Page 106 of No One's Bride
A light knock on the door brought Mr Daventry.
“We’re taking Smith and Chadwick to the Infirmary. I’ll alert the magistrate and Home Secretary and arrange for my agents to search for the list.” Before they could offer their services, he added. “I must thank you for your excellent work, but I shall deal with everything from hereon in.”
“You will keep us informed?” Sebastian said.
“Yes, and you’ll need someone to fix your front door, Denton. I trust you’ll see Miss MacTavish safely home.”
“Indeed.”
With that, he bid them good night and closed the study door.
All grew quiet.
They were alone.
For a heartbeat or more, they locked gazes.
Any pain associated with losing him subsided, leaving the warm feeling of contentment, the pleasurable waves of utter bliss.
She cupped his cheek tenderly. “I love ye so desperately, I can hardly breathe.” He’d been the first to declare himself last night, although confessing his feelings must have been difficult. “I’m nae sure how it happened, but it’s the most marvellous thing in the world.”
“I’m deeply in love with you, Ailsa.” His smile proved blinding. “And I know exactly how it happened. You have me enchanted.”
“Ye believe it’s magic?”
“I know it’s magic. The kind of magic I never expected to find in this lifetime. The kind that has a man searching for the perfect pebble.”
She smiled, her heart swelling. “Are ye saying ye’re a penguin and nae a gruff bear? I quite like dealing with yer tantrums.”
He took her hand and laced their fingers. “I’ll always be gruff and stubborn, but you’re patient, tolerant and kind, and somehow we fit together as perfectly as our fingers.”
Ailsa glanced at their joined hands. What if she had never made the wager at the auction house, never touched him, never known how beautiful love could be?
“Ye do realise Scotswomen have fiery tempers?” she teased.
“When it comes to you, I’m happy to get burned.” He released her fingers to delve into his coat pocket. “We’ve been so busy of late, I couldn’t find a pebble but did manage to locate a stone. I’m not sure it’s perfect, but you can be the judge of that.”
She had a vision of him searching the garden at night, cursing when he stubbed his toe, complaining when the rain came. “If ye found it under the cherry tree, I’ll treasure it forever.”
“Ah, the cherry tree.” His cobalt eyes roved over her seductively. “That has to be one of the most memorable nights of my life.”
“Aye.” Whenever she saw the blooms, she would relive those sensual moments. She’d felt a soul-deep connection even then. And yet the future was still a haze of uncertainty.
Sebastian must have read her mind. “There’s a wonderful weeping willow on the banks of the Ouse at my estate in Buckinghamshire. We might take a picnic and make love there.”
Logic quickly overruled the flurry of excitement. “’Tis sixty miles. Too far to sneak away for a secret rendezvous.”
“It won’t be a secret. Not if you like my stone.” He clasped her hand and placed a tiny velvet box in her palm. “Open it, Ailsa. If it’s not what you want, if I’m not what you want, be honest with me.”
Tears gathered behind her eyes. A rush of emotion choked her throat. “Ye’re everything I want.” She didn’t care what was in the box. She would love it with the same passion she loved him.
She lifted the lid with shaky fingers and stared at the pretty garnet and diamond ring. It was so beautiful she could cry.
“It belonged to my great-grandmother, yet I only think of you when I look upon the gems. The red garnet reminds me of your passionate spirit, your immense courage, your delectable lips and fiery hair. The diamonds are the raindrops glistening against your pale skin, the sparkle in your eyes when we make love.”
She ran her finger over the diamonds set into tiny silver leaves on the shoulders. “For a grumpy man, ye have such an eloquent way with words.”
“Do you like it, Ailsa?”
