Chapter Seven
How had this happened?
How had Emmeline fallen into such a position with the embodiment of her family’s shame and ire…and why didn’t it bother her more?
Grey had always been a man who could crawl beneath her skin and leave behind a quill that would bother her for days on end.
That had never been an issue between them.
Now, however, he’d slipped past her defenses, and she did not wish for him to leave.
This spark between them had only served to fan the flames of their explosive passion rather than act as a deterrent.
And now that Emmeline had tasted the forbidden ambrosia of what it meant to be in Grey’s arms and the object of his desire, she wasn’t sure she ever wanted that to end.
But what could that mean for them?
What future could they possibly have together?
Her mother would likely faint away dead on the spot if she learned her daughter desired a Stanhope. Leo wouldn’t hesitate to call Grey out and repeat the tragic events of two generations past.
The thought made her grow instantly cold and stiff.
She should have known the ever-vigilant Grey would notice immediately.
“What is the matter?” he murmured, voice slightly thick and sluggish, but no less concerned. “I did not harm you, did I?”
“No,” she reassured him with a shake of her head.
She lifted herself from his chest with no little regret and looked up into his gorgeous eyes.
This close, she could see the streaks of warm brown near the pupils, the striations of green and blue mixing to create the most gloriously unique colors.
Would his children have those beautiful eyes?
“Then what is the matter?” He gently plucked a strand of hair stuck to her lip and tucked it back behind her ear. It was a gesture so tender that it made her heart throb.
“Doing this…being together…it goes against everything we have been taught.”
His brows knit together. “I would have to agree. Most children are not taught that trysts beneath a garden arbor are the done thing.”
She groaned at the absurdity of his jest and dropped her forehead to his chest in exasperation.
“What?” he asked with a chuckle.
“You know very well what I truly meant.” The words were laced with a sadness she hadn’t expected to convey, let alone feel. She lifted her head and met his eyes once more. They stared at one another during the ensuing long, pregnant silence.
“Do you feel that?” Grey asked firmly, pressing his palm flat above her breasts—right where her heart fluttered so furiously that it threatened to burst free.
“Feel what?”
“The ache in your chest because you know, deep down, that you will be chasing the way that you feel when we are together for the rest of your life.” He paused. “I know, because I feel it, too. I’ve felt nothing else in the hours since we met as Mademoiselle Papillon and Monsieur Grenouille.”
Emmeline knew in her heart that he was right. They’d always shared a fiery chemistry; who knew what they might have been had they not had the lens of their families’ history clouding their judgement?
As if reading her thoughts, Grey said, “Enough time has been wasted on this feud—enough damage has been done. To think I could have been tupping you in a garden all these years rather than arguing!” He hit his forehead with the heel of his palm like a man who’d just had an epiphany.
Emmeline groaned in a mixture of mortification and unwilling amusement.
Her face and throat warmed in a way that had nothing to do with the day’s rising temperature.
His charming chuckle made her forgive him for his outrageous comment, despite her better judgement.
He pressed a quick kiss to her temple by way of apology.
“Don’t you see?” he asked more soberly. “If you remove the past from between us—set aside the history that has nothing to do with us—then there should be no impediments to this.” He gestured to the small space that separated them.
“What are you saying?”
“I am saying, it is madness to deny what we discovered last night. I would be an utter imbecile to allow you to walk away in the name of a generations-old feud, and you would be sorely mistaken for giving up all I could offer you.”
“Would I?”
“Oh, yes. Quite.”
“And what would that be?”
“All of me,” he said matter-of-factly.
She nearly gave in to the unladylike impulse to snort, but allowed him to continue instead to see if his offering was less self-centered than she believed it was. Of course, the man believed he was the prize.
“Everything I am, everything I hope to be, would be yours. I would give you my absolute fidelity and devotion.”
Oh…
Well, wasn’t she glad she’d allowed him to continue?
“And our families?” she forced out, voicing the unspoken largest obstacle between them.
“What of them?”
“They will not be pleased.”
“Oh, they will be murderous,” he dragged out the last word for emphasis, making her giggle despite the seriousness of their situation. “Quite apoplectic.”
“Our grandfathers will be rolling in their graves, won’t they?”
“They will spin like tops. Or…” Grey paused. “Maybe they will find some peace. Maybe we can put them to rest.” He took her hand in his and twined their fingers together like the roots of two oaks.
Long moments passed between them. Birds darted overhead, calling to one another from one corner of the garden to the other.
The chime of the fountain’s waters created a peaceful undertone to the atmosphere heady with the mingling scents of a myriad of flowers.
Grey did not pressure her for an answer, and she learned he could be quite a patient man if the need arose.
She shifted on her bottom and brought her eyes to his.
Her heart skipped when she was met by the strength of his silent hopefulness.
“Alright.”
Grey sat up straighter. “Alright?”
“Yes.” She squeezed his hand and both of their mouths split into broad, beaming grins that could heal a thousand hurts and bandage a hundred wounds.
“The next question is, are we to Gretna Green, or should I do the more respectable thing and request permission from your brother?”
Emmeline actually threw her head back and laughed. “Definitely Gretna Green. Leo will be far less likely to commit murder if the marriage has already taken place.” The kiss Grey pressed to her temple unleashed a fresh wave of fluttering in Emmeline’s abdomen, and she released a satisfied hum.
“And what of the scandal that comes with an elopement?”
“It will be no less than what will erupt when word of a betrothal graces the papers.”
Grey chuckled. “I suppose you are correct in that. Regardless of how it comes about, I’m certain the books at Duke’s will be filled with wagers regarding who will emerge victorious from the bloodbath that is our marriage.”
Emmeline wrapped her arms around his neck and grazed his nose with hers, reveling in his intoxicating scent. “Well, that would be me, of course.”
“Oh?” They were so close now that his lips whispered against hers when she spoke.
“Indeed. And I look forward to a lifetime of coming out on top.” Finally, Emmeline pressed her lips to his, both of them sinking into the kiss with languid appreciation, the heat constantly simmering between them gradually roaring to life once more.
The End