“But that’s not the case now. After all this time… after spending this time with you, I see things differently now. I see… I see a future with you that makes me happy.” She blushed, and his eyes widened in surprise.
Matthew clutched her hands in his own at first, but she dropped her gaze, and he hooked one finger beneath her chin and tilted her head upward so he could look into her eyes.
“That first day we met, I thought you were obstinate and headstrong, but your passion and the way you stood up for your sister… it made me feel… I’m not sure what it was at the time, but I admired you for it.
“And the days after that, when I witnessed the way you could hold your own and argue your point, and how creative you were in coming up with ideas for decorating the house… everything about it attracted me to you even more.”
“You like that I’m headstrong?”
Diana seemed surprised, but that didn’t surprise him much. He was sure that she had often been chastised for exactly that. And hadn’t he seen the way her parents reacted when she spoke up on her sister’s behalf for himself? And how his uncle had reacted when he talked about her?
“I did not like it at first, I will admit. Or rather, I did not think that I did, but as I continue to witness it… as I continue to see the way it helps you become a strong and amazing person… I am so proud of you, Diana. So proud to call you my wife.”
Diana was blushing now, and he realized his finger was still under her chin, still tilting her face up to his own, and he very much wanted to kiss her again.
“My life before you was all business. Or rather, the majority of it was business. With only small amounts of happiness with John and Isabelle. But now… now I want so much more than just business. I want to spend time with you. I want to enjoy my life. And I would very much like to do that together..”
“Oh!”
She seemed to have no idea what else to say, but the brightness of her eyes and the smile on her face were enough to tell him that she was happy with his words, and his pounding heart slowed slightly.
When he leaned down to kiss her gently, she relaxed into his arms, and the sweet kiss took slightly longer than he hadintended. But even when he broke the kiss, he kept his arms around her, keeping her close.
“Is this place everything you want?”
“It’s absolutely perfect,” she replied, leaning into him. “I can’t wait to begin the rest of our lives here.”
“Neither can I,” Matthew murmured.
With her in his arms, he would pay any price for this house and all the things that would make her smile like that. Even if that meant hosting a ball every week.
Chapter Fifteen
“How are you getting on, My Lady?” Margaret asked her and she couldn’t help but smile.
“I get on well enough,” she replied. “It has been … well, things have been quite different these last couple weeks.”
“Indeed, My Lady,” Margaret continued. “you have spent a great deal of time with His Grace this past few weeks.”
“He has wanted to spend time together,” she returned, though she very much enjoyed them spending time together as well.
“You smile a great deal more than you have. So wonderfully happy, and it is clear that His Grace enjoys making you so.”
She flushed at that and the broad smile on her face must look quite comical now, so large was it that her cheeks hurt from so much smiling and pleasure.
It seemed as though each smile from Matthew, on the other hand, was slightly hard-won, and that made her appreciate them all the more.
For now, the conversation ended, as Margaret seemed to realize she would get nothing intelligible from Diana now. And there was really nothing more to speak of. Until the day that was set for them to agree to the purchase of the land, and start the process going.
It was the first time that she was meeting the old couple who owned the house, but they seemed sweet and friendly when they answered the door.
“Oh, how wonderful it is that this house shall go to such a loving and happy couple. My Thomas and I were like that once,” the woman said with a smile.
The man beside her, Thomas, reached over and took her hand, and she gave him a soft smile.
“Well, we’re still like that. But we’re certainly not as young as we used to be. Our best years are perhaps behind us. We have not hosted a party in this house in … goodness, it has been decades.”
“Not so long as all that,” her husband protested. “We hosted a party for my cousins.”
