Page 65 of A Damsel for the Wounded Earl
Now it’s your turn to speak.
“The truth is,” she said finally, “My parents have given me an ultimatum. Accept Lord Vincent’s marriage proposal or go into seclusion in the countryside, without my books and studies. I cannot accept either of these alternatives.”
“I’m so sorry. That’s terrible to hear. Perhaps my mother can speak to them, or…”
“No, I already know what I intend to do.” She drew in a deep breath, sitting up straighter. “It’s not at all what ladies are meant to do, but I find that I don’t care very much about that sort of thing.”
He watched her for a long moment, waiting. “Go on.”
It was too late to go back, even if she’d wanted to, so Felicity continued.
“It seems our initial introduction did not quite set the tone for a favourable acquaintance, did it?”
A low chuckle. “No,” he admitted. “It didn’t.”
“But things… things got better. Since I’ve been here, Arthur, you’ve been the brightest spot in my life. Lucy loves me, of course she does, but she’s still grieving, still adjusting to her new life. But indeed, you are quite exceptional, Arthur.”
He seemed to have stopped breathing.
“I… I don’t understand what you’re saying,” he managed at last.
“What I’m saying is that I don’t care about propriety, about ladies being quiet and waiting for things to come to them. I’m glad you’re not marrying Miranda – she wouldn’t have made you happy. You don’t owe me a thing, Arthur. But I love you, even so. I love you.”
The silence seemed to last forever. Felicity didn’t allow herself to look away, kept herself sitting still, hands folded on her lap, looking at him and waiting for his response.
“I… I don’t know what to say,” he managed at last.
“Well, you don’t need to say anything. I don’t expect anything from you, Arthur. I just want you to know how I feel, that’s all. I think we’re good enough friends for that.”
He bit his lip, shaking his head. “When Miranda called off our engagement, it broke my heart. I thought that I’d never love again. For the most part, that was true. I suppose part of me always thought I was still in love with her. When I saw her again, I realised how hollow my feelings had always been for her. I didn’t love her, not how people are meant to love each other. Her breaking off the engagement was the best thing for me – for both of us, I’d say. And I think that if I hadn’t seen through her so strongly, I would never have realised the truth.”
“Which is?”
He looked at her straight in the eye. “That I love you too, Felicity.”
She gave a little hiccup of surprise, which was extremely undignified and ruined the moment.
“I… I thought…”
“I love you,” he said firmly. “I think perhaps I loved you from the first moment I laid eyes on you – although I’m fairly sure the feeling was not mutual.”
He rose slowly, tentatively to his feet, and Felicity copied him. When had they stepped so close together? They were close enough that she could feel the heat coming from him, could almost feel the heartbeat pulsing underneath his waistcoat. She lifted her hand tentatively to his cheek, vaguely aware that this conversation and this action would destroy her reputation forever, and not caring in the least.
“Will you marry me, Felicity Thornhill?” he breathed, voice low and unsteady. “I’m… I’m not a perfect man. My scars are terrible, and I don’t just mean the ones on my face. Sometimes I feel like my mind is…”
“Yes,” she interrupted. “I’ll take all of you, broken or whole, and consider it the best decision I’ve ever made.”
A slow, surprised smile spread over his face, and a matching warmth bloomed inside Felicity’s chest.
She was never sure which of them moved first, only that they were kissing, that his lips were soft, that his hand was warm on the small of her back, his chest and shoulders broad and firm under the deeply unfashionable suit he was wearing, and none of it mattered even in the slightest because he loved her.
He loves me,she thought dizzily.He loves me.
Epilogue
One Month Later
The Long-Awaited Wedding
