“First, yes, to mend your name, Miss Storey,” he said, speaking to her alone. He hoped the formalness of his address did not take away from the declaration he was about to make. “Second, because I am in love with you.”
Annie smiled at once, her lips shaking as she seemed to be holding back more tears. Lady Maybury waved a dismissive hand, apparently not willing to believe it.
“And how many ladies have you declared to love in your years of pursuing others?” she asked with a scoff.
“Not one.” Luke turned his eyes on Lady Maybury. “For the proof of it, I will gladly give you the name of any lady I have been in company with, and you can ask them. I may not be the finest gentleman that ever existed, my lady, but what I feel for your daughter is the most powerful thing I have felt in my life.
I have not conned her. I have not charmed her for the sake of doing so as you suspect me of. I fell in love with her. Just like any other man in this world, I have a heart, and it now belongs to your daughter.”
Lady Maybury appeared dumbstruck, her hands still fidgeting. She glanced at her daughter, revealing a momentary weakness.
Does she believe me?
Then the harshness of that stare returned to Luke.
“How can I possibly believe your sincerity?” she asked slowly.
Luke looked back to Annie, trying to judge her thoughts, but he couldn’t. He could only see the redness of her cheeks and the glistening of her eyes. It was time they spoke alone, far away from her mother. To do so, Luke needed to do another thing first.
“You can appeal to another man for that, to prove my earnestness.” Luke reached for the front door and opened it, gesturing to the carriage. The gentleman seated there stepped down, striding forward with his frock coat open and his cane striking the pavement.
It was noisy as he made his way into the house and stepped through. The moment he was in the house, he removed his top hat and bowed to Lady Maybury and Annie, with respect. “Miss Storey, Lady Maybury, may I introduce my father. This is the Earl of Wells.”
Luke could see the shock on their faces. Both hurried to curtsy, Annie rising first and Lady Maybury almost tripping as she did so.
“It is a pleasure, ladies,” his father said with respect, revealing a smile that was similar to Luke’s own. “Forgive my uninvited arrival. When Luke sent me word in the middle of the night requiring my presence, I left our seat in the country and made for London at once.”
“You came all this way?” Lady Maybury cleared her throat, wrong-footed. “Forgive me, my lord, I did not think you came to London much these days.”
“I do not. I prefer life away from theton.Something I’d say both my son and your daughter can sympathise with at this moment.” The Earl offered a smile with his words, making Luke shake his head a little.
This is not the time for jests, father!
“Miss Storey.” Rather than addressing Lady Maybury first, the Earl moved toward Annie and offered his hand. She took it with ease. “It is a pleasure to meet you. Especially after hearing my son sing your praises all morning, I am quite enamoured myself.” His pleasant manner made her smile a little through the tears she was still attempting to hold back.
“You are too kind, my lord,” Annie said hastily.
“Not at all. I am simply pleased to meet the lady that has enchanted my son so.” With these words, the Earl lowered Annie’s hand and moved to Lady Maybury. “Now, my lady, the courtship between our children has hardly been an orthodox one, I know,” he said with a small smile, “but I have lived in this world long enough to know that marriages of real love have hardly always been smooth.” He glanced over his shoulder at Luke, reminding him of the plight of Jemima.
“Yes, that is certainly true,” Lady Maybury said, trying to adopt an upbeat tone, though it shook a little.
“I have come because I wish to assure you of my son’s seriousness. Not only that, but to begin arrangements for the wedding.”
“IfAnnie says yes.” Luke realised he had called her by her Christian name too late, earning the gaze from both his father and her mother, but it hardly mattered now. “I wish to have her answer first.”
“Then perhaps we should leave them to the discussion for a while, my lady. I see you have a beautiful garden here,” the Earl said smoothly, gesturing to a glass door at the rear of the house. “Would you be so good as to show it to me?”
“Of course,” Lady Maybury attempted to smile. Clearly, having an earl before her was wrong-footing her a little. “Yet they need a chaperon.”
Luke sighed, thinking it was rather shutting the stable door of the horse had bolted. Nevertheless, a maid was summoned. As the Earl and Lady Maybury moved outside, Luke and Annie hastened into the parlour with the maid behind them. The maid made an appearance of sitting in the corner, tidying up a tea tray, as Luke turned his attention on Annie.
She had not sat down but stood nervously, staring at him with those tears still hanging on the precipice. Luke decided to throw caution to the wind, not caring that the maid was there with them. The moment he closed the door behind them, he hurried forward and took both of Annie’s hands in his own. He kissed each one in turn, thrilled as Annie smiled.
“I am so sorry for what happened,” Luke whispered to her. “I need you to know, it was never my wish to see your name plastered in scandal sheets. It is why I tried to first stay away from you when I felt this bond.”
“I know. I truly do.” Annie nodded. Those simple words filled him with relief. “Is what you said just now to my mother true, Luke?”
“Which part?”