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He stood up straighter and offered her his arm, which she accepted. “Now I suppose I shall just have to ask forgiveness from my sister for keeping the ceremony from her, but she’s too busy with her brood that I doubt she will even lament missing my nuptials.” He gave her a scandalous wink. “Either way, I shall endeavor not to disappoint you, Your Grace.”
She bit her lip. “It is going to be so strange to hear that and know someone is addressing me.”
“You had better get used to it, my lady, as it will be happening a lot more frequently.” He grinned broadly and together they headed downstairs.
* * *
Olivia wasn’tsure what to expect once they arrived in the parlor where the intimate ceremony would be held, but the moment she saw Miles’s towering figure speaking to the vicar, her heart instantly lodged in her throat. He looked so utterly handsome in his black trousers, dark blue jacket and matching waistcoat with a crisp white shirt and cravat, that everything else in the room faded away and left nothing else—but him.
When his gaze turned to meet hers and he offered her a slight smile, she knew that this ceremony couldn’t proceed until she told him how she felt.
Not just that, but Grey’s comment about getting used to being called a duchess had sparked a very important question.
Just exactlywhichduchess might she be called?
“Your Grace,” she blurted. “Might we speak a moment in private?”
Silence fell all around them, and although Miles appeared wary, he inclined his head. “Of course.” He walked forward and took her arm when the earl relinquished his hold.
Olivia could feel curious eyes on her when they departed, but she ignored them all. Things needed to be fully resolved between her and the duke, and she intended to start their new life together without any more doubts between them.
She hated to see the cautious expression on his face when he shut the door behind them, so she attempted to put his mind at ease. She just hoped she didn’t end up confusing him further. “We both know I’m about to be a duchess, but are you going to remain as Gravesend? Or shall you be known as Marlington from now on?”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the door, his face turning pensive. “Which would you prefer?”
“It’s not really up to me to decide.”
He sighed. “The only thing I truly want is for you to be happy, Olivia. So, whatever you choose—”
“Gravesend.” She stepped toward him. “I wish to be the Duchess of Gravesend.”
He stilled. “Are you sure? If I don’t choose to take the title of Marlington, then it will become defunct and revert to the Crown. I don’t want you to have any regrets, especially about Marlington Hall.”
She shook her head. “I won’t. If the past few weeks have taught me anything, it’s that a house is nothing without the people you love within its walls. I may have been the Duke of Marlington’s daughter, but it wasn’t the estate that I held so close to my heart like I initially thought. It was my father and the good times I had shared with my sisters. It isn’t the secret passages that were so special to me, but the time I spent with Calliope exploring them.” Her grin started to widen, as the armor around her began to break apart and fall away. She stepped toward him. “The same is true for you, Miles. It isn’t a title, or wealth, or anything else that you possess that makes me care for you, but what’s in here.” She placed her hand over where his heart beat strong and sure. “It is the man beneath all the rest that I have come to care about, that I respect so deeply.” She paused. “That I love.”
His dark eyes sparked, and the next thing she knew, she was crushed against his chest. His mouth found hers, and he kissed her so thoroughly, that she was quite sure their little tryst would be evident when they returned to the parlor. But neither did Olivia care. She was filled with so much happiness that her feet might have actually left the ground.
* * *
Miles knewthat they needed to rejoin the others, that the vicar was still patiently waiting for them to say their vows, but he didn’t want to let her go. Not yet. Not until he could return her sentiments.
He laid his forehead against hers but kept her adoring face in his palms. “I know I should have told you long before now, but I thought it might have been evident how much I love you. I would have moved the heavens and the earth to ensure this day arrived. I can’t imagine spending a single day away from you, and I am eager to begin our live together as husband and wife.”
Tears were starting to slide down her face and he gently wiped each of them away with the pad of his thumb.
“I never thought I would be so lucky as to allow myself to feel something…anythingafter Marian’s death, after the war,” he said softly. “But you brought me back from the brink of hell and breathed new life into me, when I told myself it was impossible. From the moment you disappeared beneath the surface of the icy Thames that day, I knew I had to do whatever it took to save you, because something told me that you would rescue me in return.” He kissed her nose, her forehead, her chin, all while whispering, “And that’s exactly what you did. When all other hope had failed, you were the one who made me want to live again—to love.”
Her blue eyes captivated him, but not any more than her words when she said, “That’s all I needed to know.”
She rose onto her tiptoes and kissed him, but just when it was starting to get interesting, she pulled away from him and touched a chain around her neck. She withdrew it and he saw that she was wearing the pendant he’d given her. His heart swelled even further—as did his cock when he imagined making love to her while that was the single thing that adorned her glorious body. “I have only removed it twice. Once when I found out you were actually the Duke of Gravesend and not ‘Mr. Stone,’ and then again when Miss Stillwater arrived and I was so hurt and confused. But I vow that I will never take it off again, proof that I shall not let anything stand in the way of our happiness ever again. We shall face the future. Together.”
Miles touched the winter scene on the miniature, the lady standing next to the tree and looking out at the barren landscape. “Do you know why I bought this for you?” he murmured.
“Because it was Christmas?” she guessed.
His lips curved upward. “The necklace itself, yes, but I was referring to this particular scene.”
She tilted her head to the side. “Why?”
