Page 92 of The Scandalous Spinster

“You…have?” She clutched his arms because she couldn’t bear not to be touching him for a moment longer. “How can that be possible? When I’ve loved you even longer? A war hero and Miss Vinegar.”

“What did I tell you about how you talk about yourself?” That stern command that made her shiver deliciously. “You are everything to me. Beautiful and clever and more mischievous than anyone would ever guess. And I happen to like a little vinegar, a little bite to my sweet. So will you marry me, pirate?”

He pulled the ring from his pocket, a simple gold band with a small ruby. A red ribbon fell out.

Her missing red stocking ribbon.

She caught it. “You stole that from me!”

“It’s my good-luck charm. Give it back.” He plucked it out of her fingers, trading it for the ring. “It’s not much, maybe not good enough. Definitely not good enough for you.”

The ruby was the same shade as her stocking ribbon. A secret just for her. A ring perfect for Miss Vinegar and the Nightingale. “It’s perfect.”

“We can even live in this cursed city if that’s what you want.”

“You hate London.”

“I love you.”

Warmth suffused her. “I don’t need to live in London. But I think you need to live somewhere close to the sea.”

He touched his forehead to hers. “I only need to live somewhere close to you.”

“And the sea,” she insisted.

He smiled. “All right, then.”

To have a chance to shed some of the constraints she had put on herself, the parts of her disguise that chafed…with Captain Bram Thorn. She could have laughed aloud. Wept. Everything.

“Is that a yes?”

Every part of her screamed yes.

But still she hesitated.

His scarred knuckles lifted her chin. “Talk to me.”

“I have a secret.”

He smiled fondly. “I have no doubt.”

“Do you know the Nightingale?”

“The authoress? Yes.”

“She’s me,” Clara blurted out. “I’m her.”

He raised one eyebrow slowly. Was he shocked? Disgusted? She couldn’t tell.

“I know,” he finally said.

She blinked at him. “What?”

“I already know that.”

She shook her head. “What?” she said again.

“I’ve read everything you’ve written,” he said against her mouth, closing in on her, pressing her back against the wall. “Twice. I especially like the one with the valet.”