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He went to her then and took her shoulders. “What is going on here? Cherry, explain!”
“What shall I explain—that I love you with all my heart?”
He kissed her, groaned, and then set her aside. “Cherry, you ran away from me … and came here—how are you connected to Elton House?”
“You wanted to make me your mistress. You were getting married and thought to have a piece of muslin on the side. How awful of you! That is no way to start married life, and I tell you frankly, if that is how you mean to go on … my answer is no.”
“No, I could not go through with it. I came here to make it all right.” He eyed her doubtfully and demanded, “My very own fancy piece, what are you doing here? Cherry. Explain, or I shall go mad.”
“Well, you say you came here to break it off with Miss Elton, whom you don’t even know and might like very well …”
“Cherry!” he nearly shouted with exasperation.
“As I was saying, I can’t be a fancy piece, nor do I want a husband who keeps a fancy piece,” she answered softly.
“I … I don’t want you to be a fancy piece … unless you are in my bed … then I want what we had … what we have to have again, what we will have always.” He stopped himself there and interjected, “What do you mean you were getting used to the idea of my marrying Miss Elton?”
“When my stepmama told me she had chosen a husband for me, I didn’t even wait to hear who he was. I just took off for my nanny’s in the middle of the night … and there you were.”
Dawning lit on his lordship’s face and in his eyes. He shook her shoulders. “Little devil, my own little devil! You—you are Miss Elton!”
“Yes. I was very wayward, but I shall try to curb such impulses in the future.” She went into his arms and held him. “But you are the devil, are you not—seducing an innocent young woman in your care?”
“I wonder who seduced whom?” he said ruefully before setting her aside and saying, “The rest of the story, please?”
“Then James came, and when he saw you he told me who you really were—and I decided then that marrying you was just what I wanted, so I came back to be Miss Elton and hold you to your marriage proposal … and now, here you are wishing to break our engagement. That is not very nice.”
He was laughing and saying her name, and then he was bending and pressing her against him, whispering her name, as he closed his mouth over hers. When he came back up for air he softly asked in her ear, “Why did you not save us both a great deal of trouble and just tell me?”
“I thought I might do better to wake you up to what I thought you actually felt for me … I wanted you to break it off with poor Miss Elton and declare yourself. Otherwise, how could I ever be sure?”
“You miserable vixen!” he said and kissed her again. When he allowed her air, he murmured, “And the twins … they knew?”
“I told them almost everything—not quite—and mean to bring them an exceptional governess. So what I want to know, my handsome lord, is our marriage on—or off?”
He gave her his answer with action, sweet and ardent, and left her with no doubts … no doubts whatsoever.
~ Epilogue ~
HIS LORDSHIP WAS impatient and convinced his Miss Elton to set a date. As it turned out, she too, was anxious to be married and back in his arms.
Their wedding took place at the end of the month and was a simple ceremony with only their closest friends and family in attendance. Felix made an excellent ring bearer and Francine, a flower girl.
His lordship was only able to convince his Cherry to take a week for their honeymoon, as she was anxious to get back to the children and help along their new governess. She had already paved the way for this transition but needed to see for herself that all went well. Both Felix and Francine were well behaved (at least most of the time) for the new governess.
Before returning to the children, Sky took a detour, and they spent a night at his own estate, Westbrooke Towers.
“One day, Freddy will take a wife, and you and I shall live here. Will you like that?”
“Like that? I shall love it. Oh, Sky, I adore this house—so full of history … and the gardens …” Cherry sighed. “But for now … watching Felix and Francine grow up is all that I really want. And Freddy … what a change you have brought about in him!”
“Not I, you, my love.”
“It has always been you he looked up to. He just needed a push in the right direction.”
“My wise little darling. One day, you will be using that wisdom for our own children.”
Cherry gurgled, “Hmmm, which means … we have to get busy …”
