long as it’s the truth. I want to hear it from you and not through the whispers of people I care nothing about.”
He had stilled to listen, but she could see by the resolve in his face that his answer wouldn’t be one shewanted to hear. “You say that now, but this business is dangerous. And it isn’t over. I could end up in prison. Or with the hangman.”
“Ivo, no,” she gasped, because now it seemed very real.
“My family have been smugglers for generations, and when my father handed the business to me, I was so proud. I wanted him to be proud. Smuggling may be illegal, but it supports the people in Portside and brings in welcome income for us. For a long time, I didn’t think about the consequences if I was caught, and it felt like a game. Now it’s real, Olivia.”
“I understand,” she said softly. “I really do, Ivo.”
“Do you? Then you should understand that I don’t want to drag you into it. You were wise not to accept my proposal that first time. Until I met you, I don’t think I ever really considered how my behavior affected others. Now I can’tstopthinking about it. Your brother doesn’t trust me, and he’s right, because I’m not sure I trust myself when it comes to you. I need to deal with the situation in my own way, without worrying you will be hurt by it.”
She stood like a statue. He really meant it. He wasn’t going to change his mind. He was strong and determined, and he cared about her more than he cared about getting his own way. Was this the new Ivo or had this man with a steel core been there all along?
“What about what I want?” she said. “If I am willing to risk myself, then it should be my decision.”
“No. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you. I’ve done a lot of foolish things, and this will not be one of them.”
“Ivo!” There were tears on her cheeks. “You asked me… youdaredme to marry you. Don’t you want to hearmy answer? Because it is yes. Yes!”
He seemed shocked, and then, with a groan, he took her hands in his tenderly, and raised them to his lips. “Sweetheart, you have made me happier than I have ever been. Truly happy. But…”
“A tête-à-tête in the garden. Why am I not surprised?”
The voice was mocking, and Ivo turned at the same time as she did. There was someone standing watching them, and Olivia’s heart sank. Gabriel.
“I’ve warned you before, Northam,” her brother said, and now his voice was a gruff growl. “You may be Charles’s brother, and I may have to welcome you because of him, but know that if you cross the line one more time with Olivia, I will see you ruined.”
He was furious. Olivia did not doubt he meant what he said, but she knew she couldn’t let him send Ivo away. Not now. She stepped between them, even though her legs were trembling from the fury in her brother’s voice. Gabriel loved her, she reminded herself. He was doing this because he loved her.
“Wait,” she said. “Please, Gabriel, listen to what I have to say.”
For a moment, she was sure he was going to refuse and everything hung in the balance, and then he seemed to collect himself. “Very well,” he snapped. “But talk quickly, Olivia, because my patience is running thin.”
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Ivo wasn’t the sort of man to allow his ladylove to protect him from her angry brother, so he quickly stepped up beside her so that they could face Gabriel together. He understood why Gabriel was angry. He had caused Olivia’s reputation to be compromised twice already, and in Gabriel’s eyes, this was just another careless attempt on his part.
“I have asked Olivia to marry me,” he said.
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “You’ve what!?”
“And she has said yes.”
For a moment, he seemed at a loss, but not for long. “You need my permission for that, and you don’t have it. Marry my sister to a smuggler who is as likely to be in prison as hanged? What sort of brother would that make me? No, under no circumstances.”
“Gabriel, what about what I want?” Olivia cried. “I love Ivo. I’ve tried to tell myself I don’t, and that it would be better for us all if I married Prince Nikolai or Mr. Scott, or Viscount Carey, but I just can’t. You told me once that I should not marry without love, and that you knew what it was like to be made to feel your choice was wrong.”
At least Gabriel seemed to be listening to her, although Ivo did not know how long his patience would last.
“I know the smuggling is a problem,” he began.
Gabriel snorted in disgust.
