“The Lightholders know?” she asked faintly.
“They do,” he confirmed. “But theydon’t care. Just like Ido not care. In fact, Xander’s exact words when I told him that I don’t care were, ‘Good, because Helen told me to thrash you if you said anything else.’”
Letitia let out a laugh that sounded more than a touch hysterical. Ezra grabbed her hands, and she thought he might be doing so as much to keep her from running as to offer comfort.
“But—” she began.
“Butnothing,” he interjected. “I have known plenty of ladies. I have known women who come from all walks of life. They are fine people, lovely people. None of them has ever caught my eye for more than a moment or two. But you, Letty? With you, I cannot look away. I don’twantto look away. And, God, when I thought something had happened to you? I could not stand it.
“So that is what has changed, Letitia. I looked at a world without you in it, and I hated what I saw. So, no. I don’t give a damn what anyone else thinks. I want to marry you.”
It was a good speech. It was the most wonderful speech she had ever heard. It was the kind of speech that made tears roll down her cheeks.
Ezra, it turned out, was not finished.
“And do you know what else?” he added. “There is someone else whom we just learned was born to a lady and a common man. Artemis. Iris’ mother. Would you look at Iris and say she is less than the most important girl you have ever met, just because of choices her parents or grandparents made?”
She waited.
“Are you finished this time?” she asked softly.
He considered.
“Yes. This time, I am finished,” he concluded. “So. What do you say?”
She thought maybe she was starting to feel… hope.
“You are right,” she told him.
Triumph flared in his expression. “I am,” he said.
“Iris… she isperfect,” Letty said.
“The best girl in the world,” Ezra agreed. “And, God, she adores you, Letty. Even the whole bloody Lightholder family. They all adore you.” He shook his head, smiling. “And your loveliness is so contagious that you even found a way to make me end this foolish feud I have had with my family for ages. Don’t tellanyof them this, but I think I like them.”
She laughed, a bit dazedly, because her mind was still desperately spinning.
“You like them,” she echoed. “And you like me. And want to marry me.”
“No,” he said, and for an instant, Letitia was so filled with horror—because really, how could she have gotten this wrong—that she actually worried that she would die from the humiliation of it.
But then he reached up to touch her face, his face overflowing with tenderness.
“Iloveyou, Letty.”
“Oh,” she said softly.
“I love you,” he repeated, and it looked as though it brought him joy just to say it. “So. Letitia Knightley. Please. Will you marry me?”
He loved her. Helovedher. He knew all her secrets—all the things she had ever been called, all the secret shame she had hidden down deep—and still, he loved her.
“Letty, my love,” Ezra said, still touching her face, not looking certain whether he was happy or terrified. “Tell me, please. Will you?”
“Yes!” she gasped, holding his palm to her cheek. “Yes, I will marry you. Yes, I love you, too. Yes, Ezra. Yes.”
He pulled her in then for a deep, probing kiss. She clung to him, even though she knew that she didn’t have to hold on quite so tightly any longer. He was all hers. She was all his.
EPILOGUE
