“I have never wanted a woman in my life...”
“Exactly.”
“After what happened to my mother and sister,” he continued.
“I know,” she said softly.
“Until you.”
Her throat bobbed and Duke had to swallow the tightness in his throat.
“It probably should not have taken being beaten and threatened and nearly shot last night and your entire family being under threat, but perhaps I am not as clever as people think. All I know now, is I need you in my life. As more than my dearest friend.” He inhaled deeply as his voice cracked. “I love you, Vi. I want to marry you. I want you in my life, always.”
The tick of the clock nearly threatened to drown him as her silence continued. It might have been seconds but it felt an eternity before she responded.
“You cannot mean that.”
“I do.”
“Duke, I—”
“You do not love me?”
A hesitant smile trembled on her lips. “I do, but—” She wriggled her fingers, and he loosened his grip on her hand. “This is all so sudden.”
She wasn’t lying. In a way, these feelings had come upon him like a rogue wave. Yet he knew it had been building for some time and he’d been powerless but to be pulled under by the surge—most willingly too. Now he did not wish to go back to shore.
“Is it, though? We have been friends for some time.”
“You are...who you are.” She gestured up and down him. “And I am...who I am. Can that really change so abruptly?”
“If you mean perfect for one another, I agree.”
She put cool fingers to his face, and he leaned into her touch. “You always are an optimist, Duke.”
“As are you usually. So you should believe that this is true, that we are meant to be together and that my heart belongs to you.”
“You’ve been a rake for many years, Duke. Most people would think me a fool for imagining you can change.”
He shook his head. “I have not changed. I am no more different this morning than I was last night. I have simply come to understand myself.” He released her other wrist and pressed both hands to the side of her face. “I am yours now, Vi, whether that is now or in ten years’ time. I shall still be here, and I shall wait for as long as I need to for you to realize that.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
With but a week until Christmas, the house grew increasingly busy with preparations for the many meals they would enjoy and with servants visiting with family, Violet’s duties increased.
Thank goodness.
She might resent it usually but today she welcomed the extra work. Anything to distract her from Duke.
Or more specifically anything to distract from the previous night.
As she strolled down the corridor toward the dining room, she just made out Lilly upon the latest horse to be tamed, riding it as though it had not been a biting, kicking creature not long ago. Aunt Sarah was taking a turn at Mr. Cameron’s bedside, and she hadn’t figured out where Clementine and her husband were. She found Ivy in the dining room, though.
“Have you seen, Mama?”
Ivy shook her head, not even glancing up at Violet. The closer Violet moved, the stranger her sister looked. Behind the table, she could make out a bundle of something and her sister held what appeared to be a piping bag in one hand. Ivy’s bowed head obscured whatever was in the bundle from Violet’s view, though it did not take many guesses to figure out what might be in the bundle.
“Another stray animal?”