“Sadly, you’ll never know.” The way she cleared her throat confirmed she had something important to say. “I know gentlemen don’t like to burden ladies with their problems. But after everything we’ve been through, Nicholas, I hope you know you can trust me to offer sensible advice.”
He couldn’t help but smile. “You’re the person I trust most in this world, and I’m not seeking a traditional marriage, love.”
“You mean to take up needlework while I visit a gentlemen’s club?”
“No, I mean for you to have a voice, to know your opinions are valid. I intend to nurture your ambitions, not destroy them.”
She touched her hand to her heart. “Yet you seem to have missed one vital point. Indeed, one might consider you presumptuous.”
“Did I neglect to mention I intend to spend endless nights making children with you? I know you want a family, Helen.”
“Family is extremely important.”
He might have played the game for a few more minutes, but the question he had been waiting forever to ask was burning a hole in his tongue.
Despite struggling to keep his balance as the carriage rumbled over the uneven road, he knelt between the seats and captured her hand.
“Marry me, Helen. I need you and want to spend the rest of my life making you happy.” He swallowed deeply. “I can’t give you expensive family heirlooms. I can’t give you a title, but I promise to give everything of myself.”
She blinked tears from her eyes. “Having you utterly and completely is worth more than priceless trinkets.” She cupped his cheek. “My love for you is so profound it is hard to express in words, but I will spend every day showing you how much you mean to me, Nicholas.”
“Then you will have me for your husband? You’ll marry me?”
“Yes, of course I will.” She leant forward and pressed a slow, toe-curling kiss to his lips—a kiss that ignited a fire in his blood. “I mean to have you in all the ways a woman can have a man.”
“All the ways?” he mused, coming to sit beside her before he suffered an injury. “Now I am curious to learn what else Miss Ware has told you.”
“You’ll have to wait to find out.” Helen placed her hand on his thigh. “When we reach Grosvenor Street, you can stay the night. Sebastian won’t be back for hours, and I’ve wanted you in my bed for so long.”
“And make you a widow before we’re even married?” He pictured Sebastian charging into the room and finding them writhing naked on the coverlet. “Your brother is as impatient as he is stubborn. The moment he returns, he will want to explain what happened to the villains.”
She caressed him with her heated gaze. Then she lowered the window and called for the coachman to take the scenic route past Green Park.
She set about unbuttoning her pelisse before her bottom hit the seat. “Lady Brompton gave me excellent advice when urging me to find you. She said in times of strife, one should turn to Shakespeare.”
“Shakespeare?” he said as they hit another rut in the road. “Doubtless, it was something poetic.”
“It’s not mid-summer, but this is definitely a dream.” She tugged off her gloves and began untying his cravat. “I’m sure you can think of an apt quote to convey our dilemma.”
The carriage rocked on its axis, and he knew she would be bouncing on his lap in a matter of minutes—if she didn’t strangle him while yanking the knot.
“I do have a quote that explains our predicament perfectly.” He smiled to himself. She had said to expect a wild ride. “The course of true love never did run smooth.”
* * *
Grosvenor Street
Three weeks later
Nicholas St Clair moved with panther-like grace, his steps sleek and purposeful, his attention focused solely on her, not his partner for the waltz.
Helen held her breath as she watched her husband lead Lady Brompton about the floor. The widow talked constantly, desperate for information about the arrest of Mrs Waltham and the valet.
Despite claiming to know nothing of the valet’s plans, Mrs Waltham was sentenced to be transported for the term of fourteen years. Based on his aunt’s testimony and the fact Laurence Russell had deserted his battalion in France, the judge had sentenced him to death.
Nicholas had found the news hard to bear. But in a bid to find a positive way forward, he’d decided to settle the debts against Oakmere and donate the house to a charitable foundation for unmarried women.
“In spite of all that’s occurred, I have never seen Nicholas look so happy,” Sebastian said, offering her a glass of champagne, her third in an hour. “And you have a permanent glow, Helen.”