Page 115 of How Not to Marry a Duke

Mary gasped. She reached for Warwick’s hand, her eyes brimming with tears. “How?”

“The details are not important. All you need to know is that both you and your sister are safe from that man.”

“Thank you, Your Grace.”

“It was the proper course of action. Will you please tell Adeline?”

“No!”

Warwick was taken aback at Mary’s tone. “You misunderstand, I—”

“You must tell Adeline, Your Grace. It’s clear you care deeply for my sister. A man does not go to such trouble to save a woman if he does not love her. As such, you must also speak from your heart. She will accept nothing less.”

“I—”

“Tell her you love her. Seize the opportunity. You must tell her.”

Warwick nodded. Words escaped him at Mary’s passionate speech. He prayed they didn’t escape him when he stepped into the gardens.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air. Mary was right. He had one chance to win Adeline, and failure was not an option. He wanted her with every fiber of his being.

He reached for the handle of the French door, turned it, and stepped outside. Lord Foster’s gardens were well maintained. The hedgerows were well-trimmed, the lawn green and lush. Birds chirped and the sun shone brightly. Bees flew from flowering shrub to shrub. His gaze never left Adeline’s back—the thick glossy braid caressing her shoulders, the soft curve of her cheek, the elegant swanlike neck.

He halted in front of her. “Hello, Adeline.”

From where she sat on the stone bench, she shielded her face from the afternoon sun. She turned to meet his gaze. He wanted to drop to his knee before her, rest his head in her lap, and beg her forgiveness for his stubbornness. Instead, he faced her with a weak smile.

“Warwick. I didn’t think I would see you again,” she said.

Her eyes were red-rimmed. His gut clenched at the thought of her crying. “Mr. Slade will never bother you or your family again.”

“Pardon?”

“He has released you of the betrothal.”

“How?”

“It does not matter.”

“How?”

“I paid him three times what Edwin owed him.” In the end, he’d been willing to pay whatever it took. Money meant nothing if it kept him from her.

She gasped. “Why?”

“Why else? For you.”

“You sought out that blackguard? For me?”

“I promise I didn’t do it for Edwin.”

She let out a small laugh. “I don’t know what to say.”

Warwick dropped to one knee and cradled her small hands in his. “I love you, Adeline. I have loved you from the first moment I saw you—when I stormed over to your country cottage and was run down by your pet pig.”

She stared. “Truly?”

He nodded. “I’m happy when we are together, and my heart aches when we are apart. I need you more than any invention, more than every book in my library. Reason has nothing to do with my feelings. I was a fool to claim it before. All I know for certain is that a future without you by my side is bleak and full of despair.”