Page 77 of Her Heart's Rightful Earl
The laughter and happiness that filled the room banished the darkness that had plagued the Hartwell household for far too long.
***
It was a pleasant evening in the garden, yet the air held an unanticipated chill, so Alexander removed his woollen frock coat and draped it over Arabella’s shoulders as she failed to repress a shiver.
‘No—you’ll be cold!’ Arabella protested.
Alexander laughed a hearty retort. One that had been notably absent for years. ‘This body has withstood minus twelve degrees of Scottish dawn farming with merely a shirt and waistcoat! I think I will survive!’
Arabella was caught between laughing and frowning with sympathy.
‘It must have been so hard for you …’ she observed.
‘The climate I could tolerate. Being without you was the hardest part.’
Arabella looked over at him as they strolled side by side across the lawn, then looked away shyly as his gaze was so intense.
The moonlight illuminated the pathway they meandered along towards the folly at the end of the garden, and Arabella leaned her head back to look up at the stars. The night was clear and the moon large and bright white.
“'Tis said, that some have died for love:
And here and there a churchyard grave is found…” Alexanderbegan orating. He did so tentatively, cautious of this potentially inflammatory recital.
Arabella turned to him with a bright, knowing smile and picked up where he left off.
“…In the cold north's unhallowed ground,
Because the wretched man himself had slain,
His love was such a grievous pain.”
Alexander smiled back at her, marvelling at how very little had changed between them, despite their years of separation and how, in fact, now he had a more sophisticated vision of how their lives might be together.
No longer was he the unseasoned young man with fanciful affections who guessed at a life of romance and whimsical indulgence. Now he was aware of the logistical obstacles a relationship could present and approached such challenges with discernible rationale.
They reached the folly and, having fallen into a comfortable silence, turned to one another, a respectable distance apart, with irrepressible smiles upon their faces.
Alexander grandly gestured towards the stone bench almost comically. ‘Will you sit?’
Arabella recalled the recent times he had offered this opportunity, and she had—staunchly independent and determined to present a cold demeanour—declined coarsely.
It was now a little joke between them, it seemed, and to accept the seat spoke volumes more profound than the mere act of sitting.
Arabella’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she took a mocking moment to consider.
‘Hmm … perhaps …’ Arabella moved around, swishing her skirts as she contemplated the offer.
Finding herself in front of the stone bench, she turned to fix Alexander with a smile and promptly sat.
Alexander laughed in relief as he watched his beautiful Arabella, with her strawberry blonde hair piled high upon her head, sitting on their bench in the mottled light and shade cast by the white moon and the shivering leaves overhead.
Alexander dropped to one knee in front of her and took her hands in his. Hers were cold to the touch, and his were large and warm, enveloping hers like a hug. His wide smile hid itself away, and a seriousness took over his expression as he fixed her eyes with his own.
‘I have learnt so much, Arabella,’ Alexander told her, his voice low and intimate. ‘Years in exile taught me the true value of love. I missed you with every beat of my heart, and whilst my first proposal was authentic, I know I was not the man then that I am today. I have so much more to give you now—I am a stronger, more resilient man who has experienced an impoverished culture, which certainly proves how privileged we are. I have a different perspective on the world, having endured all that I have. But one thing has not changed, and that is the way I feel about you.’
Tears built in Arabella’s eyes as she listened to Alexander’s declaration of love. She blinked and squeezed his hands.
‘I never stopped loving you, Alexander. Even as I stood at the altar with Edmund. You were the only thing on my mind and in my heart.’ A tear released itself and darted down her cheek. Alexander moved to catch it with his thumb, gently smoothing it across her skin, and she nudged her face into his hand, closing her eyes.
