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“That was not your fault, but Henri’s.” Charlotte whispered.
“Yes, but he kidnapped you to hurt me, as much as your brother.”
“I know,” Charlotte replied, unwilling to think on such unpleasant things. “But I suppose it is just as well I was there. I do not think your mother would have fared as well alone.”
Sir John blanched at the thought. “Then, I thank you,” he said his voice a harsh whisper. “Thank you for defending her when you could have spent your ire with me on her.”
“Oh!” Charlotte exclaimed. “I could never do a thing like that.”
“I know. You are kindness itself, Lady Charlotte. I shudder to think…” Sir John suddenly reached forward an took her hand in his. Charlotte felt his touch like a bolt of lightning traveling from her fingertips straight to her heart. “You could have died,” he whispered, his fingertips trailing over her gloved knuckles.
“Yes. I suppose,” Charlotte answered in the same hushed tone. “So could you…” She took a shuddering breath.
“All I could think of is when we last spoke.” Sir John continued. “You used my own words against me, and rightfully so, yet now I see that they are truer than I could ever have dreamed. When I saw you on the cliffs, time indeed stopped. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. All of the slightest and most trivial events of my life had been leading me inexorably to that moment,” John declared. “I thought I would lose you,” he whispered. He held both her hands now, his fingers tracing patterns over the fabric of her gloves.
“I am not lost.” Charlotte said looking up at his stricken face.
His deep blue eyes shone with unshed tears. “I cannot ask you to forgive me-”
“But I do. Does that make me childishly romantic?”
“No,” John said, shaking his head. “But I do not deserve forgiveness. I have behaved appallingly. I hurt you.”
“Youdid, terribly,” Charlotte agreed, her own voice harsh in her throat. “But I do not think forgiveness is meant to be earned. It is just… given.” She took a breath, collecting her thoughts, trying to explain the feelings inside of her. They seemed so large that they might break out of her chest and yet she could not seem to release them. Finally, she found her voice. “I did not realize that falling in love with someone would give them the power to inflict such pain. I thought I was hurt before, when I was forced to see that a former suitor only pretended to care for me for the sake of my wealth. That was nothing to this pain because I did not care for him at all. Not as I care for you.” Her voice rose with her passion, and Sir John unconsciously crossed the final distance between them pulling her fully into his arms, tucking her head beneath his chin.
His voice dropped to a husky whisper. “When Toussaint went after you with that knife… never in my life have I been so scared. It felt as if a piece of my own soul were to be torn away.”
Charlotte shuddered, the fear still cold in her heart. “I felt the same. I thought he would take you over the edge with him.”
“You cannot mean that you love me still?” John marveled. “After all that has happened?” His hand reverently traced the curve of her cheek.
“I do not believe that love is something that can just be discarded when it becomes inconvenient, do you?”
“As we have established, I know very little about love. But I could never abandon my love for you, not even if it means living with the pain of a broken heart all my days.”
“Then maybe you know more about love than you think,” Charlotte murmured softly. “I do love you, John, and I forgive you, no matter how foolish that may be.”
“I would count myself the luckiest man alive if I might have the chance to spend my life making up for how I hurt you,” Sir John whispered fervently. “But I cannot be so selfish.” With a Herculean effort, he stepped back, moving to put distance between them. “I told your brother when I asked his permission to marry you that I wished you were impoverished. Then, there might be no question of my motives, but if I had not money before…I have even less now.”
Lady Charlotte could not help but laugh. “You shall have to marry an heiress, then,” she said cheekily, stepping back into the circle of his arms. “I know just the one.”
“You cannot mean…You would accept me?”
“Generally, the gentleman is meant to ask the question before the lady accepts,” Charlotte teased.
“But I have nothing. I am near penniless,” Sir John cried.
“You are not,” Charlotte said. “You possess a fortune in character and bravery. You are indeed rich, sir.”
“I want to give you the world, Charlotte. I would cover you with jewels if I were able.”
“Cover me with kisses instead,” Charlotte whispered, and immediately Sir John was overcome with a burning desire.
“I have never wished to do so more,” he murmured in reply. His lips hovered near hers. “You are a far greater fortune than any to which I might aspire, Charlotte. You are the only person in the world who could have shown me what love is.” Somehow, they moved even closer together.
“I believe you…Jean,” Charlotte said, and his given name sounded like a caress falling from her lips. The world seemed very far away.
“Will you marry me, Charlotte Keening?” he asked.
