Page 50 of The Gentleman's Seduction
“Papa, who are we meeting?” she asked. Her parents were acting far too strangely. It was creating a ball of tension inside her.
“Someone I hope you will be happy to see,” he said. He kissed her forehead, and the three of them climbed into a hired hackney outside. Livvy studied her parents apprehensively, trying not to think of who she would be happy to see.Please let it not be some suitor Mama met over tea.
There was only one man who would make her happy, and she was too afraid to hope it would be him.
Martin.
Her heart gave a jolt with hope, but it couldn’t be. He had let her go. Now more than ever, she felt a kinship with Lady Leticia from her favorite Gothic novel. She’d been cast out by the duke and sent home for her own safety, and the duke had whispered in her ear, “My time in the sun has ended, and now I must face the winter of my life without you.” Lady Leticia had of course returned and rescued the duke from his treacherous younger brother, and the danger had passed. It would not be the same for Livvy, and she knew that. There was no happy ending waiting for her. The coach stopped, and Livvy peered out through the windows, shivering as a slight chill seeped through the window of the coach. They had arrived at St. George’s Church.
“Papa?” She looked to her father, but he was smiling, expressing a blend of joy and melancholy. He got out of the coach and then helped her and her mother out. Together they walked up the steps to the church. Her father ushered her mother inside, but he and Livvy remained on the steps a moment longer.
“Papa, what is happening?” Livvy demanded, her heart racing wildly.
He brushed his knuckles down her cheek the way he used to do when she was a little girl.
“You gave yourself to save our family, Livvy. That was…” His voice roughened. “That was once my job. But I failed you, my darling child, in more ways than you know. But now I can make it right.”
“There’s nothing to make right.”
“There iseverythingto make right. You deserve the life I’ve always dreamed to give you. And now I can.”
He moved toward the heavy wooden doors of the church and opened them, then offered her his arm. Livvy struggled to breathe as she entered St. George’s, her eyes darting over the beautiful interior of the church. It was empty and quiet except for her mother and three men who stood at the front by the altar. A clergyman, a dark-haired man with a gentle smile, and one other man with golden hair that was illuminated by the morning sunlight like the halo of a fallen angel. Her angel.
“Martin!” she gasped. Those blue eyes she’d once thought were so cold now shone like the surface of a summer lake reflecting the bluest sky. She looked to her father, and he was wiping at his face, brushing away his tears.
“Yes,” her father said with a chuckle. “His friend, Mr. Bennett, agreed to be an extra witness.”
“But he didn’t come back for me,” she whispered, her heart so fragile and so full of hope. She feared to believe what she was seeing.
“He wanted to more than anything, but he had to make things perfect for you before he did.” Her father gestured to her new dress. “He’s done so much for us, all of us, Livvy. As long as you love him, I will do whatever I can to win back his trust and respect.”
Livvy bit her lip hard enough that she almost drew blood.
“I do love him.”So much it hurts.
Her father chuckled. “Then let’s make a husband out of the boy.”
When she reached Martin, his eyes searched hers, worry lines creasing his eyes and mouth.
“This doesn’t have to happen if you don’t want to,” he said quietly.
“Do you love me?” she asked. That was the only thing that mattered to her.
“Yes. More than is wise, more than any man should love anything or anyone. I love you to distraction, I love you to—” She flung herself at him, kissing him, her heart ready to burst. Only when the clergyman cleared his throat did she remember that she was in the church and her actions were highly inappropriate. But from the smile on the clergyman’s face, he did not mindtoomuch.
She beamed up at Martin, and the soft sweet fire in his eyes promised her a lifetime of moments like this. He lowered his head to hers and pressed their foreheads together. She felt in that moment they were the only two people existing in the world. It was true. He wanted her for now and forever. The world seemed to come back to life around her. Color and joy found its place again.
“You know,” Martin began with a low chuckle, “I think I finally know what to call you.”
“Oh?” She tilted her head, studying him.
“Not mistress, not lover, not companion…I was thinking…wife.”
“Is that your way of proposing? It’s a bit late—I’m already here,” she teased, trying not to laugh.
“Then I’d say it was successful, as long as you agree,wife?” he asked, his lips curving into a grin that was full of mischief.
“I suppose I could live with that.” She winked at him.
