Page 53 of Awakening a Lord's Desires
She nodded, looking slightly hopeful but then crestfallen at the same time.
“You know, Caroline, that things could go badly for you if people find out that you are here in the middle of the night.”
“I don’t care.” She laughed. “I would rather die than marry Max Thornhill; I would rather do anything. And I could not have you living your life under a misapprehension. I couldn’t have you hate me.”
He stood, heart pounding, and he reached down for her hand to bring her to her feet. “I could never hate you, Caroline. Ever.”
He watched her swallow, but he continued first.
“I’m sorry. I hope you can forgive me. What will you do about the situation?” he asked, remembering Alexander’s words to him, that he should make himself useful.
“I don’t know yet,” she replied, looking straight into his eyes.
“Lord Fitzroy also told me something else.”
“What did he say?”
They stood holding hands, standing close as he spoke. “He told me that the woman he loves, Matilda, is asking him to marry you to protect you from Max.”
“What?” She gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.
“I felt like a fool. He claimed that he did not want to do that, but he would if Matilda truly wished him to, and if that was the only way to keep your happiness and freedom.”
Caroline’s eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “I cannot believe it. I cannot allow it. I will not steal their happiness from them.”
Charles took a small step closer, and he took up her other hand. “What of this plan, Caroline? We could get married, instead.”
Chapter 54
Caroline wasn’t sure if he’d actually said the words or if it was only in her mind. She waited a few beats and took a breath, hoping against hope that it was all real, that he loved her and that he wanted to marry her.
Before she could say anything in reply, his eyes lit up as he continued. “We could leave tonight. We could run off to Gretna Green and marry there before anyone was the wiser. We’d return, married, and Penelope could do nothing about it.”
Caroline’s eyes grew wide. So, it was real; he was asking her to marry him. But something didn’t feel exactly right. She didn’t want it to be rushed or hasty. She wanted to make sure his feelings were real, as well.
“Charles, I cannot have you marry me just to save me. It wouldn’t be right. It would feel like I was taking something from you.”
Her heart was crying out for her to shut her mouth, to allow whatever was going to happen. If Charles, the man she now knew she loved, married her, then that was exactly what she wanted. She wouldn’t have to marry Max and live a life of misery instead.
He chuckled at her, bringing her attention back to the present. He reached out for her hand and kissed it. “It would be no sacrifice; believe me, Caroline.” He put her hand on his cheek, and he leaned into it. “You’re not terrible company, you know.”
She smiled back at him and leaned up to quickly brush a kiss against his lips. It was not exactly what she wanted to hear, for marriage was about so much more than just having good company. It was love, true love, and the wanting of another person entirely. She wanted that with him, but did he want that with her? Doubts consumed her, but she saw a teasing glint in his eyes.
“Caroline, I can see that you do not believe me, my love. That you think I only tease or that I am forcing myself to wed you out of some sort of heroic need to do so.” He paused for a moment, taking both of her hands and kissing them each in turn.
Then, his eyes looked into hers, and she held her breath, waiting for the words to come out of his mouth. The words she truly needed to hear.
“I’m in love with you. You’ve changed everything, Caroline, and I thought I never wanted to get married. I thought it would be a trap, holding me down for the rest of my days. But I can see now that with you, with someone I love so dearly, it would be the most beautiful freedom. I’d begun thinking about marrying you even before I realised it. And so, I am here now, offering this to you because I want to, not because I feel I must.”
Caroline held her breath throughout the entire, beautiful, life-changing speech. She didn’t realize that tears had begun to fall down her cheeks until Charles reached out with a thumb to brush one aside.
“What say you, my dear? Will you marry me, then? Make me the happiest man? Will you run away with me and leave all this nonsense behind?”
She let out a shaky breath, and she smiled at him. “Before I say yes, I suppose it only right to tell you that I love you, too. That I have thought of it for a long while, and I feared you did not feel the same.”
He shook his head. “You are just as blind as me, then. For I thought the same.”
“And so, yes, I will marry you, Charles,” she said softly just before he kissed her.
