Page 43 of Victorian Bride

Kayden took a step forward, obviously encouraged by the fact that she was even willing to consider listening to him. As she watched, he went to one knee in the wet grass, likely completely ruining his suit. His hair was plastered to his head, dripping down into his eyes. He reached out, slowly enough that she could have pulled away if she had wanted to.

“Mya,” he said when her hands were held in his. “You are everything that I desire.”

Her mouth twisted. “Truly? This sort of flowery garbage, Kayden? I thought you were better than this.”

“Would you just listen to me? I am trying to say something to you here, Mya.”

Despite herself, Mya felt one corner of her mouth trying to twitch upward into a smile at the look on his face. She waved a silent “go on” in his direction.

“I am going to say something,” he repeated. “And I don’t care how ridiculous or flowery it is. Nothing in this world has ever made me as happy as you do, Mya. And I do not care if I have to wait a year. Or ten years. Or twenty. I do not care if it takes a hundred. I will wait until you are ready to have me again, because I would rather have you laughing at me than another woman fawning for my approval. You have won me utterly, and there is no time or place in which I am not ardently and desperately yours.” His eyes locked with her own. “I would give you the universe entire were it mine to give, but if you will settle for just myself, I will be the most blessed man in all of history.”

Mya stared down at him. He was still kneeling there, looking utterly pathetic in the rain. She thought of the nights they had spent together, and the way that his hands felt on her skin. The way that he had always treated her as though she mattered. The laughter they had shared.

“You swear to me that you do not want Blanche?” Her voice trembled a little on the words.

“I swear it,” Kayden said. “On everything that has ever been dear to me.”

Giddy laughter bubbled up in Mya's chest and overflowed. Laughing, she lifted Kayden to his feet, and then he was there, crowding into her space and claiming her mouth with his own. Kissing her until neither of them were breathing anything but the other.

Chapter 19

After much consideration, Mya decided to go to the Auteberrys’ ball. Not to confront Blanche, she argued with herself, but to simply show that she was above what the woman had said and done. When she explained the situation to Lottie and Eleanora, both had stared at her like she was crazy. It likely didn’t help that she made the announcement just after meeting Kayden in the rain, as they both stood, dripping all over the rug.

“You are certain about this?” Lottie asked, her eyes moving from Mya to Kayden and back and forth between them.

“Very. Kayden's sure. We're both sure.”

Lottie’s and Ella’s heads moved at the same time to stare at Kayden, who nodded. The way he looked at Mya must have confirmed everything. Or maybe the way he couldn’t stop staring at her.

“In that case,” Lottie said, clapping her hands together with a grin that Mya thought looked a little too dangerous. “We're going to want new dresses. All of us.” She winked at Kayden. “Except you. Maybe a new suit?”

From that moment on, everything became about getting ready for the party. As it had been the first time, there were dress fittings and new gloves, new hats and shoes. But this time, there was also Kayden.

He didn't take Mya out, but that was her choice as much as his. Neither of them had wanted Blanche or anyone connected to the Auteberrys to see them together. It would ruin the revelation. It needed to be an eye-opener for Blanche. And Mya was very much looking forward to that bit of theater. She was quite sure Blanche would never forget it.

***

The day of the ball dawned cloudy and gray, but Mya refused to let it dampen her spirits.

“I hope you are aware,” Eleanora said as they readied themselves to leave that afternoon, “that what you are doing will be quite a shock to the community. They will not stop speaking of it for some time, and there will be varying opinions on the matter. Most of them negative. People will treat you with concealed if not outright disdain.”

“I don’t care,” Mya answered. “If everyone in the world is against me, as long as I have Kayden, I will be fine. He makes me strong.”

Eleanora reached out and laid a hand over her wrist, stopping Mya from reaching for the bracelet she had been about to put on and waiting until Mya turned and met her eyes before speaking. “It will not be everyone in the world, of that I can assure you. You will always have my support, and Lottie’s.”

On impulse, Mya took a step forward and wrapped her arms around the other woman, pulling her into a tight hug. For a moment, Eleanora was startled stiff in the embrace, and then she softened and returned it. When she moved back a moment later, she was smiling.

“Your decision,” she said, “might be an outrageous one, but it is the right one. People forget, in all this pageantry, what true emotion is. Love, when it is true, is worth more than all the social status or money in the world.”

Lottie rushed in just then, looking for the necklace she had meant to wear to the dance, which she could not find, and the moment was broken. Eleanora, laying a calming hand on her shoulder, went to help her retrieve it. As the sound of their footsteps retreated, Mya turned to the mirror and stood looking in it, studying the face that looked back at her. She did not look like someone about to make an outrageous decision, she thought. Nor did she feel like it. She felt… calm. As though there was no other decision that could have been made.

She supposed there was, of course. They could have gone a more socially approved route. But Kayden was determined that everyone know he wanted to be with her, it was his way of declaring publicly that he did not care about her lack of family or her financial state, did not care about the political connections that he could make by marrying Blanche. And if he wished the world to know where he stood on those matters, Mya was more than happy to help him demonstrate.

The carriage ride over was an exercise in patience. Mya watched the landscape slide by outside the window, tapping a finger against her knee. She was ready to be there. Ready for it all to be over and Kayden to be officially hers.

“You are sure you want to do this?” Lottie asked, watching her.

Mya looked up. “Yes. I am sure. Do I look like I am not?”