Page 84 of The Duke of Fire
“This isn’t pity!” he cried. “I would never do that to you. I have come undone because of you. You have made me a man who wants… more. Who wantsyou.”
She trembled, tears finally slipping free. Her hands fisted in her skirts, trying to keep herself from falling apart.
“I will marry you wherever you want me to,” he promised fiercely. “I will give you my name if you want to have it. I will give you my whole life. Please, just stay with me, Amelia.”
He was still on the ground, kneeling in the mud. He seemed oblivious to the dirt and discomfort. He held onto the carriage door as if he were afraid the coachman would finally urge the horses to continue their journey.
“I am begging you, Amelia.” His voice dropped to a whisper. “Marry me.”
Amelia was torn inside. She had been brought up with walls rising higher and higher around her heart. She had always chosen protection over flights of fancy. Still, Sebastian knew where to shake the foundations.
She loved him.
It would have been easier if she did not, but she loved him, too.
“Do you really mean it?” she asked, her hand aching to hold his face, see how his stubble would feel on her palm.
“I do. With everything I am, and everything I can be, Amelia.”
“Help me down, then, Sebastian,” she said, the little request coming out of trembling lips.
He closed his eyes briefly, as if in relief, before rising to his feet. His knees were soaked, but he did not seem to care. When he extended a hand toward her, she did not hesitate.
“I love you so much, Amelia—to an extent you cannot imagine,” he murmured, pressing his face into her hair like a man anchoring himself to reality.
The act was so intimate that it tore at her heart. She let out a laugh choked with emotion, even as more tears fell.
“What was it they said?” she teased softly. “That love is proven through action? Well then, I hope you are ready to show me.”
He smiled through the tears, something soft and boyish in it that made her heart break all over again.
“I am going to ask you properly now,” he said, straightening and taking both her hands. “Miss Amelia Warton, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she breathed, not quite believing that she was finally saying this. “Of course, I will marry you, Sebastian.”
He kissed her then, right on that muddy road. She kissed him back, not caring that the coachman was only a few feet away and a carriage could come rattling down the same path at any time. Their kiss tasted like relief. Like longing answered.
Like true love.
Epilogue
The bells of St. James were still ringing wildly when the wedding entourage welcomed Sebastian and Amelia with a flurry of flowers outside the church.
Everything seemed to work well for the day, with brilliant sunlight bathing the steps and the peonies decorating their path. Cheers erupted from the guests and a few onlookers, curious to see a duke married. Word had it, too, that this was definitely a love match.
Amelia trembled on Sebastian’s arm, but he kept her steady. His hand supported the small of her back as he whispered reassurances.
“Steady, my love,” he murmured. “I’ve got you.”
Her smile was absolutely luminous, but Sebastian suspected that her nerves would bother her for most of the day. Still, her radiance could never be rivaled by any crown or jewelry.
In their carriage, he watched her intently. Her veil had been discarded, allowing her curls to tumble free. In contrast, her hands were properly folded in her lap, and her thoughts seemedto lie elsewhere. His stomach clenched at certain possibilities. Was she regretting all this?
But then, she turned her attention back to him and smiled softly.
“Sebastian, don’t you find this strange, as well?”
He chuckled, but she was still looking at him, waiting for an answer. So, he mulled it over and admitted, “Yes, but it is also extraordinary. Today reminded me even more of how fortunate I am to have met you.”
