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It was then that Oliver surprised him by starting the conversation himself. “You know, I am glad that you are here because…”
He paused to bring himself over to his writing table and sit at his chair. This was obviously where he felt at ease, where he felt he had all the control. Joseph did not mind. This was a difficult conversation, one they previously had, and they did not see eye to eye then. He needed help with it this time, and he also needed Oliver to be in the best mood he could be. Otherwise, it might all be in vain.
“Because I’ve been meaning to go back to the conversation we had before when you promised me something, something very important.”
“I remember,” Joseph nodded, finding it easy to allow Oliver to lead this conversation. Joseph would only gently nudge him in the right direction.
“You must also remember the promise then,” Oliver reminded him.
“I most certainly do.”
“Now…” Oliver rested his elbows on the table before him, leaning over it. “We have known each other for a long time, haven’t we?”
“Sure.” Joseph nodded again.
“We’ve been good friends all that time, too.”
“We most surely have been.”
“Then, I need you to be honest with me, Joseph,” Oliver spoke calmly. There was no irritation or anger in his voice. “Are you considering breaking the promise that you gave me?”
Joseph could not help but smile. It felt like someone else had made that promise in his name, and only now was he free to make the decision he had always wanted to make.
“I am not only considering it,” he spoke honestly and from the heart, not allowing any more inhibitions to stand in the way of him and his happiness. And there was only one happiness. Only Bridget. “I have already broken it. I have tried to stay away from Bridget, but the more I distanced myself from her, the more I knew that there could never be any other woman for me. She is the one I wish to marry.”
“But…” Oliver spoke, inhaling loudly. “What about your father’s bloodline? Children? Because Bridget wants children, I am certain of it.”
“I want to have as many children with her as she wants,” Joseph smiled. “I hope they will all be as beautiful as her, as kind and as good-hearted. As for my father…” Joseph halted. He wanted to choose the right words to make sure that there would never be any doubt in Oliver’s mind about Joseph’s utter devotion to his sister. “I realize that I have spent my entire childhood being under his control. Then, when he died, instead of breaking these chains, I chained myself with the memory of the horrid man. I didn’t realize that was how I allowed him to control me even from beyond the grave. I understand now what I need to do, and I have Bridget to thank for finally seeing the truth. I need to let the past be the past. I need to release myself from these chains and start living my life the way I want to, and not just in order to spite a man who is no longer alive. I want to marry your sister, and to spend the rest of my life making her happy in every way I can… with your blessing, of course.”
Oliver could not stop grinning. “I must say, I was hoping that something like this would happen. But I could not allow you to get close to her before you clarified this with yourself first.”
“It’s all clear as daylight, old boy,” Joseph smiled.
“In that case, you have my blessing, dear friend,” Oliver approached Joseph, patting him joyfully on the shoulder as only the best of friends do. “You may ask the question whenever you wish, but I do believe we would all like to see it happen sooner rather than later.”
“If it is all right with you…” Joseph coyly dug his hand into his pocket and extracted a small box out of it. He did not need to open it for both men to know exactly what was inside. “I would like to do it this very instant. I see no reason to linger. I wish Bridget to become my wife as soon our circumstances allow.”
“You know where to find her.” Oliver gestured at the door.
Indeed, Joseph knew. Deep inside his own heart where she would remain forever.
Chapter 27
When the door opened again, Bridget knew that her brother was not alone. Joseph promised he would not leave without saying goodbye. Only, she hoped this was not goodbye. She hoped it was quite the opposite, yet she dared not say anything. Her lips itched to say Joseph’s name, but she allowed him to speak first while she herself felt like she was on needles and pins seated on the ottoman.
The last half an hour had passed by in silent contemplation although Sarah urged her to talk. Bridget could barely focus on anything else besides the fact that Joseph was in her brother’s study, discussing something.Something.How she wished to be a fly on the wall of that conversation.
Now, with both men back in the drawing room, she trembled like a leaf in the wind, waiting for something when even she herself was not sure what exactly. She only knew that she was waiting, and she would continue to wait for as long as necessary.
“If your brother and sister deem it proper, I should like to have a walk with you through the garden,” Joseph suggested, breaking the silence that reigned in the room upon their arrival then he turned to her. “I still owe you a conversation, and that is a promise I intend to keep.”
Of course, she knew that. Was this the moment she had been waiting for? Perhaps he had come to tell her politely and in a gentlemanly manner that he would remove himself from their company. After all, shedidkiss another man. A man who tricked her and a man who tried to swindle them all, thinking he would not get punished for it.
“I hope you are not offering a walk solely out of some misplaced sense of duty,” Bridget warned cautiously. Although her heart was allowed to hope, she still wished to keep it safe from heartbreak.
“I assure you that is not the case.” She could hear him smile as he spoke. “What I have to say to you cannot wait.”
“Oliver?” Bridget turned to her brother. “May we be excused? We shall stroll through the northern part of the garden, so both you and Sarah can see us from this room.”
