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“You are not going to suffer. I promise you that.” The simple clarity in his gaze made her believe his words. If anyone could keep her safe, she knew it was Titus.
She tensed again, but with anticipation instead of anxiety. “How?”
He strode toward her and took her hands in his. “They talk about me, they paint me as something I’m not. I ignore them. I’ve created a façade to keep them at bay. You can do that too. As my wife. Marry me, Nora, and I will give you whatever you want—even if it isn’t me.”
Oh, but she wanted him. Desperately. But did he want her, or was he simply being the most gallant man she’d ever met?
The door opened, and Dawson stepped out onto the terrace. He looked between them, his gaze landing on their joined hands. He frowned deeply. “You choose him?”
Nora looked at Titus with love bursting in her heart. “I do.”
Dawson’s answering laugh was surprisingly cold. “Do you know what you’ve chosen? I would have given you respectability and comfort, a family and security, but you prefer the man who saw you ruined all those years ago.”
Darkness crept into Nora’s happiness, dulling the edges. She looked at Titus but asked Dawson, “What are you talking about?”
It was Titus who answered, however. “He’s talking about Haywood and how I encouraged him to pursue the foolish girl who thought he would marry her. I told him to take whatever he could get away with, that no one would ever find out.”
Suddenly she recalled the Marquess of Ravenglass. He’d been the leader of the group Haywood had run with. He was the quintessential Untouchable whose reputation made him almost unacceptable.Almost. But not entirely, because he was, after all, the heir to a dukedom. And everyone knew a future duke could do whatever he pleased, including leading idiot young bucks to do the same.
She knew without a doubt that what Dawson said was true. All she had to do was look at the shadow stealing over Titus’s face and the regret creeping into his gaze.
Disappointment swirled through her. “You encouraged Haywood. Did you remember who I was from the start?”
His mouth was tight, unyielding. “I did.”
“Is that why you helped me? Is what why Lady Satterfield is sponsoring me?”
“No.” His response was immediate and vehement. Emotion stormed into his eyes. “Yes, I felt guilty, but when I learned whom she’d hired as her companion, I welcomed the opportunity to right the wrong I’d done you. Yes, I wanted to help you.” His gaze softened. “Only I never imagined you’d be the one to save me.”
She’d saved him? She wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, but the sentiment was so lovely and so pure, she knew Titus wasn’t at all the man he’d been nine years ago. And neither was she the same naïvely innocent girl. Right now, with Titus, she could put the past to rest at last. She could be the woman she longed to be—a woman with a choice.
She looked between the two men. The hope and vulnerability in Titus’s eyes, coupled with the power to choose, which he was once again ensuring she possessed, made her decision quite simple.
She turned her head to look at Dawson and said, simply, “Yes, I choose Titus.”
Titus had watched the joy fade from her face after Dawson had spilled the truth. Now he stared at her, uncertain of what he was seeing.
“Titus.”
The single word came from the doorway. His stepmother had followed them and had clearly heard everything Dawson had said. The anguish in her tone cut straight to his soul. It was like watching his father lose his faith in Titus all over again.
Dawson scoffed. “Of course you’d choose a duke over me.”
Titus’s stepmother moved onto the terrace. “She chose the better man, you dolt. You should take the stairs down to the garden and escape that way. If you don’t, I fear you’ll be eaten alive by everyone in the drawing room. The second they find out that Nora is betrothed to my son, you’ll be a laughingstock.”
Dawson pursed his lips and gave Nora a final beseeching look. “I didn’t want to lose you to Markham.” He shot a perturbed glance toward Titus. “I didn’t even realize he was in the hunt too.” He turned his attention back to Nora. “My apologies. I shall be gracious in defeat. I wish you both well.”
Nora smiled at him, which was more than he deserved. “Thank you. I wish you the best as well.”
Titus marveled at her poise and her generosity of spirit. If he hadn’t already been head over heels in love with her, he would be now.
Dawson turned and left.
The countess cleared her throat. “This is going to cause quite an uproar. The mess Dawson created was exciting enough, but I fear this may break the entire ton.”
Titus looked at Nora. The love he felt for her threatened to surge from his chest like a living, breathing thing. A veritable dragon of emotion, the likes of which he’d never encountered. “I don’t care.”
“No, I’m sure you don’t,” his stepmother said. “However, Nora may feel differently.”
