Page 52 of The Pleasure in Persuasion

Clearing his throat, he glanced over at Lily, whose gaze was on the grass at her feet, the morning sunbathing her in its golden glow and glinting off her sable hair.

“How are you getting on with your sister?” he asked, before he started spouting off odes to her beauty.

“Surprisingly well,” she said with a small smile. “Dinner last night was a little awkward, but Rose and I talked this morning, and I think we’re friends again. Or, at least, on our way to being friends.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Lily.”

She nodded. “I’ve missed her.”

“And your brother-in-law?” he asked, in a shameless and obvious attempt to root out her feelings for her former betrothed.

“I have not missed him,” she replied promptly but without malice.

Blythe gave a soft low, as if expressing her approval, and Frederick huffed out a laugh, even as relief lightened his heart.

“He would not have made me happy,” Lily said quietly, as if speaking to herself. “But he and my sister seem happy together. They’re going to have a baby.”

“Ah. Well. A baby is always good news.”

“Rose is more excited than I’ve ever seen her.” She smiled. “I’m happy for them. And a little relieved, too.”

“Relieved?” Frederick asked, unsure of her meaning.

“I wasn’t sure I would ever forgive them, let alone be happy for them.” She drew in a breath, her gaze lifting to the sky. “It feels good. I feel good.”

The contentment in her voice brought a smile to his lips. “That’s wonderful, Lily,” he said, clasping his hands behind his back to keep from tugging her to him.

She deserved to feel good, and he wanted to hear those words from her lips every day for the rest of his life.

It was on the tip of his tongue to say so; to plead his case and list his good points and all the reasons she would be a fool not to marry him.

And if that didn’t work, fall to his knees and beg.

But Lily’s soft voice speaking his name restrained him and drew his gaze to hers.

“Yes, Lily?”

“Were you in earnest?” Her brow was furrowed, her cheeks flushed pink. “About wanting to marry me? About...loving me?”

His heart stuttered, and when she slowed to a stop and turned to face him, he did the same, his pulse galloping under the scrutiny of her blue-green eyes.

“I was,” he said, the words rough. “I am, Lily. I am in earnest.”

He did not make a habit of proposing marriage or making avowals of love he did not mean. Lily was the first woman he’d ever loved and, he hoped, the last and only.

“Do you want children?”

Frederick blinked. The abruptness of the question caught him off guard, but it was a reasonable query.

Being a father wasn’t something he’d thought much about, but he’d always liked children, and these last several days with his nieces and nephews made him think he might enjoy raising a brood of his own.

With Lily, of course.

“Yes, I would like to be a father,” he said simply.

“Then before we go any further with this discussion, there is something I must confess.” She swallowed nervously, her gaze on Blythe as she scratched the cow’s chin, avoiding his gaze. “I cannot in good conscience accept your proposal until I’ve been completely honest with you.”

She looked at him then, her expression gravely serious. “I am not in the first blush of youth, Frederick. I will be thirty in December.”