Epilogue
“Daniel?” Alison started in surprise when she looked up to see Daniel walking into the breakfast room. “I mean…” She looked down at her plate, and Daniel saw her cheeks flush pink. “Lord Grayhill…”
“Lord Grayhill.” Lord Pemberton pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. “This is a most unexpected surprise. And a pleasant one, I should add.”
“Good morning, Lord Grayhill.” Alison’s mother was quick to stand also, beaming to see Daniel walking into the room.
“Good morning,” Daniel said brightly. “I hope I am not disturbing you all.”
“Not at all!”
“Lord Grayhill…” Lord Pemberton’s daughter, Nerissa, batted her eyelashes and beamed. “You are always welcome.”
“Shall you be joining us?” Felix added.
“Do!” cried Winnie. “Please do.”
Daniel took a moment as he considered the reaction. It was one that should not have surprised him, considering all that had happened lately, but one that still felt strange.
He was not used to being welcomed with such enthusiasm.
He was not used to being greeted and even applauded when he announced himself.
For years, he had avoided social gatherings just like this one, wondering to himself all the while if the world would just be better off without his forcing himself upon those who did not want him.
How good it felt to be loved. How good it felt to be adored. He looked over the happy family, saw each of them smile, and he could not help but concede that he had been wrong all these years.
And it is lucky that they feel this way, also, considering what I mean to do. It will make it that much easier…
“I would relish the chance to join you,” he assured them as he strode into the room. “Before I do, there is a little matter I wish to discuss.”
He saw Felix stiffen immediately, no doubt the young man thought this was to do with the debt that Daniel had taken on in his name.
In truth, Daniel had not considered for a moment the implications of such a thing, caring not for the cost, because he was Alison’s brother and there was no chance that Daniel would leave such a burden on the man’s shoulders.
He wanted to help; that was the point. More than that, he liked to help.
But Felix was not the reason that Daniel had decided to pay Lord Pemberton and his family a visit this morning. Not even close.
As Daniel walked into the room, he found Alison sitting at the end of the table. She looked at him nervously, a coy smile on her lips that she was careful to keep hidden. Despite what had happened between them yesterday, her family were none the wiser.
He had asked her at the time if they should tell her mother and father, and she assured him that they would. But she was hesitant to give an exact time to do it, no doubt still concerned about Daniel’s commitment to her.
Which she has every right to be. I have given her no reason to trust me. So far, all she has are words, and as the past has proven, I am not exactly the most reliable of men. It is time that changes…
“Discuss?” Lord Pemberton cocked an eyebrow and then glanced at his son. “Might I ask what this concerns?”
“I would expect you to.” Daniel walked around the table and made his way for Alison.
She saw him coming and her eyes narrowed with confusion. He met those eyes, and a silent conversation was shared. A frown… then a smirk… and finally her eyes widened when she came to realize what he was about to do.
Better yet, she did not try and stop him. Why would she? Alison loved Daniel, and he knew that he loved her in return. But words were breakable, and Daniel felt the need to prove his love beyond question.
What was more, he was excited to do it.
“This might come as a surprise to some of you,” Daniel continued as he reached where Alison was sitting.
“But these last few weeks have seen me…” He looked at Alison, and his smile such that it spilt his face in two.
“I have fallen in love with Alison, and I have good reason to believe she has fallen in love with me also.”
“I have,” she said, matching his smile as she took his hand.
“I do not mean to bombard you, just as I do not mean to put you on the spot. But Lord Pemberton…” He looked at the Baron. “I would like permission to marry your daughter.”
He was expecting surprise.
He was expecting shocked gasps and confused whispered.
What he received instead was a knowing smile shared between the lord and his wife, the sense that they had somehow known and were not in the least caught unguarded by this proposition.
“That is quite the request,” Lord Pemberton said.
“And while I would love for nothing more than to grant it, I cannot help but feel that it is not my decision to make.” He shook his head.
“It has been brought to my attention recently that I have not been the best father by Alison, so who am I to suddenly act otherwise? If you wish to marry my daughter, Lord Grayhill, she is who you must ask.”
“Yes,” Alison said before Daniel was able to. “Of course, yes.”
“You are sure?” Daniel said.
She rolled her eyes. “Please, let us not turn this into an argument.”
He laughed. “Before you say yes, at least allow me to do this right.” He was still holding her hand, and he dropped to one knee as he gazed into her watery eyes. “Lady Alison Collins, will you marry me?”
As was so often the case, she answered him with a kiss.
It did not matter that the whole family was watching, just as it did not matter how inappropriate it might have been. As Alison offered him a kiss that told of her answer, he took her face in his hands and kissed her right back.
The family cheered and wept.
Pickle ran into the room and started to bark excitedly.
Daniel continued to kiss the woman he loved, accepting that he deserved the happiness she was sure to bring, knowing that he had earned it.
And he would continue to do so for as long as he lived, because, as much as he felt that he deserved Alison’s love, she deserved his right back.
He saw her like nobody ever had, and he would make sure she knew it for the rest of their lives.
The End?