Page 45 of Enamored with a Brooding Earl
It was as though all of the air from the room had been sucked out in one go, leaving her feeling a little light-headed and breathless. Her hands tightened on his, her eyes wide as shock lodged in her chest.
“I know that it is sudden, that it is a great shock,” Lord Calverton continued, speaking a little more quickly now, “but it is a way to save you from all that Lord Barlington has threatened. But more than that, Temperance, it is because Iwantto do this that I bring the proposal to you. I truly do desire to have you as my wife. I think that you are the most beautiful, the most delightful, the most incredible young lady and to have been given the opportunity to meet you, to know you and to fall in love with you is a joy that I am truly grateful for.” He took another step closer to her, so there was barely an inch between them. “Temperance, I want nothing more than to heal the pain that Lord Barlington has caused you. I want to be able to take all the darkness he has left you with and throw it aside, filling that space in your heart with light instead. I want to give you the life and the future that you deserve, to offer you companionship, love and happiness in a life shared together. I want to do all of this for you, Temperance, because I care for you. Iam falling in love with you and to have you as my wife would be a blessing beyond measure.”
Temperance let out a ragged gasp, only for Lord Calverton’s eyes to flare, perhaps concerned that she was much too shocked, too overwhelmed to respond. He released her hands and made to take a step back, perhaps worried that she was going to refuse him, only for Temperance to throw her arms around his neck.
Her heart was screaming with joy, tears of happiness beginning to drip down her cheeks. She let out a half laugh, half sob as his arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her close to him.
“You are not upset about my question, are you?” he murmured in her ear, sounding relieved. “I must hope that this means you are going to accept?”
“OfcourseI am going to accept!” She cried, unable to pull herself away from him for fear that her heart would completely and utterly explode should she look into his eyes. “I cannot quite believe that you have asked me to marry you! I did not think that I would ever be given such an opportunity again – and certainly not from someone who cares for me in the same way as I care for them!”
“And I thought you were more than contented as a spinster,” he told her, making her laugh as she leaned back just a little, though she did not loosen her arms from around his neck. “I was afraid that you might reject me for your life here is just as you like it.”
Temperance shook her head. “No, you misunderstood me when I spoke. It is not that I was contented as I was for I have been full of sadness and grief, though I have found a solace here which has been a great benefit to me. I spoke so because I did not believe for a single moment that a gentleman might ever look at me in such a way.”
Lord Calverton tilted his head. “Because of your scar?”
She nodded. “Lord Barlington rejected me because of it. He told me, in no uncertain terms, that I was flawed, damaged and broken and he could never consider having such a young lady on his arm as his wife. Therefore, I believed that all gentlemen would feel the same way about someone who is not perfect, as they ought to be.”
With a gentle hand, Lord Calverton ran one finger lightly down her scar, his eyes going to it. Temperance did not feel a single iota of fear, did not pull her face away from him as he did so. Nor did she feel any shame as his eyes returned to hers. Lord Calverton knew everything about what had happened, he looked at her scar but he did not reallyseeit, not in the way that Lord Barlington and even her own family did.
“I think that you are beautiful.” His hand ran down to the curve of her throat, leaving sparks behind his fingers as he let his touch run down her shoulder and then all the way down her arm to capture her hand again. “Your eyes capture my very soul. Your lips beg for me to kiss them. The sweetness of your smile thrills me. The nearness of you sets my whole being aflame.”
She trembled lightly at the fervency of his words.
“I want to marry you so that I can have the privilege of calling you my wife for the rest of my days,” he finished, making her heart sing. “You will not have to give up your life and your future for the wickedness of one supposed gentleman. You will have happiness and love and joy, Temperance. I swear that to you.”
“Then how could I do anything other than accept?” she whispered, her heart so full, she could barely contain the ecstasy which filled her. “Oh, Calverton, you have answered my wildest dreams – dreams I did not know I could even permit myself to have! Yes, I will marry you. I will marry you this day if you can manage it!”
He laughed and, catching her up in his arms again, kissed her gently. She responded at once, her arms tight around his neck, her fingers threading through his hair. It was a soft, sweet kiss but there were still traces of heat at the edges, sending a gentle trembling through her.
“I presume that my niece has agreed then?”
Temperance broke from Lord Calverton’s kiss with a start, fire reaching up to burn in her cheeks as her aunt smiled at her from the doorway.
“Your father told me everything before he quit the house,” she said, her eyes holding lingering tears. “I cannot believe that you would be so generous as to give yourself up to save everyone else – but then again, given that I know your sweet nature and gentle character, I should not be surprised.” She came a littlefurther into the room. “Your father has taken your mother with him to fetch a Special License. You will be able to marry within the week.”
“He has gone to London?” Temperance blinked quickly. “But surely a Common License would have done just as well, though we might have had to wait a few days longer?”
Lord Calverton smiled. “Ah, but in going to London, your father is able to make a few particular remarks to a few particular people.” His smile grew as Temperance gazed at him, not understanding. “Lord Barlington has hidden himself from London because he does not want anyone to know of his impoverished state. Your father, in making his way there, will have opportunity to tell everyone what he knows of Lord Barlington now, as well as give thetonthe promise that his words can be verified by Lord Thurston, by another gentleman by the name of Sir Jeffries and by myself. So, when the time comes for Lord Barlington to understand that you and I are already wed and he cannot gain what he desires, he will, no doubt, state that he will carry out what he has already threatened.”
“But by that time, thetonwill already have heard everything that the Duke of Danfield has said and, no doubt, some creditors might appear also, confirming what has been said of Lord Barlington’s impoverished state,” her aunt finished. “He can do and say all that he wants, but the majority of thetonwill not believe him.”
Temperance let out a breath, warmth enveloping her. “And so we will be safe.”
“Yes, my darling,” Lord Calverton murmured, coming close to her again despite her aunt’s presence. “We will be safe, forever.”
She turned to him, her eyes alight with happiness, their fingers intertwining again. “Then all we have to do is wait.”
“Yes, you do,” her aunt stated, breaking Temperance’s intimate moment with her betrothed apart. “But I am still here to be your chaperone, my dear!” She laughed as Temperance’s expression grew a little frustrated. “Though I have some further news for you, which I think will lift your spirits even more.”
“Oh?”
Lady Hartford smiled. “Your father took your mother with him, as I told you. However, he assured me that by the time theyreturned, your mother would understand completely all that has taken place and would be, as he insisted, more than glad at the marriage which is to take place.” Her expression softened. “I do not think for a moment that your mother meant any ill in pushing you towards Lord Barlington, my dear. I think that she wanted her daughter to marry the very highest title that could be reached and she did not have any knowledge of Lord Barlington’s true character.”
Temperance nodded. “I understand that, Aunt, and I am glad to hear that my mother might return with a happier countenance.” She recalled how she had been forced to stay in company with Lord Barlington, forced into the conversation where she had been threatened with such awful things if she did not do as was asked. She did not believe for a moment that her mother would ever have wanted that for her.
“What if Lord Barlington returns to the house?” Lord Calverton asked, looking to Lady Hartford. “We must wait until the Duke returns with the Special License which will be some days, but what shall we do if he comes to call, if he demands to see Temperance?”
