Page 86 of The Cornish Inheritance

Chapter Thirty-Four

Caroline gazed up into Nat’s deep blue eyes, conscious of his hand resting on her waist, the heat of it radiating across her skin. What had he just said? Had she heard him correctly?

Nat released his hold and dropped to one knee in front of her, if a little stiffly. “Caroline, Miss Fairfield, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

At the far end of the gallery Hetty clasped her hands and jumped up and down with an excited squeal. “Ohmygoodness! Wait until I tell Mama.”

Nat caught Caroline’s hand. “Will you, Caroline?”

What to say? Of course, she would like nothing better than to be married to Nat, but did he mean it? Or was this proposal brought on by the strain of the last few days and given only on impulse or perhaps just because Hetty had surprised them in an immodest embrace and he felt duty bound to make the offer? Did he really feel as strongly about her as she felt about him? Or was it lust? She wasn’t stupid. She’d felt his arousal pressed hard against her as he kissed her, and she had some idea about the way men were driven by their bodies. Did he only want to have his way with her? Would he tire of her as soon as he’d had what he wanted?

“I-I don’t know,” she whispered. “This is so sudden.”

His hand gripped hers as though it would never let it go. “I think I’ve loved you for a while now, but just didn’t know it,” he said, keeping his voice down low, perhaps to avoid Hetty eavesdropping. At least she’d had the sense to stay at the far end of the gallery. “But today made me realize how much I admire you, how truly unique your qualities are, and that I can’t live without you in my life.”

This was better. Good reasons for a man to want to marry. She wet her lips. “Do you truly love me?”

His face clouded. “Do you doubt that I do?”

She bit her lip. “I-I just don’t know. I don’t know what love feels like, so how do I know if you love me or I love you? I feel something in my heart that makes it want to soar, but at the same time I feel a deep anxiety, as though something terrible is hanging over my head that I can’t name.”

He caught her other hand and kissed it, seemingly now oblivious to Hetty who still stood with her hands hopefully clasped, probably straining her ears to hear. “Unlike you, Caroline, I’ve loved deeply and lost that which I loved the most. And I thought I’d never love again until I met you. My heart was broken for many years, and I would have welcomed death during all that time. But fate was unkind to me, or perhaps kind in its own way. It brought me here, to you. And I know that I’ve found love again.”

She gave a sharp indrawn breath. He’d had so many bad things happen to him. Her kind heart ached for him, but was that sufficient to prove she loved him? That she wanted his body, she had no doubt at all, and that she liked his companionship. But was that love or something else? “I-I’m all confused. Today has been so strange. Will you give me time to think about this? It’s not a decision easily made in a moment.” She managed a smile. “And do, please, get up off your knees.”

Nat rose to his feet, still holding her hands. “If you don’t say yes, I will go into a decline, I swear it.” His eyes twinkled at her. “You are the woman for me, Caroline. Today has revealed to me the woman you truly are. A woman with the heart of a lioness.”

“Oh, do marry him and become my sister!” Hetty cried, bouncing up and down on her toes. “It would be so perfect.”

Caroline gently retrieved her hands as just his touch was proving distracting and might influence her decision. “I cannot choose to marry Nat just to suit you, Hetty.”

At that moment, Mrs. Treloar emerged from the corridor to the east wing, carrying a valise. Hetty’s eyes flew wide. “Mama, where are you going?”

Caroline looked at Nat, seeing a grim smile curve his mouth.

“She’s leaving,” he said. “She’s decided to go and visit a relative in… Warwickshire.”

Was he making her destination up? It seemed likely.

“Will you be away for long?” Hetty asked.

Mrs. Treloar paused at the top of the stairs. “I shall be away as long as suits me. You are to remain here with Nathaniel. Goodbye.” And she swept down the stairs.

Caroline leaned in close to Nat. “How did you do that?” She kept her voice to a low whisper as this wasn’t something Hetty should hear.

“Told her I knew what she’d done and she was to leave. I daresay she decided her best option was to flee before I called in the local magistrate.” He paused. “I did the same with Trefusis and Bridget as well. They’ll both be leaving today. I doubt very much if my stepmother will be leaving with Trefusis though—I managed to let slip his intentions for Hetty.”

Good heavens. While she’d been washing and dressing and sorting Yves out, such a lot had been going on. “Are we safe now?”

He nodded. “I believe we are. And now, I think I might leave you to work out whether you wish to marry me or not and become a surrogate mother to Yves. I would very much like you to do that, if you can bring yourself to ignore my disfigurement.”

She put a hand to her mouth. “Never think that it is your scar that makes me hesitate. Not for one moment would that be the case, for in fact, I don’t even see it when I look at you. It’s just that I hardly know you yet, and I am not a woman who does things in haste, for fear of regretting them later.”

“Not unless it is plunging into an ancient mine in search of a lost child.”

“Well, that had to be done. I had no choice.”

He smiled. “I hope you will make the right choice now.”