Page 86 of Treating a Sinful Earl
“Might I be seated?”
Jasper rolled his eyes. The last thing that he wished for was to have Felton intrude on his intimate evening with Catherine. But considering that it was his best friend in the world, he obliged. “As you will.”
Felton seated himself and said to Catherine, “I know that this seems abrupt.”
“Is everything all right?” she asked.
He smiled broadly and said, “I am to be married.”
The table fell silent, but Jasper was sure that all three of them were filled with joy to hear it. “Abigail?” he asked.
“No, the Queen of Sheba. Yes, Abigail! I asked for her hand this morning and she casually accepted. Perhaps far too casually? I shall not overthink it.”
“I could not be more proud of you,” Jasper said warmly, clapping him on the back. “But was it really necessary to come all the way to London to tell me so?”
Felton nodded. “It very much was. I have not told a soul, and I was not going to wait around in Bath for you to return.”
“Felton, you often surprise me, but this takes the cake.”
“Hear me out. I went to Abigail in the morning to pay a call. I brought flowers.”
Catherine interjected, “That was a fine choice.”
“Thank you. It was upon handing her the flowers that I remarked on how beautiful she looked.”
“Also a fine choice,” Jasper added with a grin.
“She blushed after I spoke of her beauty, and from there, I told Abigail that I wished to see her more often, for it seemed like we did not encounter one another much. She expressed the same sentiment. Then I told her that I wish to see her for a lifetime, and she consented to this.”
“What?” Catherine asked. “Just like that?”
“Indeed. So, I got down upon one knee and asked her to be my bride.”
The table cheered, and the other guests in the restaurant turned to see what all the commotion was about. Once they hushed, the diners returned to their meals, and Felton went on, “I might very well be the happiest man on this earth. I did not know that I would come to Abigail’s that day and leave with a betrothed, but I am ever so happy that I did!”
Jasper clapped him on the back once more. “You have done it, my friend. You have secured the object of your affection.” He turned to Catherine. “And I have secured mine. We are complete men. And…there is something else that I wish to inform you.”
Felton turned to him. “Speak.”
“I am no longer a dying man. The doctor said that my condition is not fatal and can be treated with medicine.”
He saw tears form in Felton’s eyes. He brushed these away, no doubt not wanting to show his vulnerability. “Words cannot express how I feel in this moment,” was Felton’s reply. “I think that perhaps this is the greatest day of my life.”
“I certainly know that it is the greatest day of my life,” Jasper said, relieved. “Tomorrow we shall return to Bath, and there we will begin our new lives together, Catherine and I. It is in the morning when I shall secure the special license from the cardinal, and we are free to hold the wedding ceremony wherever we choose. You shall be my best man, and I am quite sure that Abigail will be Catherine’s maid of honour.” He looked to Catherine for reassurance, and she nodded her head. “Then it is all settled. What can be amiss when life has given us such rich gifts?”
Jasper ordered champagne for the table, and the three of them sat there for some hours, remarking upon their happiness, and enjoying the afterglow of their successes. It was at a late hour when Catherine and Jasper finally returned to their room, and once they were inside, it was Catherine who began to undress Jasper, removing his coat and shirt.
Standing there and feeling her pressed against his bare chest, Jasper knew that he had finally come home. “Where will Felton go?” Catherine asked softly.
“He has many acquaintances in London. He will find somewhere.”
“I cannot believe it. Abigail gave in so quickly.”
“Because she is a smart woman,” he replied with a grin.
“That she is. I told her that she should choose love, and she did. To think, mere weeks ago everything was so different, and now nothing is the same. It warms my heart in so many ways.”
He brought his hand to the back of her head. “This is all your doing, you realize. Felton and Abigail, you and I.”
