And he had never been happier in his life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“The capital of Austria is Vienna, not Venice. Venice is in Italy.”
Mel’s correction was delivered with the patient precision she applied to all educational matters, her finger tapping the map spread across the schoolroom table. Thistle squinted at the locations in question, clearly unconvinced that such a distinction mattered.
“They both start with V. And they’re both in Europe. I don’t see why it matters which is which.”
“It matters because accuracy matters. If you were attempting to travel to Vienna and ended up in Venice, you would be quite far from your intended destination.”
“But I would be in Venice, which has canals and boats. That seems like a reasonable trade.”
Rhys watched from his usual chair in the corner, ostensibly reviewing estate correspondence but actually giving most of his attention to the lesson unfolding before him. He had been sitting in on schoolroom sessions with increasing frequency, telling himself it was for the children’s benefit but knowing that the real reason was simpler: he wanted to be where they were, where she was.
Mel had accepted his presence with her characteristic practicality, adjusting her teaching methods to accommodate anadult observer without allowing him to disrupt the educational objectives. The children had accepted it with varying degrees of enthusiasm, Thistle viewing him as a potential ally against unreasonable geographical requirements, Anna treating him as an additional student to be evaluated, and Viola simply seeming pleased that he was there.
It had been two weeks since his announcement about permanent residence. Two weeks of settling into a rhythm that felt more like home than anything he had experienced in his adult life. The wedding was scheduled for nine days from now, as the arrangements were handled by a combination of local clergy, Serena’s detailed instructions, and Mel’s practical efficiency.
But something had been nagging at him, something seemed to be incomplete.
They had agreed to become his wife, they had made plans and sent invitations and ordered flowers for the small chapel where the ceremony would take place. But he had never actually proposed, not formally, not with the words and the moment and the question that tradition demanded.
He had been a coward about many things in his life and he did not intend to be a coward about this.
“Actually,” he said, setting aside his correspondence and rising from his chair, “I believe there’s something more important than geography that we need to address.”
Mel looked up, her expression shifting from pedagogical focus to wary attention.
“The lesson is not complete. We still have the Iberian Peninsula to cover.”
“The Iberian Peninsula can wait.” He crossed to the table where she stood with the children, his heart beating faster than the casual words suggested.
“I have a question to ask. And I would like witnesses.”
“A question about geography?”
“A question about the future.” He reached into his pocket and withdrew the small box he had been carrying for three days, waiting for the right moment.
“A question I should have asked formally weeks ago, but which I delayed because I was afraid you might reconsider if given the opportunity.”
The schoolroom had gone very quiet. Even Thistle, who rarely managed silence for more than a few seconds, was watching with uncharacteristic stillness. Brutus, perched on the edge of her desk as he often was during lessons, seemed equally attentive.
Rhys opened the box, revealing the ring inside which was a simple band with a single sapphire, chosen because it reminded him of the colour of the sea visible from Hartfell’s windows. It was not ostentatious or overwhelming. Just beautiful, in the understated way that Mel herself was beautiful.
“Mel Grace,” he said, lowering himself to one knee in front of the geography table, “I have been many things in my life. A duke,a rake, pure scandal, a failure. But the thing I most want to be, the thing I am asking you to let me be, is your husband.”
Mel stared at him, her expression caught somewhere between surprise and exasperation.
“You’re proposing, during a geography lesson.”
“I am proposing during a geography lesson. In front of three witnesses who have been waiting for this moment with considerably more patience than I have been displaying.” He held up the ring, the sapphire catching the light from the schoolroom windows.
“I am quite undone by my affections for you. I believe my heart was pledged the very instant you reproached me for hiding behind my worst self, and perhaps, if I am to be honest, it was lost to you even before that hour. I want to spend the rest of my life proving that your faith in me was not misplaced.”
“You’re on your knee. On the schoolroom floor.”
“The schoolroom floor seemed appropriate. This is where you transformed my daughters. This is where you transformed me. This is where our family began.”
