Page 49 of The Marquess’s Masked Archer

A long moment stretched in silence while Sylvie sniffled. Then, for the first time in years, Mother wrapped her arms around Sylvie. Tears filled her eyes as they embraced, making the sniffling worse.

Finally, Mother stepped back, her expression completely changed, softened. “I owe you an apology. I didn’t see how I was hurting you all these years. I wanted the best for you but didn’t stop to consider if you might know what that is better than I. I’m sorry.”

“It will take time, but I want to forgive you. Just please, don’t take it upon yourself to arrange anything else for me. I’ll do what I can to repair things with Mr. Kinsey, if you’ll give me the chance to show I can do it.”

Mother opened her mouth, but it wasn’t her words that rang out. “I hope by ‘repair’ you mean to apologize for the public nature of the situation. Because I don’t intend to watch you agree to marry him, no matter how much he embarrassed himself over you.”

Sylvie and her mother both jumped at the voice coming from the shadows beyond the flowerbeds. It was deep and insistent, with an unmistakable crisp accent. Sylvie’s heart thrummed a wild beat that left her breathless. That voice belonged to Miles.

Miles cringed at the hard sound of his voice. He had no right to tell Sylvie what to do. If she truly wanted to marry Mr. Kinsey, Miles couldn’t force her to feel any other way. And he wouldn’t ask her to either. But he’d been standing in the shadows of the garden watching Sylvie long enough to have plenty of reason to believe she didn’t want to.

He’d arrived in the ballroom in time to see the end of the scene with Mr. Kinsey and how Sylvie had run from the room, so distraught she didn’t see Miles standing there. He’d hoped to speak with her outside, only to find her already talking with her mother. Pride in Sylvie for standing up for herself kept him from interrupting the moment of truth between them, but it had been all he could do to stop himself from going to her when her voice broke while confessing she’d missed him.

He couldn’t wait a moment longer to reveal his presence, though. He stepped onto the gravel path and strode the few feet to stand in front of Sylvie.

Her gaze roamed over his face, as if searching for something. “Miles, how is your mother? We heard she was very ill.”

“She’s made a full recovery, thank the Lord. Back to her spry self, ordering everyone around.” Not only was Sylvie so beautiful that words failed him while he lost himself in her wide eyes, but her first concern had been for his mother. He could hardly stand how much he loved her. He’s missed her too. So desperately, he wasn’t certain how to articulate it.

Before he could express any of that, Mrs. Bryce heaved a sigh. “Mr. Wentworth, I suppose you’re here for a reason, not simply to stare at my daughter?”

Heat rushed up his neck, and Miles shoved both hands in his trouser pockets. “I apologize. I came down to make sure Sylvie was all right.” But the moment he said the words, they felt too weak. He was there to claim Sylvie’s heart, if she was willing to give it to him. Squaring his shoulders, Miles lifted his chin. “No, that’s not the whole truth. I’m not here only to check on her.”

Both women blinked at his more forceful tone.

Miles pressed on, his gaze locked on Sylvie, who stared up at him with parted lips. “I came to ask why you didn’t respond to the letter I sent when I left. I hoped it would help you see my side in all of this and understand why I chose to pursue you in secret. It was devastating to wait all those weeks while worrying that you were angry with me or planning a rejection of the way I feel for you. But I understand now that you didn’t receive that letter, and none of those fears had any basis.”

Both of them glanced at Mrs. Bryce, who gulped under their scrutiny. But Miles wasn’t there to shame her, so he spoke before she could. “I don’t like that you destroyed a letter meant for Sylvie, but I believe, as she always has, that you were acting according to what you thought was best for her. I left with too many secrets between us, and I wasn’t here to explain myself. The assumptions you all jumped to were entirely my fault.”

For the first time since he’d met her, Mrs. Bryce wilted. Sylvie must have seen it too. She patted her mother’s arm with a rueful expression. “I know you realize now how wrong it all could have gone. I love Miles, and I might have had to live without him for the rest of my life.”

Sylvie was so focused on her mother that she didn’t seem to notice what she’d said, but Miles felt the impact of her words in his soul, the power of them a physical force. She loved him.

His heart raced as he watched the two women finish speaking and embrace again with an awkwardness that spoke to how rare such affection had been in their relationship. But then Mrs. Bryce moved back along the path toward the house, waving one hand at them. “I’ll be over there. You two have things to discuss.”

Once she reached an arched arbor far enough away to give them some privacy while still remaining within sight, he faced Sylvie, relieved to finally have his opportunity. “Did you mean what you said just now?”

“I…what?”

Confusion crept into her eyes, but it was all he could do not to laugh with joy. Given the emotional evening, he took pity on her and lowered his head to put their faces closer together. “You said you love me, and it sounded as if living without me for the rest of your life would be unbearable.”

One gloved hand flew up to cover her lips, muffling her words. “I did say that, didn’t I?”

Miles grinned and rested his hands on her waist. “Yes. Although, to be accurate, I said it first, even if you never received the letter.”

Her eyes searched his face. “You really wrote that? What else did you say?”

Miles shifted so their bodies were more closely aligned. He could hardly wait to pull her into his arms. But they needed to clear the air first. “I revealed that I was the one writing those letters to you. Writing might have been cowardly, but that wasn’t what drove me to it. My original intent was to prove to you that we’re perfect for each other, regardless of what your mother does or doesn’t think of me. I also wrote that I knew you were the archer all along.”

She gaped at him, and he couldn’t help but chuckle. “So you weren’t angry when I told you at the Casburns’ ball? I worried for so long that you left because of my deception.”

The laughter died on his tongue. She’d worried about that for a month while he was gone? He could hardly stand the idea. “I’m so sorry we got interrupted that night, but yes, I knew since our first conversation at Cedar Point.”

To Miles’s surprise, she smacked his arm with the back of one hand. “Why didn’t you tell me then?”

“I wanted to prove how much I support your dreams, not just say I do. But one thing I will say time and again—and the last thing I wrote in that letter—is that I love you. Because that’s the biggest truth of all, Sylvie. It’s a love I didn’t expect, wasn’t even hoping for. The mere possibility of you returning those feelings is a blessing I had trouble believing I deserved for most of the summer.”

Sylvie reached up to rest her palm on his cheek, warmth radiating from her touch to relax everything inside him. “I love you, too, Miles.”