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Nancy left Felicia, Claude and their new friends drinking champagne. Freddie took her hand and tucked it into the crook of his arm. ‘Let’s go for a walk in the orangery. It’s more peaceful there.’
Nancy leaned against him as they walked through the elegant corridors to the orangery at the side of the great house. It was lit by hundreds of candles and the aroma of the hot beeswax mingled with the exotic scent of the orange blossom so carefully cultivated in the heated greenhouse.
‘I don’t know what you said to Mama,’ Freddie squeezed Nancy’s hand, ‘but she’s a changed woman. Papa will come round to her way of thinking when he realises that we are in earnest.’
‘I was totally honest with your mama, Freddie.’
‘Well, it certainly worked. They know that I love you more than life itself and I would do anything to make you happy.’
‘I am happy just being with you, Freddie.’
He led her to a seat secluded by palm trees. A small table was set with a bottle of champagne resting in an ice bucket and two glasses.
‘I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, Nancy. I loved you from the first moment I saw you and nothing will ever change that.’
‘I love you, too, Freddie. But I meant what I said to your mama.’
‘She believed you, as I do. You are so honest it shines out of your lovely face and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. We can live here or at Greystone Park or in the treehouse in the castle woods. I don’t care. I just want you to marry me. Will you, Nancy? Will you marry me?’
She answered by giving him a fleeting kiss on the lips. ‘Yes, Freddie. I will.’
He enveloped her in his arms and this time the embrace was fierce with longing and pent-up passion. He released her reluctantly. ‘I have something for you. I had it with me the other night but it wasn’t the right time or place.’ He took a small velvet box from his pocket and opened it. A diamond and emerald ring winked in the candlelight. He slipped it on her finger.
‘Now you can’t run away ever again, Nancy.’
She smiled. ‘As if I would want to. I will always be by your side, Freddie. For good or ill, I’ll be with you.’
