Page 34 of The Earl's Christmas Deal
Emilia could not breathe, her fingers pulling at the side of her gown, the impossible promise in his words seemingly beyond her wildest imaginings.
“I shall come directly to the point, Lady Emilia. I fear we do not have much time until we are both frozen statues of ice after all.” He huffed a laugh but took a step forward, his gazeearnest. “You and I… I believe we have a connection. It may be fleeting at present, but I wish to be honest with you. Lord knowsthe world in which we live is designed to deceive, and I wanted to ask you, truthfully, do you wish to marry the Duke of Elderbridge?”
Emilia stared at him, amazed by his direct question and alarmed by her own response to it.
Never in my worst nightmares.
“No,” she said softly. She could see his breath mixing with hers only feet from her, his eyes twinkling in the darkness. “No, but my parents wish it for me.”
“My aunt wishes for me to marry Lady Seraphina.”
Emilia nodded. “It would be a suitable match.”
“It is not. Not to me.” He paused, taking a smaller step forward again. “Lady Emilia, I have been captivated by you these last few days. Since the first moment I heard you play, I have felt something within me that is linked to you in ways I cannot explain. I know we do not know one another well, but we are both indifficult positions neither one of us would choose. I am not merely asking this for the sake of your life but for my own, too.”
Emilia’s breath shuddered before her, her lungs screaming, her heart pattering a staccato rhythm so violent she thought it might burst out of her chest altogether.
“You might think me mad, but I believe we can help one another and forge a new future together. I am asking, my Lady, if you would do me the honour of agreeing to marry me.”
***
The night sky felt endless, the countryside about them unravelling before them like a spool of ribbon into the darkness.
Emilia would never have dreamed that Lord Bellebrook would have come out here to say such a thing. What was more alarming was the all-encompassing relief and joy that his proposal brought for her.
I will be free of the duke,she thought happily,and I will have a good man of good reputation to call my own. How have I been so lucky?
She did not speak for a moment, watching his handsome face contort into worry and concern.
“I know that—”
“Yes, my Lord. I accept.”
There was a frozen moment of stillness in the dark between them. An owl hooted, and the strains of the music from the ballroom looped and spiralled in the air.
A smile bloomed over Adam’s face, so wide that Emilia was enraptured by it, and he let out a long breath as though all of his prayers had been answered at once.
“You are sure?”
She answered his smile with one of her own. “I am,” she nodded urgently. “You are right, we have not known one another long, but I admire you for your honesty and candour, my Lord. I would count myself very lucky to be able to call you my husband.”
He took another step forward, the cold world around them seemed quite warm in that moment. As though they were cocooned in their own private wonderland.
“But we should be careful,” Emilia continued. “An abrupt announcement would arouse suspicion, particularly in a setting such as this.”
Adam looked back at the lighted windows of the ballroom, a frown marring his handsome features and he nodded.
“Yes, you are right. What would you propose?”
“We have been seen together already, of course, but I would say that we could make it known over the next few days that we are closer than we had been. Our relationship could unfold more naturally to those present, and the conclusion will not be so shocking.”
Adam nodded. “I suppose I could ask for your hand after Christmas.”
Emilia felt alive with excitement, and she could see the same expression on Adam’s face.
“I suppose it would not seem honest to many, but I have no qualms in deceiving the gossipmongers for a little time; they have done me no favours over the years, after all.”
Adam grinned now, his wide smile invoking the same calmness and contentment that Emilia had experienced before.
