Page 33 of A Duke for Adela
He arched an eyebrow. “That depends. Are we betrothed?”
He awaited her nod, for it had to be an acceptance or she would not have donned another of her lovely gowns or done her hair up in that attractive style if she meant to refuse him. She looked very pretty, as luscious as a future duchess ought to look. The apricot muslin enhanced the shapely form of her body as well as brought out the vividness of her eyes and creaminess of her complexion.
Her hair was styled elegantly atop her head in soft, sweeping waves that followed the natural arc of her curls and suited her heart-shaped face. Of course, he wanted to remove all those pins and bury his hands in that luscious tumble of hair as it fell down her back in a delicate cascade.
She sighed. “Is there any doubt of my answer after the way you kissed me yesterday? Besides, I think my parents will disown me if I refuse you. Not to mention, Eloise will kick me onto the streets.”
“Adela…” He took her hands in his. “Don’t give me everyone else’s reasons. What do you want?”
A delicate blush rose in her cheeks. “I want you. Truly, I have never met a more impressive man in all respects. You leave me breathless. But I must ask you the same question. What doyouwant? Do you think ours could ever be a love match?”
He nodded. “I hope it will, in time. We know so little of each other just yet.”
“Yes, precisely. We don’t know each other at all. How can we risk a lifetime together? This is my greatest worry.”
“This rush is for the best because you and I are both creatures of logic who are always going to think too hard about these questions of love and marriage. It is better that we are pushed to a decision, made to think with our instinctive hearts instead of coming up with all the sensibly cautious reasons not to make the leap. Adela, marrying you is what I want to do. Truly, there is nothing on heaven or earth that could move me to offer for you if I did not wish to do so.”
“Dear me, I suppose this means we are betrothed.” She cast him a radiant smile that eased his heart. “I am officially accepting your proposal of marriage. I do so with joy and heartfelt gratitude. What happens next?”
He chuckled. “I’ll write to my brothers and have them return to London for the wedding.”
She gasped, obviously surprised. “Oh, goodness. You have brothers? Yes, of course. You’ve spoken fondly of your family a time or two. This is something I should have known, and would have had I bothered to give myDebrett’sproper attention. I’m sure Lady Felicity Rose can recite it by heart. What will your brothers think of me?”
“They will adore you once they see that I adore you. I have two, by the way. Octavian and Julius.”
“Will you tell me more about them?”
“Yes, but another time. There is much we need to get through today.”
She nodded. “We? That sounds nice. I am an only child, by the way. My parents thought one of me was more than enough for them to manage. In truth, they never intended to have children and had no idea what to do with me when I came along. Once I was old enough to walk and talk they did warm up to me because then they could treat me like a little adult.”
He frowned. “You are their daughter, not a passing neighbor. Did they show you any affection?”
“Oh…yes. They are not bad people at all.” She appeared to struggle for a moment in forming an answer obviously meant to reassure him. “They are not effusive by nature, but they were never cruel to me. I never lacked for food or comforts. I just think they were helpless to deal with a child they never expected to have. As I said, we got along very well when I grew older. My father and I became particularly close because we shared a love of cave exploration. What about you and your brothers?”
“We are very close and always have been. I’ll write to them and explain what is going on. You ought to do the same for your parents. But first, we had better announce the news to Eloise. I’ll talk to her about the planning involved in our wedding.”
“Yes, please do. My mother and I will make a mess of it if left up to us. She will have no interest whatsoever, for it will distract her attention from her bird studies. Um, I hope Eloise will allow my parents to stay here for the wedding. I wouldn’t know where else to put them. Perhaps Mrs. Farthingale will be amenable to putting them up if Eloise cannot.”
She began to fret.
“Adela, the details can be worked out later. I’ll take them into my home, if necessary.”
“Your Grace–”
“Ambrose.”
She nodded. “Ambrose, we are not a family of means. My father is a knight and we are comfortable enough, but we cannot come close to matching your opulence. I hate to be blunt about such matters, but we can only afford a modest wedding. By modest, I mean very small and with no extravagance involved.”
“No, that will not do. I am a duke. We are in London in the midst of the Season. This cannot be a small wedding. It is bad enough it will be rushed. But I do not expect your family to take on any of this cost. In fact, I will not allow it. I am not marrying you for financial advantage.”
“I bring no advantage at all to this union,” she said, sounding distraught. “Are we making a mistake?”
“No, Adela. Do not ever think it.” He wrapped his arms around her. “You may not bring wealth or a prestigious title, but those are not important to me. I already have those. What you bring is something far more precious…a chance at happiness. It is something I despaired of ever finding in marriage until you barreled over me the other day.”
She circled her arms around his neck and laughed softly. “You are impossible to resist when you say such nice things to me. Ambrose, I dare not let my heart soar. I am so worried something will go wrong. But I feel the same about you. It scares me that I should feel so comfortable around you when we hardly know each other, or that I should trust you so completely. But I do. It has nothing to do with your rank or wealth, I hope you know this.”
“I do. You would not have gotten an offer out of me if I did not believe this about you.” He eased away a moment to reach into the breast pocket of his jacket and withdraw a small box. “My father gave this ring to my mother as a token of his love on the day of their betrothal. I now give it to you.”
