Page 68 of What's a Duke Got to Do With It
Despite her nerves, she found herself smiling. “Is that so?”
“It is.” He guided her onto the blankets, then turned to face her fully. Behind him, the faintest hint of pink was coloring the horizon as the ocean lapped lazily at the shore. But all she could see was the love in his eyes, brighter than the lanterns that illuminated them.
“First, you must know that Miss Bridling and I have broken things off.”
The joy that pronouncement brought was hampered by her worry for him. “Oh, Sebastian, what of the dukedom?” She took a step closer, grasping his hand tight. “What of the people who rely on it and you? Surely you can mend things. You must return to Seacliff at once and make things right before Miss Bridling departs for London.”
His gaze pierced into hers. “Is that what you want, Katrina, for me to marry Miss Bridling?”
Immediately her cheeks heated. “It does not matter what I want. What matters is what needs to be done, which is you marrying Miss Bridling and making certain all those counting on that union are provided for.”
“That does not answer the question,” he said softly.
“There is no reason for me to answer the question,” she insisted.
“There is a very important reason to answer it.”
“What?” she demanded a bit desperately, feeling as if she had been backed into a corner, though there was not a corner to be seen here on the wide expanse of beach.
His hand came up to cradle her cheek. “I need to hear it,” he replied, his voice hoarse with emotion. “I need to hear the truth, from your own lips.”
Tears burned her eyes. “You wish to torment me? Very well. No, I don’t want you to marry Miss Bridling. I don’t want you to marry anyone else except—”
She cut herself off, unable to say what was in her heart, that she did not want him to marry anyone else except her. She wanted to be the one to carve out a lifetime of love with him, to fall asleep beside him at night and wake beside him in the morning, to raise a family with him and make him smile each and every day. It was what she had wanted four years ago. And now that she had spent these weeks with him and fallen even more deeply in love with him than ever, it had transformed into something she needed if she was to ever feel whole again.
But it could not be. It was an impossibility.
“Please,” she choked out, unable to meet his eyes, “forget I said anything. Return to the house and make things right. I’m certain if you just talk to Miss Bridling she will understand and accept your hand. I won’t get in the way any longer, I swear it—”
His other hand came up and he cradled her face like the most precious treasure, cutting off her words. Tears burned her eyes, and though she fought them back with everything in her, they slipped free, tracking down her face. With utmost tenderness he wiped them away.
“You could never be in the way,” he whispered, his voice made all the more precious for the gentle breeze that carried it to her, wrapping it around her like a caress. “In fact, you’re the whole reason I can find my way through life, through this confusing, cruel world. You’re like the morning star, guiding me, lighting my way. I would be lost without you, Katrina.”
And then he did the most amazing, baffling, wonderful thing: he sank to one knee before her. A sob escaped her lips.
“Don’t say no just yet,” he warned thickly even as he gazed up at her. “You are the other half of my heart, and I know you would gladly give up any chance at happiness to make sure those you love are protected. I also know—as you have mentioned it several times already just now”—here he gave her a crooked little smile—“that you think Miss Bridling’s fortune is the only thing that will save me.”
He squeezed her fingers, still held tight in his grip, as if to punctuate the point he was about to make. “The only thing that will truly save me from a lifetime of misery is your heart, Katrina. I need you by my side, the other half of myself.”
She shook her head. “But what of the dukedom? What of your sisters, and tenants, and everyone who counts on you? Love is all well and good, Sebastian, but it does not put bread on the table. You—” Her voice broke, but she soldiered on. “You will grow to despise me for it.”
“I could never despise you,” he vowed, his eyes burning. “But if money is all that is stopping you from marrying me, what if I told you I have found a solution to my need for funds, without the need to marry for money? Would you, perhaps, consider making a life with me?”
Her breath caught in her throat, hope sparking in her chest. “Have you found a solution, Sebastian?” she breathed.
His smile, more beautiful than the breaking dawn, had the small spark of hope flaring bright. “I have. It will take some doing, mind you,” he continued. “And a bit of time. But I’ve a mind to lease out Ramsleigh Castle.”
Her heart dropped into her toes, taking her burgeoning hope with it. “Oh, Sebastian,” she said. “No, not your home.”
But his smile did not falter. “But that’s just the thing, Katrina. The only home to me is wherever you are.”
“But you’ll be sacrificing so much.”
“I’ll be sacrificing nothing,” he declared, his voice thick with emotion. “In fact, as long as I have you by my side, I’ll be gaining everything I could ever want.”
His gaze turned teasing then, though there was a hint of uncertainty behind it. “If, that is, you wouldn’t mind forgoing the impressive castle and living someplace small and simple with me.”
She exhaled a disbelieving burst of breath. “As if that ever mattered to me,” she choked out.
