Page 93 of The Miracle of Love
“I had no idea leopards were so moral. Thank you, Deklan. I am yours for always. I am yours for the asking. But you are right. I would have carried that regret in my heart if I came to our marriage bed with nothing at all to offer.”
His laugh was more of a groan. “You have plenty to offer. I will never have enough of you. Even now, I cannot look at you without my eyeballs throbbing.”
She grinned. “Only your eyeballs?”
“No, you wicked seductress. But my other parts are unmentionable. We have gotten off the point, and that is, the crisis has passed.”
He led her inside and they sat together on the settee while he showed her the newspaper account.
“Silesia? So this was the foreign country? And King Stanislaus the monarch who lost his crown?”
“Yes, love. But everyone is happy now.”
Graced wriggled closer to him. “What is that envelope you have in your hand?”
“A letter from my brother.”
“And you did not think to open it first? Why hold off? Aren’t you eager to read it?”
“Not if it contains orders I intend to ignore anyway. My priority is to get us married.” But he did open his brother’s letter at Grace’s amused, but determined, insistence. It contained nothing more than confirmation the stolen crown had been returned and the demand to hold Grace hostage rescinded.
“Oh, thank heaven.” She let out a trembling breath.
The rest of the letter asked about Grace and sent good wishes to her from all the family. It ended with a paragraph admonishing him for keeping his Brighton house a secret from his own brother.
Deklan laughed as he read on.“I had to learn not only your whereabouts from Finn, but that you actually owned a home. You are such an…”He glanced at Grace. “I cannot say aloud what he called me.”
She shook her head, thoroughly amused. “Do not hide it from me. I want to see what expletive he used.”
“Not on your life.”
She giggled. “You know you deserved it.”
He kissed her on the nose. “I am a reformed man now, Grace.”
“I doubt it, nor would I want you to be. I love you, my jungle cat. You are a very good man in all the important ways.” She kissed his cheek and tucked her arm in his. “What else does he say?”
“Mother is angry and hurt.” He paused and groaned. “Right, he is still going on about my purchasing this house and keeping it a secret. That was not well done of me. Rafe says she’ll get over it as she always does.”
“Because she loves you.”
“Aunt Miranda is another matter.”
“Let me see.” Grace took the letter out of his hands and read the last part.“You had better approach her wearing full body armor or you will lose limbs.”Grace clapped her hands. “I adore Miranda.”
“So do I, even if she is going to lop off my head. Grace, will you be all right with our leaving for Scotland tomorrow?”
“More than all right. I would run upstairs to pack but we’ve hardly got anything here with us. Oh, what shall I do with my elegant gown and the beautiful necklace? And what about the book? I think we had better take it with us. We must return it to your family.”
“Take the book. Leave the gown and necklace. We’ll be back soon enough for those.”
“How soon? Once we are married, you’ll need to report back to the Home Office and I’ll need to see my mother and siblings. I cannot leave them where they are. But I dare not bring them to London. The children will never understand why they are treated so cruelly by our former friends.”
He set aside the letter and the newspaper. “I’ve given it thought. Why not bring them here? New life. New friends. And under our protection. They will keep you company whenever I am gone.”
“You would agree to have them live here with us?”
He grinned. “Do you not understand me yet? I would do anything for you.”
