Chapter 32 #2
Mathilda inhaled the scent of plumeria and felt such a surge of longing for the jungle that she grabbed onto the bed.
“I’m fine! Jeez.” She waved everyone away before they could all rush to her side to help her. “Mr. Phelps, I wanted you here because I want to hear the exact language in the bequest when it talks about our two families marrying. Can you read it out loud?”
“I know it by heart. ‘When a member of the Aberdeen line and a member of the Spencer-Sutton line, as defined elsewhere in this contract, join in marriage, the bequest shall be granted to them and the title of Marquess of Aberdeen shall be reinstated.’”
“Good. That’s what I thought.” She drew in a deep breath and scanned the faces around her. “I’m in favor of our families uniting and benefiting from the bequest and the title.” She held Duncan’s gaze. “But we should not get married, not to each other. You know that as well as I do.”
His chin dropped to his chest, but he didn’t disagree, which relieved her to no end. When he lifted his head again, she saw agreement in his eyes. “I…I guess I’m confused, then. How do you propose we fulfill the conditions of the bequest?”
“I may be way off-base here, and if I am, just tell me, or slap me, or something. Blame the coma. Blame Hawaii.” She looked at her brother. “Jamie, I think it should be you instead of me.”
No one seemed to get it, not even Jamie. “Huh? Duncan’s an only child. He doesn’t have a sister. Besides, I’m…”
She kept looking at him steadily, and his pink face turned even more red. “Oh. You mean…”
“I’ve had nothing to do but lie here and watch you guys in between sleeping spells.
I’ve seen more natural chemistry and connection between you and Duncan than with me, by far.
” She turned to Duncan, who was watching her, transfixed.
“Be honest, aren’t you more attracted to Jamie than you are to me? ”
He glanced at Jamie with such an expression of longing that her breath caught. She was right. She’d known it.
“But the bequest, it’s not possible,” he said.
“The contractual language says nothing about gender. It doesn’t specify a man and a woman.
Back in those times, they didn’t need to because it was assumed.
Same-sex marriage wasn’t a thing. But today…
” she shrugged. “Unless it specifically forbids it, why couldn’t you and Jamie be the ones?
I assume same-sex marriage is allowed in England too, just like here? ”
Philip Phelps nodded. “Indeed. Since two thousand and thirteen.”
Duncan ran a hand through his sweat-thickened hair.
He looked so uncomfortable that her heart sank.
Had she called it wrong after all? Had that coma messed her up more than she’d realized?
“I just…I saw you talking, and how you looked at each other, and I thought, maybe there’s something there, but I shouldn’t have made assumptions and I deeply apologize if—”
“No.” Duncan cut her off. “Do not apologize. You are correct. I am very…drawn to Jamie.” He turned to her brother, who was still staring at the floor.
“I don’t know if I’m gay so much as bi, because I’ve been with both sexes, as well as a girl who was transitioning.
I don’t care about the labels, it all depends on the person.
And I’ve never quite felt what I feel for you, Jamie. ”
Her brother finally lifted his head, and the two young men shared a look so intimate that Mathilda wished she could clear the room for them.
“I feel the same,” Jamie whispered.
“I know this is a bit rushed, but I’m willing to give it a whirl if you are.” He dropped to one knee. “Will you marry me, Jamie Wheeler?”
Charlotte let out a soft squeal, then covered her mouth. Mark drew her against his chest and wrapped his arms around her as the two of them watched their son struggle with his emotions.
“I will,” Jamie said softly. “But only because I might love you. I mean, I could. Maybe I do. Not because of all that other stuff.”
“Fair.” Duncan let out a delighted burble of laughter. “That’s very fair. Couldn’t have said it better myself.” He drew Jamie to him and whispered something in his ear that made Jamie blush even more. At least they were keeping part of this moment private and just for them.
Philip Phelps cleared his throat. “We are running short on time, I’m afraid to say. Perhaps we could locate a justice of the peace or an online minister of sorts?”
“Would a descendant of one of the ali’i do?”
They all turned as the doctor stepped back into the room, accompanied by a nurse who hurried to Mathilda to begin unhooking her IV.
“What’s an ali’i?” gasped Charlotte.
“They were the nobles and chiefs of ancient Hawaii,” Mathilda explained. “They were considered sacred and commoners weren’t even supposed to meet their eyes.”
“Things have loosened up since then,” the doctor said reassuringly. “I’m not an ali’i myself, but I am connected to a family of ali’i on my father’s side. And more to the point,” he added, “I have an online minister’s license. I’ve performed a number of marriages and would be happy to help out.”
And so it came to be that Jamie Wheeler and Duncan Aberdeen fulfilled the conditions of the Aberdeen Bequest only hours before it expired.
Mathilda felt quite pleased with herself.
Finally she’d cracked the code of her brother and won his open affection and a big hug.
Her mother was beyond happy to see her son fall in love with a handsome Englishman.
Her father was about as happy as he always was, which meant he was entirely, perfectly happy.
In Mathilda’s opinion, their marriage probably saved thousands of animals’ lives and prevented great harm to the environment. Best of all—selfishly speaking—Mathilda didn’t have to live a lie and marry a man she didn’t love, a man who loved her as a brother should, nothing more.
She wouldn’t get all that money, but she was fine with that. She intended to pitch Jamie and Duncan on a few funding ideas. They owed her, after all.
As for love…at least she finally knew what it felt like. Even if she never saw Rory again, she’d experienced something with him that she’d never expected, and for that, she would always be grateful.