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“Well, I think it is about time I made it perfectly clear, once and for all, that my interests, and my heart, lie with one very reluctant young woman who is now essential to my very existence,” Aidan mused.
Petal stared at him. It took a moment for his words to sink in. She felt her cheeks heat but couldn’t tear her gaze away from his.
“I know that we still have a lot to learn about each other, but we have the rest of our lives to find out everything,” he prompted.
“I can’t come back,” she persisted, thinking of Edwards’ venom, the dowager’s scorn, and the below stairs gossips.
“You must,” he challenged.
“I am not going to be your servant again.”
She tried to throw the covers back from the bed but he was lying on them.
Trapped, she closed her eyes in a silent prayer for the strength to get through the next few minutes.
“I don’t expect you to be my servant again. In fact, I am essentially your servant. My job is to keep you happy. You have taught me a lot since you have been in the house. I am not going to let you go, especially when there is so much more I can learn.”
“What could I teach you?”
Aidan kissed the gentle sweep of her shoulder. “That I can have the life that I want, and a house full of happiness, as long as I choose the right woman to share it with. Fighting to survive the accident, and living through all the pain and discomfort of my recovery, has presented me the ability to close the door on the ton once and for all. You have taught me that I can be myself in my own home and that I can have a healthy life. One without bowing and curtseying every time I speak to someone; where I can sit and relax and simply be – well – me. If I can have you by my side, then my life is about as perfect as I could have hoped it could be. Apart from two or three things, I could not wish for anything more.”
While she listened, she felt his magnificent words bathe her soul and soothe her aching heart. At that moment, she could find no argument for any of it. In fact, she would move Heaven and earth to bring it fruition. Her devotion to him was absolute; a force she wasn’t strong enough to fight, even if she had the will to do so.
“Of course, there is one stipulation I must insist on,” he assured her.
“Stipulation?”
He nodded but, before he could expand, she leaned back to look at him.
“What two or three things?”
“Pardon?” He looked at her blankly.
“You said that your life would be as perfect as it could be apart from two or three things. What are they?”
“Well, I was just getting to that part,” he replied with a mysterious smile.
“Go on,” she prompted, her breath locked in her throat.
“Although I am happy to shun society and its dictates, there are certain things I know nobody would accept, and that is this.” He waved a hand down the bed toward their entwined bodies.
“I know people won’t acknowledge us,” she replied, her joy fading rapidly.
“Oh, but people do,” he assured her. “Others will accept us, some won’t. They just won’t accept us sleeping together out of wedlock and, now that I have ruined you completely, several times, I really do have a responsibility to ensure that you are protected as much as possible.”
She tensed, unsure if she was going to like where this conversation was heading. She hoped beyond all hope that he wasn’t going to suggest turning her into his mistress or something.
“Petal, look at me,” he pleaded gently.
She did, and she knew her heart was in her eyes, but couldn’t force her gaze away.
“Marry me. I have it on good authority that we can be happy; there is a future for us. It won’t take all that much adjustment for you to accept the position of the lady of the house. It will mean that we can be together as often as we like for as long as we like and nobody can say, or do, anything about it. I need you in my life, Petal. In fact, after what we have just shared, I am going to insist on your hand in marriage.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
She stared at him in shock.
When she didn’t immediately reply he knew he had to take advantage of her troubled state to press his case further.
