Page 15 of Never Love a Duke

“I can’t—”

“Don’t keep secrets from your betrothed, Gabriel.”

“What—” A grin split his face and broke into his reply.

“I’ll give you one more chance to tell me the truth. Is it a safe house?”

Slowly, he nodded. And he hadn’t finished nodding when she threw herself—and her lips—at him. It was a messy kiss, made messier by her tears. “Why do you have to be the best man I know?” she blubbered just under the threshold of comprehension.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

She sat herself on his lap and he held her there. This is what he had hoped for, at the very least. A conversation. So he hadn’t left the room. If it took all night, he would have waited for his chance to sort it out this time. He wasn’t leaving anything to chance, nor was he willing to waste any more time apart from her than was absolutely necessary. He’d thought her uncaring and shallow, when in truth she was willing to sacrifice anything to protect those she loved. Her reputation. Her time. Her body. She fought injustice just as he had always done, but in her own way. Her heart was pure, and he wanted all of it.

“You’re a good man,” she whispered through the lump in her throat. “Why did you have to act so terribly toward me?”

His heart broke at the pain he’d caused her, and he owed her the truth. “There’s no excuse, Mirabelle. It was a challenging time. Everything exploded the night we kissed. It was the night before my father passed away. I immediately had the duchy to consider, and a safe house to manage on my own. All for the first time. Our kiss changed me, but when I heard the rumors you were spreading I second-guessed myself, something I rarely do. I’m sorry. I can’t believe I misjudged you so badly. I must have your forgiveness. What will it take for you to forgive me?”

At her silence, his heart squeezed in his chest. Waiting. Hoping. “I’m tempted to make demands. Conditions of some kind—”

“Anything.”

She pressed a finger to his lips. “But I don’t need to do that. I know you’re a good man, and going forward we’ll figure this out together. I forgive you. That’s what a good wife would do, wouldn’t she?”

“Wife?”

“You did ask me to marry you, did you not?”

“Well, only a minute ago you were my betrothed. And only a few minutes before that, you didn’t think so…so I’m not sure.”

“I think you should just ask me again to clear this all up. Communication is the bedrock to a good relationship, wouldn’t you agree?”

Her smile bloomed like a flower in his heart. “Mirabelle, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” she said, shining like the sun. “I’ll be your wife, and you’ll be my husband. And we’ll sort out the rest as we go.”

“I love you, Mirabelle.”

“I love you, Gabriel.”

“I know that’s the first time I’ve said it aloud, it wasn’t the first time I felt it in my heart, Mirabelle. It’s impossible to explain the way I’ve been drawn to you, despite everything that’s happened. I don’t have the words to describe it except that me without you is like a ship without a sea.”

“Me without you is like the sun without a sky. You don’t need to explain it, Gabriel. I feel it, too.”

“Perhaps we’ll spend the rest of our lives making futile attempts to put it into words.”

“I wouldn’t mind that at all.”

Epilogue

“What a lovely home,” Lydia commented, taking a seat in the parlor. “I can’t thank you enough for letting us stay here.” She rubbed her belly softly. “My sister and I are so grateful.”

Her sister, Diana, took a glance around, eyes landing on a small book resting on an end table. “The Memoirs of Emma Courtney?” she asked Mirabelle, who gave Gabriel a shared look.

“Every woman should read her.” Mirabelle gestured to the chairs.

Iris and Violet were already comfortable in their seats next to Tristan and Alex when Lucy offered, “Would you like some tea?”

“Yes, of course,” Diana replied for both her and her sister.