Chapter 29 #2
“I don’t understand.” He took another step towards her. “What is it proof of? What did I do wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said. “You did nothing wrong. You did as you have been raised, and I cannot fault you for that. Just as I cannot ignore what it means.”
“Miss Norleigh…” He was halfway across the room, and he reached out as if praying that she might take his hand.
“We are from different worlds, Your Grace. That is what I have come to realize. Yes, we have gotten along well these past weeks. And yes, I have coveted every moment. But in the end, our worlds cannot coexist, because they are far too different. I…” Her chin began to wobble and she looked away.
“I had hoped they might. I dared to believe that there was a reality where…” She laughed and shook her head.
“It does not matter now. I know that nothing that I hoped matters, and that which does matter is the truth.” She forced herself to look at him again.
“The truth is, we are not meant for one another, and rather than live with that, I am doing the cowardly thing. Running.”
The Duke did not seem to understand what she had said.
His brow furrowed tight and confusion washed across his face. Yvette’s heart broke that little bit further to see it, because in her eyes, it meant that he had never even considered her feelings for him… or his for her. She was but a servant, he was the master, and that’s all they could ever be.
“You don’t have to say anything,” she assured him gently. “Nor do I hold it against you. I was wrong for thinking that…” Her chest tightened. “I was wrong. This is my mistake, not yours.”
“No,” he said.
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Miss Norleigh…” Most unexpectedly, a smile touched his lips. “Is that what this is about? That you think… that you and I… that anything I have said and done…” A shake of the head, and his smile grew. “I feel like a fool. I am a fool.”
Her heart started to race. “What do you mean?”
“I have been in denial for some time…” He started towards her again.
And with each step taken, he held his stare on her, refusing to look away for even a second.
“I refused to believe it. I refused to acknowledge it. I refused…” He laughed and shook his head again.
“I refused to admit that I wanted it. For so long, I have buried my feelings because I thought I must. Hiding from the truth, terrified of what it might mean, as if it is something I should be ashamed of.”
“What are you…” Her stomach began to flutter, and it became even worse when she met his eyes and recognized the look in them. No… he cannot possibly mean… There is no way.
“You know of my past,” he said. “My father and what he did to me. Just as you know, because of this, I never wanted what everyone told me I must have. A wife. A family…” He scoffed. “I rejected it all, convinced it would make me happy. But I wasn’t happy. I haven’t been happy in a long, long time.”
“Your Grace…” She thought to take a step back, as if she needed to, to defend herself against the pain she knew was coming.
“That was until I met you,” he said, his voice dropping.
“Hugh was a part of it, yes. But it was thanks to you that I came to realize…” His smile shone.
“That it is not so wrong to want these things. And by denying that I do, I was only hurting myself. Ironic that this was the exact opposite of what I was trying to do.”
“What are you saying?”
“You’re right…” He reached Yvette and took her hand without asking.
She thought to pull it back, but his touch sent a pulse of energy through her body, making her feel more alive than she had in days.
“We are from different worlds. We cannot possibly work. And when people hear about us, they will judge, they will deride, they might even refuse to believe it.”
“Us?” Her voice cracked, and he took her other hand.
“I care for you, Miss Norleigh…” He stepped into her, holding both her hands, and looking into her eyes. “I have for some time. Dammit, it is beyond caring. I think…” He laughed at himself and squeezed her hands. “I think I am falling in love with you.”
She gasped. “No… do not say what you do not mean…”
“I don’t care that it is wrong,” he continued.
“I do not care what anyone thinks – I might have once. But you and Hugh have made me realize that what other people think does not matter. Nor does perception or expectation or any of that nonsense. What matters is what makes me happy, and you are what makes me happy.”
Yvette’s heart soared through her chest. The room brightened so that it blinded her. Her hands burned where he held them, and if he not holding her in place, she might have lifted from the ground and started to float.
“You… you do?” she asked, hope shining through her words. “You are not just saying that?”
“Would I lie to you?”
She laughed. “Is that a real question?”
“I want you in my life,” he continued. “Today. Tomorrow. Forever. And my only regret is that it took me this long to realize it.”
Yvette’s heart broke through her chest, and she nearly wept because she was feeling that happy. Her first thought was to tell the Duke how much she loved him. Her second thought was to kiss him, because now seemed like the right choice. But her third thought… that was what won the day.
She leaned back, her stomach sinking just a little, because there was one more thing she had to ask.
“What about Hugh?” she asked.
The Duke frowned. “Hugh? What of him?”
“He is your brother, I know. But you plan to raise him as your son?”
“I do…” The Duke looked confused. “It is for the best. That way, he will be able to inherit my titles. His future will be protected.”
“I know that but…” Yvette winced and looked away.
“I have been thinking a lot lately, and I have decided that I want a family of my own. I know this is a lot of put on you, and I do not expect you to…” Her chin began to wobble.
“You must know that I want children of my own. There is no way my mind will change.”
“Miss Norleigh…” The Duke released her hand and touched under her chin, forcing Yvette to look at him. He still smiled at her, and she saw the love he held for her in eyes. “I want children too.”
“But Hugh –”
“Will be raised as my son, but he is not that. I have been doing a lot of thinking lately, and as I said, I have been wrong about so many things. Mainly, what my future looks like, and who I want to spend it with.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Does that mean…”
“It means that I want to spend my life with you. Just as it means that I want to have a family with you. If you will have one with me.”
She beamed. “On one condition.”
“Name it.”
“That you stop calling me Miss Norleigh…” She could not help but grin. “My name is Yvette.”
“Yvette…” Just hearing the name sent a ripple across her skin. “And you, Yvette, this Your Grace business…” He clicked his tongue. “If you are to be my wife, I expect you to call me Alistair.”
She started back. “Your wife?”
“Is that a problem?”
“No.” She breathed in deeply as she took his hand again. She held his eyes. She let him see her, as she saw him. “Not at all.”
With that said, there was but one thing left to do. It felt overdue, a piece of them both that had been missing for so long and was finally found. They held hands, they stood close, and they looked into one another’s eyes as the situation and what it called for dawned on them both.
And thus, with nothing holding them back, they did as they had both yearned for so long. They kissed.
It was a kiss of passion. It was a kiss of intensity and desire.
Most of all, it was a kiss of love. Their lips came together, held, and Yvette felt that love pouring through her body and touching her heart so that it threatened to explode.
It then wrapped her like a cocoon, keeping her safe, letting her know that she had nothing else to worry about.
It was a kiss that said so much, questions answered, and worries put to bed. It was a kiss that brought their two worlds together and proved that they could exist as one.
And when they parted, smiling at one another, heart beats matching, Yvette knew that all the pain she had been through, all the confusion, and all the suffering was worth it. From here on out, happiness was what waited for her, and she looked forward to it like nothing else.
And from the way that Alistair looked down at her, she knew he was of the same mind. He might have been from a different world, but he and her were meant to be together, and nothing, anywhere, would keep them apart again.