“Dash it all, Diana. Have you not been listening to me?” he huffed, frustrated. “I do not care if my uncle’s plans come true. I do not care if he gets to be the Duke or if John does. I only care that I have you back in my life and my home.”
“You needn’t be frustrated with me simply because you’ve changed your mind about such things so quickly,” she shot back.
Matthew scowled at her and then let out a short laugh. “Ah, Diana, this is what I need. The spitfire that I married. The one that I thought was going to be the death of me. And now… I do not want it any other way. But, Diana, I meant what I said. I do not care if I have children. I do not care if there is an heir or if John becomes the Duke once I am gone. It matters not. You are all that matters to me.”
“And if I should like to give you an heir?” she asked cheekily.
This time, he was the one to give her an incredulous look, and then he let out another short laugh.
“Now who is changing their mind about things quickly?”
“Well, perhaps we could start by sharing a room in our new home. That is if you haven’t decided to sell it.”
Matthew stared at her for a long moment, a smile spreading across his face. “I have not.”
“I think it’s perfect for us.” Her eyes sparkled. “And for the children we shall fill it with.”
Again, he leaned forward and gave her a gentle kiss. One that made her cheeks redden even more.
“Then that is what we shall do.”
“And you shall have plenty more people in your life to interrupt your plans and wreak havoc on your schedules,” she teased.
“I would not have it any other way,” he replied. “Even if every one of them is a spitfire like you.”
“Ah, but what if they are as obstinate and stubborn as you?”
“You think that you are not just as obstinate and stubborn as I am?” he retorted, raising an eyebrow at her.
“I think I am the picture of tranquility compared to you.”
At that, he burst into laughter. Laughter she did not think he had allowed himself in a very long time.
“Perhaps, my dear, you need to look at yourself a bit more closely if you believe that.”
She smiled in response but did not admit to anything. Even if shedidknow that he was right.
“Perhaps you need someone who can stand up to your stubbornness.”
“I most certainly do,” he agreed. “I need you.”
No matter how many times he said it, the words continued to warm her heart, making her smile brighter each and every time. And that look in his eyes as he stared at her…
Diana hardly noticed that the carriage had stopped, so caught up was she in the way he stared at her. In the feel of his hands on hers. In the closeness between the two of them.
And until the driver opened the door and announced that they had arrived, that was all that mattered.
Matthew jumped out of the carriage as soon as the door opened and turned back toward her with a soft look in his eyes.
“Come, my dear. It is time for me to take you back to where you belong—our home,” he murmured, reaching for her hand, which she eagerly placed in his own.
He helped her down from the carriage, and the two of them stared at the house that was to be their new beginning.
Epilogue
“Diana.”
Diana looked up from the letter she had been writing, and Matthew laughed.
