27. Chapter 27
Javenia sat by the stream, the tears on her face almost as frozen as the water’s edges. She pulled the edges of her cape closer around her. If she’d not been in such a hurry to escape, she’d have grabbed something more logical.
Miss Weston’s self-satisfied smirk filled her mind, and she let out a choked sob. Picking up a reed, she snapped it in half, angry that the woman had won. Why had she not been ruined? Everyone knew she was a trollop.
Such was life, though. If never caught, Society could never prove that they’d made a misstep. Much as Algenon’s mother had covered her own indiscretions by marrying Lord Roberts.
Javenia split the pieces of reed in half again, peeling off bits and tossing the remnants in the stream.
A crackling made her startle to her feet.
A grey striped cat scampered out of the reeds and across the path she'd followed.
Poor thing. She'd probably scared it half to death with her sobs.
Then the thick morning mist parted as the very man she'd come to avoid walked through. She braced herself, not ready to see Algenon so soon after he’d told her the truth of his parentage.
As usual, it was her fault. Algenon always traveled this route between their houses. She had unwittingly placed herself in his path.
He stopped, his breath visible in the cold air. “Javenia.”
The reverence with which he said her name sent a shiver through her. No matter what their circumstances, she doubted she’d ever stop loving him.
He moved closer. “Do you know how incredible you are?”
She blinked at him, uncertain why he’d asked such a question. “I…” No answer came to mind.
His hand came up and brushed a toffee-colored curl from her cheek, damp from her tears. She shuddered, both from pleasure and pain. She shouldn’t enjoy this. He would soon be another woman’s husband.
“In my mentally weakened state, I’d not thought about how hard it would be to prove my uncle’s statement.”
Her gaze shot to his. His hazel eyes were soft; his mouth curved into a gentle smile. “I’d even worried that somehow they’d be able to disprove my legitimacy even though my parents’ marriage was legal.”
“You mean your uncle and mother’s marriage?”
He pulled a paper from his pocket and held it up, the writing faded but still distinct. “No, unfortunately my uncle’s marriage to my mother was not legal, but my father’s marriage was.”
She snatched the paper from his hands, reading it carefully.
His voice came low and comforting. “It seems my father did do right by my mother. They were married in Scotland just two days prior to his departure. He begged her to allow him to break the news to his parents before bringing her to Blackthorn, knowing his father to be a hard and unyielding man. It was all in the journal she gifted your mother in hopes that she’d make certain I received my inheritance. ”
Javenia raised her gaze to his. “But why marry your uncle then? Would this not have held up in the courts?”
“My grandfather would have had it annulled. She was not of great name or property and he’d had to hush up several mistakes of my father’s before this time.”
“But she lied to Lord Roberts.” Javenia handed the paper back to Algenon and he placed it in his pocket.
“She was young and vulnerable. In her mind, breaking the law was the only way to secure my future.”
Javenia’s hands trembled, the implications of his words sinking into her soul. “Did Lord Roberts know the marriage was illegal?”
He shook his head. “I do not believe so. However, this paper proves I’ve been the legal heir all along. I was Lord Roberts, not my uncle.” Algenon’s hands gently settled on her face, his body inching closer.
Javenia’s vision blurred.
“This means Lord Falcross has no claim on me, nor Lord Rupert on Phillipa.”
The tears in her eyes flowed over, clearing her vision enough to see his intense gaze.
“I am free, Vee. I am free to be yours forever.”
A cry of relief mingled with a laugh. Algenon was free to love her. She’d not have to relinquish him to anyone else.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, her hungry lips finding his. He met her with equal passion, his warm lips moving over hers with abandon, his hands burrowing into the hair at the back of her neck, sending pulses of pleasure throughout every inch of her.
An hour ago she’d never thought she’d ever be happy again, and now she was blissfully engulfed in Algenon’s embrace. How could life be this good? How had she gone from agony to ecstasy in such a short amount of time?
Algenon pulled back, his breath coming out in short gasps.
“I love you, Javenia. I’ve loved you since our first kiss tipped my world on end.
I tried to fight it, to make sense of anyone else in my life, but they never have and never will.
You are my beginning and my end, and I cannot imagine my life without you. ”
How did she still have tears to cry? Shouldn’t they have dried up by now?
“Marry me?”
“Yes. A hundred times over. Yes!”
His lips met hers again, his arms wrapping around and pulling her close. She held him tight, afraid that if she let him go this would all be a dream, that these words and these feelings would float away with the mist.
But they didn’t.
His kiss gentled, and he leaned back to look at her. She stared into his face. She’d memorized every curve throughout every stage. Over the years, lines of definition had enhanced his striking features, but his warm hazel gaze had stayed the same.
“Is this a dream?” she murmured.
“If it is, it’s the best one I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.”
She nestled into his chest, relishing the warmth there.
“Me too.” Silence settled between them, and she breathed in his cinnamon scent.
It had always been her favorite smell, but she’d never recognized the significance of Algenon’s use of the fragrance.
Maybe it was his quiet way of saying he loved her when he’d felt silenced.
“You will need to go to my father,” she finally said.
“I already have.”
She pulled back. “And was he certain I’d say yes?”
Algenon chuckled. “Eventually. However, he might have said I’d have to cross swords with you before you’d agree to such an arrangement.”
She shoved his chest. “No, he did not.”
Algenon laughed. “All right, that might be a bit of a stretch.”
Looping her fingers around his lapels, she gave them a little tug. “Either way, we both know I would have won.”
He tightened his hold, swaying her in his arms. “Oh, do we now?” He leaned in, muddling her mind with his closeness. “I think one day we will have to put this challenge to the test.”
The huskiness of his voice sent a pleasant shiver up her spine. “Name the day.”
Maidstone’s Twelfth Night celebration drew families from all the neighboring counties, its masquerade the most popular for miles around.
Algenon smiled as dancers twirled about the assembly hall.
Word had come from Lord Falcross that he wished to meet with him, but Algenon had yet to reply to any of his letters, knowing it would probably make the man livid.
No, he had a much better idea in mind. So when Miss Weston and her father entered the assembly hall, he hung back, confident that his black domino mask and black and white dress clothes would confuse them. They would look for a brightly clad gentleman with a black armband.
Javenia leaned toward him, her flowery scent tickling his nose. “It seems our company has arrived.”
He smiled down at her. “Only you would consider them company.”
She scoffed. “I wasn’t the one nearly engaged to that well-dressed disaster.”
Eddie snickered from Algenon’s other side. “Nice to see you two getting along again.”
“No thanks to you,” Javenia quipped.
“Me?” He peered around Algenon. “What did I do?”
“After our first kiss in the grove, you plagued Algenon to no end with jests at my expense. You all thought I didn’t hear you, but I distinctly remember a discussion about not knowing if anyone would marry a harpy like me.”
“I knew it,” Eddie exclaimed at the same time Algenon’s eyes widened in horror. “Al swore nothing had happened, but I knew better.”
Javenia tsked. “I would say you didn’t know better, judging by your heckling.”
Algenon dropped his voice low. “You heard that?”
She raised an eyebrow. “Why do you think I searched elsewhere for a suitable match?”
Eddie groaned. “Can we claim idiocy?”
Algenon rocked back on his heels. “Youthful lunacy might fit better.”
“Idiocy is no excuse for being rude.” She lifted her chin, a haughty tilt to her head, but her smirk removed any bite her words might have held.
Algenon grinned. He loved her set downs.
The song ended and ladies and gentlemen cleared the floor. Across the room, John flicked his chin in Lord Falcross’s direction. Algenon nodded. John and Susannah moved toward Miss Weston and her father.
Livy and Melior joined them, drinks in hand.
“This should be entertaining,” Livy said. “Are you sure you don’t want me to use what I know to make certain Lord Falcross never blackmails another lord again?”
Javenia snickered. “I do not think fighting blackmail with blackmail is completely legal, Livy.”
Melior grinned. “Yes, but highly entertaining.”
Eddie placed a hand on the small of his wife’s back and leaned close to her ear. “I thought we agreed to save ruining people for birthdays and holidays.”
Livy bit her lip to keep from smiling. Javenia looked away and Algenon focused his attention on Phillipa and Charlotte, who glanced at him from their seats across the room. Since they were still in mourning, they would not dance, but they’d begged him to at least let them attend.