Page 32 of Stolen by My Knave
“Are you going to explain yourself?” her mother asked. She sat in the chair opposite of Elizabeth and placed her hands in her lap. Her face was devoid of any emotion as she waited for Elizabeth to respond.
“Hadn’t planned on it,” she replied. “There’s nothing I need to say.”
Some things she wanted to keep to herself. She was close to her mother, but she didn’t want her to know every detail about her life. What she felt for Jack was hers to keep and share with him.
“I do hope your father can refrain from killing him,” her mother replied, casually staring down absentmindedly at her fingernails. As if that was a normal thing that would come out of her mouth. “He is generally a calm man, but he has quite the temper where his family is concerned. Did you know this isn’t the first marriage he’s forced?”
Elizabeth turned to face her. She would not give into the bait her mother had carefully laid out. Her father wouldn’t murder Jack—rough him up maybe—but actually killing him? Unlikely. Not that she wanted to see Jack hurt... She’d rather he came back to her in one piece. That didn’t matter at the moment though. It was clear her mother had something on her mind she wanted to tell Elizabeth. So she’d play her part and asked, “Oh?”
“When Rosanna went missing, her reputation was in tatters,” she explained. “He would have killed his best friend if he hadn’t agreed to marry her.”
“Uncle Dominic?” Elizabeth was shocked. Her Aunt Rosanna was deeply in love with her husband. Her uncle doted on her, and it was clear they were devoted to each other. Why would her father have to force them to wed?
“The very same,” her mother said. “It didn’t take much. Dom was more than willing. It was Rosanna who needed convincing. I do hope you won’t be as stubborn.”
“I don’t understand,” Elizabeth said. “She didn’t want to marry him?”
Why was her mother now telling her this? Why would Aunt Rosanna not want to marry? What had Uncle Dominic done to make her aunt doubt him? More importantly, how did any of it have to do with her situation?
“Rosanna loves Dom,” her mother said. “She always has. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to marry him. It was more she didn’t believe he loved her. So he had to bend over backward to convince her. I wish I could have been there to see it, but I was still exhausted from giving birth to your brothers. Your father had to go to Seabrook to handle the situation.”
The parallels were there, but they were not a perfect fit. Elizabeth believed Jack loved her, but he hadn’t admitted it to himself yet. When he was done talking with her father, she’d have her moment alone with him. Their marriage at this point was inevitable, but they had much to discuss.
“I’m not refusing to marry Jack,” she said. “It was him agreeing to marry me I doubted.” She glanced toward the door. “Apparently, I was wrong.”
“You’ve grown up so fast,” her mother said tenderly. She reached over and brushed a lock of Elizabeth’s hair behind her ear. “It seems like yesterday you were a toddler trailing after me. How does time fly by so fast?”
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I expect I’ll understand more once I have children of my own.” She hoped Jack wanted to have children. Elizabeth wanted a family, especially with him. Her heart burst with love. Some might think she was crazy for giving him her love since she met him recently. They wouldn’t understand the truth, but she did. In a way, she’d always known him.
The sound of the door opening drew Elizabeth’s attention. She turned to glance in its direction as her father and Jack entered the room. Her father didn’t look especially happy. His lips were set in a flat line of displeasure.
“Things have been settled and you will be married later today,” her father announced.
“So soon?” Her mother lifted a brow. “How is that possible?”
“I secured a special license,” Jack replied. “Had to wake up the bishop to make it happen. He wasn’t happy about it, but he liked the extra funds I threw at him to grant it.”
So that was where he’d run off to... He’d realized what they needed and made sure to secure it. Perhaps she wasn’t judging him properly. There was so much she still wanted to ask him, but didn’t want to do it in front of her parents.
“Would you grant us some privacy?” Jack asked.
Her father nodded. “Come dear,” he said to her mother. “Let’s give them a few moments alone. I expect you to join us in the garden in a quarter hour.”
That didn’t give them a lot of time, but she was grateful for it. Once they wed, they’d have all the time in the world to be alone. “What did you want to speak to me about?”
“Elizabeth,” he said and reached down to place his hand in hers. “Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
She lifted a brow. Was he serious? “I didn’t realize I was being given a choice.”
“You will always have a choice. If you don’t want to marry me, I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen.” He lifted her hand and kissed it. “But I’d be lying if I said I don’t want you to say yes. There’s nothing I desire more than to spend the rest of my life loving you.”
Tears formed in the corner of her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “I thought you didn’t believe in love.”
He shook his head. “I never believed in love for me. My soul is dark from all the bad I’ve done over the years. Why would I believe I’d be worthy of love?” Jack lifted his hands and wiped away the tears on her cheeks. “Don’t cry. It guts me to see it.”
“When did you know?”
“What?” he asked. “Ah, that I love you?”
She glanced up at him and met his gaze. His sea-green eyes were filled with emotion she’d not seen before. “Yes,” she said. “I’ve loved you for so long I believed I’d never find someone to replace you in my heart. You weren’t supposed to be real, and my expectations were ludicrous. Then I met you, and for the first time, I allowed myself to hope.”
“I can’t say when I was aware of it.” He smiled. “Perhaps when you gave me those infernal books to read. If you forgive my lack of originality, I’ll quote your Mr. Darcy.” He leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. “‘I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.’”
It was the perfect answer and spoke to her soul. “I’m so glad you finished the book,” she replied.
“No one more so than I,” he said. “It was the inspiration I needed to accept my love for you. Thank you for loving me. I promise to make sure you never regret it.”
“You silly man,” she said. “All I need from you is love. The rest we’ll work out as we go along.”
He leaned down and kissed her fully. The usual heat spread through her with his lips touching hers. They wouldn’t have perfect lives, but they’d continue to be perfect for each other. They’d marry, have a family, and live life as they chose. Elizabeth couldn’t ask for anything more.
