He might be nervous, but she needed more.
“I did not comprehend your situation.Nor, I confess, did I attempt to.My family and friends here have helped me gain that understanding.Apparently, Luke’s wife is not the only one who was previously a courtesan.”
Evie blinked twice.Had he just compared her to a courtesan?She took a breath to speak.
“Blazes.”Xander’s eyes were wide.At least he seemed to recognize his faux pas.“Ah, I refer to that to demonstrate my new appreciation for the lengths women have to go to pursue some level of autonomy in this world.”
“Right.”She narrowed her eyes.“That covers your acceptance ofmyapology.”
“Yes…”
“I’ve yet to hear yours, though.”She raised her brows.
“Right, right.I was getting there.”He shuffled his feet again.“I know ’tis presumptuous of me after my reaction, but I ask for your empathy regarding my reaction.I had told you my experiences with titled nobs.That colored my reaction to your, er, error in judgment in waiting so long to tell me who you were.”
Herthoughts raced as Xander spun out his apology.It was a decent apology, as they went.However, there was no guarantee he’d truly learned from it.Would he be mean and run away and only come back if friends set him straight in the future?
She supposed that even if he'd said he’d learned his lesson, one never knew until the next time.At least he was here, talking to her.And he couldn’t run off quite so easily if they were married.
She almost chuckled when he’d called her lie of omission an error in judgment.She owed his friends—or more likely their wives—a debt of gratitude for that reshaping.But the subject was too serious to let it go with a laugh at a phrase.
When he wound down, she realized she’d been waiting for a declaration of love, mirroring hers.It was obvious he cared for her and that he was a caretaker of everyone around him.And it wasn’t fair to expect him to feel the same; she’d simply hoped.
Trying to formulate a reply, she squeezed his hands.
He squeezed back and began speaking again.“I visited with my solicitor.The Earl of Cheltenham helped—”
Evie gasped, distracted by that tidbit.“You know the Earl of Cheltenham well enough to get favors from him?How did you manage that?”
“You’ve heard of him?His reputation is more illustrious than I realized.”He squinted for a moment.“As I remember it, Luke’s wife is best friends with one of his closest friends.Anyway, he helped rearrange my finances.You should know that I’m giving half ownership of a large portion of my properties to the people who run them.And I may sell a few of the country homes.”
She was agog.This was caretaking to a whole new level.“Xander, I assume if Lord Cheltenham looked at your investments, you can do this without harm to your own standard of living and those in your employ.This is amazing.Beyond amazing.And generous.And-and I can’t think of adjectives right now, I’m so surprised.”
“You’re not concerned?Or…angry?”He peered at her as though trying to read her sincerity in the dim lighting of the veranda.
“Why on earth would I be angry?”
“If you accept the marriage contract with me, it would affect you.”
Oh.What a lovely thought.He was going to need to do better than that, though.She wasn’t going through all this again when he had a snit and decided to reject it.She raised a brow.“I understood that you’d declined it.”
He clutched her hands, and she swore he might be sweating.
She stared at him, willing him to say what she needed to hear.The whole party might have joined them on the veranda for all she knew.Xander filled her vision.Her heart beat double time in hope.
His voice tremulous, he begged, something she would never have expected the proud pub manager to do.“Please, please accept my apology?Life without you is miserable.I miss my companion in the library so much, my partner in debating the merits of bills and making financial decisions.Cheltie be damned.I am in love with you, and I wish to marry you as quickly as your parents will allow.Please, Lady Evelyn, become the Duchess of Rutland so you can continue to teach me how to be a dratted duke?”
Tears formed and her shoulders dropped in relief as he said all the things she’d been waiting for.A sob escaped her, and she bit her lip.
He loved her!
“Are you sure?You won’t run off again if I make a mistake?And you’ll come to London occasionally to see my family?”She could actually live without the last one, as they’d proven they’d travel to her, but she threw it out there to test how far he’d go for her.
“Yes.Absolutely yes to all of it.Anything you want if you’ll have me.And you have final say before I—we—sell any properties.We can take a wedding trip to visit all of them.”
She laughed through her tears at his eagerness.Everything she’d ever hoped for was on offer, and she couldn’t wait another minute to accept.“Then, yes, I wish to be your wife, title or no.I’ve missed Mrs.Betters and Duncan and the house, too.”
He gathered her into his arms, but at her last statement leaned back and asked, “You’re not marrying me for them, are you?”
