Page 56 of The Miracle of Love
He set down his cup. “Keep it as simple as possible. We met at an assembly ball in Bath over the summer and instantly fell in love. How’s that?”
“I have never been to Bath.”
“Neither has Mrs. Harcourt. Just keep your descriptions vague and she will never know the difference. An elderly aunt of yours wanted to take the waters and brought you along. The pump rooms were a crush. You toured the ancient Roman baths and found them to be a marvel. Mention your enjoyment of the assembly balls and nightly musicales.”
She nodded and tried her hand at embellishing the story. “I was in raptures when you asked me for the honor of a dance. Um, do you dance?”
“Of course, it is all part of our agent of the Crown training. We must be adept at moving in all circles. Come, I’ll show you.” He surprised her by taking her hand to lift her to her feet, and then he began to spin her slowly about the room. “We danced a waltz…just like this,” he said, his voice soft and deep as he drew her into his arms. “I held you close.”
“As you are doing now?”
“Yes, love. The world and everyone in it melted away for us. No one existed but you and me.”
She smiled, quite swept away and knowing she would have fallen in love with him had they ever really shared a dance. “You were quite dashing in your naval uniform. My heart was yours by the time we completed our first turn about the room. But Deklan, how were we allowed to share a waltz?”
“The rules in Bath are less rigid than in London. Your elderly aunt did not hesitate to give me permission. She knew of my sterling reputation. See?” He still held her, guiding her as they continued to slowly twirl.
“You make it sound so easy.”
“Because it is.”
Perhaps it would be for someone as experienced in the art of seduction as he obviously was. Were agents really given instruction on how to woo and seduce young ladies? If so, he would have gotten top marks. He was looking at her in such a way she could have sworn he was falling madly in love with her. “Did we speak to each other as we waltzed?”
“Yes, of course. I would not have wasted the opportunity to get to know you better.”
“What would you have said to me?”
“It is in my nature to get right to the point. I would have said something like…” His smile faded, his expression no longer wry but suddenly serious. “I am in love with you, Miss Montford.”
Grace was caught by surprise and missed a step. “Oh.”
He quickly guided her back into their graceful turn about the room. “Too forward? Perhaps I would have said nothing, just put my hand to the small of your back and waited for a more appropriate moment to tell you how I felt.”
“So we danced in silence?”
“Yes, with me in fiery torment as I led you onto the terrace to complete the dance beneath the silver moon and sparkling stars. Others had done the same because it was a warm, clear night. A light breeze carried the scent of jasmine from the nearby gardens. We twirled in our own orbit, you as radiant as the sun and I your servant moon, forever your heart’s captive. I wanted to get on bended knee and propose to you as soon as the waltz ended.”
“Did you?” Grace held her breath.
He grinned. “No, this definitely would have been too forward of me. I called upon you at your residence the following day, a pleasant townhouse let by your aunt in the Royal Crescent. I did the same on the day after that, and as often as permitted afterward until, with agonizing restraint, I proposed to you a full month later.”
“It must have been very difficult for you,” she teased.
“It was. Excruciating, actually. I asked for your hand in marriage on the day you were to leave Bath and return to London. You were wildly, madly, breathlessly in love with me by then and immediately accepted. Tears of happiness flowed down your cheeks.”
“A veritable puddle of tears?”
“An entire stream of them,” he said with a light laugh. “You could not believe your good fortune in landing the best man in all of Bath. No, all of England.”
She laughed heartily. “Modest fellow, aren’t you?”
“What? Too over the top? How about, we shared a waltz and spoke only of tame subjects such as the weather and who we might know in common? But I called upon you the following day…and the day after that. Before the week was out, I made it clear I was courting you. As I said, I proposed to you at the end of the month, on the morning you were to return to London.”
She stifled her disappointment when he led her back to her chair to resume eating her breakfast. “What if she asks more questions?”
He took his seat beside her, this magnificent man who made her heart flutter and also ache because their time together would soon come to an end. “You ignore them and steer the conversation to a safer topic. You are an accomplished rider. It is no different than guiding your horse down a particular path with a slight tug of the reins. You keep control of the conversation by directing it wherever you wish it to go.”
“Oh, I see.”
