Page 83 of A Proposition for the Comte
Mountford began to laugh. ‘I can see why yourministèresent you here, de Beaumont, but why should I want to walk into the tiger’s den for you?’
‘Not for me so much as for Violet. You promised her mother that you would always watch out for her.’
‘How would you know I did that?’
‘Violet told me.’
Mountford sat down heavily.
‘Your wife is rich and came with an unblemished pedigree. Violet’s mother was the daughter of a self-made businessman and although the money was there it was not excessive. It was the hope of more that persuaded you to seek greener pastures, a decision you regretted within a month of marrying the woman who became your wife. But by then it was too late for the both of you as she had married Wilfred Bartholomew.’
‘You have done your homework.’
‘Now is your chance to wipe the slate clean and make amends. Violet needs to be protected and this is one way you can be certain to do it.’
‘Very well.’
‘Don’t tell Cummings you are coming. Let us just see how it all plays out.’
After giving Mountford the details of the timing of the appointment and seeing him off, Aurelian went upstairs to find Violet. He wanted to know that she was safe with such a suddenness it took his breath away.
She was sleeping, with her hair hung in a winding braided plait against the sheet, redness magnified against the pale.
As if she knew he was there her eyes opened, awareness flooding into the green-grey depths.
‘I was dreaming of you.’
He smiled at the words and crossed to the bed, sitting on the coverlet. ‘Charles Mountford has just left.’
She frowned. ‘What did he want?’
‘I asked him to come with us tomorrow when we see Douglas Cummings. He said he would, which is a help.’
‘Come to bed, Aurelian. Come and warm me up.’
Lian stripped off his clothes quickly and slid in beside her and she tipped up her head and kissed him. All the worry was pushed away and he felt himself relax. She was here and she was his. The walls he had always held around himself tumbled down until there was nothing left to hold him back.
‘When I first saw you, all I could see was the light.’
He said the words softly but they were important because she had to know what he was to her before tomorrow. Taking a breath, he continued.
‘I was always in darkness, you see, and it was a relief to feel the bright break through. Before you,’ his voice shook but he made himself carry on, ‘before you I was lost.’
Violet was astonished at his words, the quiet of night around them and one small candle burning on the table beside the bed.
She sat up.
‘What is it you are saying, Aurelian?’
He came up beside her. ‘I am saying that I love you and have done since the first moment I set eyes upon you when I awoke after the doctor had visited. I love your bravery and your honesty and the way you are kind. I love that you are like a warrior in your protection of family. I love you with every part of my heart, Violet, and with each breath I take.’
Tears pooled and she could feel them rolling down her cheeks. To listen to such a promise was beyond anything she had hoped for. This was not the immature love she’d felt for Harland but a real and solid and for ever love with a man who was moral and honest and good. Aurelian believed in things that were not greedy or shallow or pointless. He had fought for his truths and his life and here he was finally laying down his heart for her, giving her words that could leave no room for misconception.
‘Will you marry me, Violet, and become my wife?’
‘What if we don’t have children?’
‘Then we don’t.’
