Chapter Twenty-Nine
Lisbeth hadn’t seen Thomas since the previous day when they quarreled in the carriage.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror.
Tonight was Rose and Sinclair’s ball to celebrate their marriage.
Thomas would be escorting her. For a mad moment, she wondered if he would still accompany her. Lisbeth shook her head. He would.
A knock on her bedchamber door caused her stomach to dip. She sensed it was him. “Enter.”
He stepped in and shut the door behind him. Their eyes connected in the mirror before his gaze wandered down her form. “You are beautiful, Lizzie.”
She blushed. Lisbeth did feel wonderful in her gown tonight.
It was a dark magenta dress that was tightened at her waist. Black crystals outlined the top of the deep neckline.
She usually wore her hair in an elegant bun at her nape, but today she’d asked her lady’s maid to leave half of it down in curls.
It had a less regal look but was just as elegant. She smoothed her hands over her skirts. “I thought I would try something different.”
“You always look beautiful, but I won’t lie. I’d rather take you to bed than go to this ball.”
She walked to him and straightened his cravat. “Does that mean you aren’t angry with me?”
“Can I speak freely?”
Lisbeth stared at him intently. “That is what I want more than anything. I know this is hard. It isn’t good for us to pretend that it isn’t.”
He nodded and sat on the edge of her bed, and she joined him. Thomas was silent as if trying to formulate his thoughts. Eventually, he said, “It is still hard for me not to be angry that I didn’t watch my daughter grow up.”
Her heart clenched in her chest. She nodded and waited for him to continue.
“It is difficult for me to be in this townhouse and know I’m always in the presence of the duke’s ghost. Someday this will all go to Jeremy, and I want that for him, but I need something for us to have with Alice, Jeremy, and our future children.
I need a place that I’ve helped create. I plan for us to spend time at the townhouse.
Still, wouldn’t it be nice to have an estate right out of the city to escape to, but close by if needed? ”
She nodded, knowing that for all of this to work, they needed something that was all of theirs.
Lisbeth said, “Thank you for not insisting we abandon the only home Jeremy and Alice have ever known. I think you are right. We can have both. There is a ducal country estate, but it is over eight hours away. We only go there twice a year.”
Thomas threaded his fingers through hers. “I would never deny Alice or Jeremy the memory of their father, but I think to be happy, we need a measure of change.”
“We will tell Alice someday.”
He gulped. Lisbeth sensed the emotions swirling through him. She added, “Both Nicholas and I wanted her to know.”
Thomas took a deep breath. “In time we should, but for now I want Alice and Jeremy to allow me into their lives in their own time. When she is an adult, we will decide about telling her everything.”
Her eyes watered, and she whispered, “You are a good man, Thomas Easton.”
“I don’t care if I’m good or bad. I want to be the man who gets to grow old with you and watch our children become adults.”
“Nothing would make me happier, Thomas. I choose you. Let’s end our thirty-day evaluation of whether our marriage will work. We will ensure it does.”
They faced each other, and Lisbeth added, “You are my forever, Serious Thomas.”
He rubbed a tear from her cheek. “It has always been you, Lizzie.”
She fell into him, their lips touching gently and exploring. It was a kiss, not of wickedness or temptation, but belonging to one another. It was perfection.
Lisbeth pulled away, and Thomas frowned, looking around the room. “Morrison, the butler, told me you are redesigning the lord and lady suites of the townhouse. You don’t have to do that.”
Lisbeth held her hand out. “I’m doing it for us and our future. Nicholas and I used to discuss finding happiness wherever we could. He always hated the décor of this place, and I think my decision would amuse him.”
Thomas rose from the bed and wrapped his arms around her. “Seeking happiness sounds like a brilliant idea.”
She smiled up at him. “Shall we go to the ball now that we’ve solved all of our problems?”
His eyes clouded with desire. “I’d rather stay and celebrate our new happiness here.”
Lisbeth laughed, her lower half going warm. “Soon, my love. This is for Rose.”
The woman was like a sister to Thomas and a dear friend to her.
They couldn’t miss the ball celebrating her marriage to Sinclair and the upcoming grand wedding that was set to take place next month.
Thomas sighed. “I suppose a night watching Benjamin gloat about marrying her off to a duke is worth it.”
Lisbeth giggled.
*
Thomas sighed as he stood with a gaggle of young ladies on the marriage mart.
They had surrounded him. Lady Chloe and her friends were part of the group.
He was still worried about the letters from C.
He needed to meet with Devons to see if his investigator had heard anything. Perhaps the admirer had moved on.
“Mr. Easton, can you tell us a story?” One young lady requested.
He smiled and shook his head. “Tonight, ladies, I’m simply here with my wife to celebrate our friends’ marriage.”
A handful of the ladies groaned, but he slid between two of them and fled. It wasn’t elegant or even polite, but he needed a reprieve. His wicked wife had seen him become inundated with questions and had disappeared. Thomas shook his head.
He glanced around, hoping to catch sight of her. Where had she gone? He stepped into the expansive, elegant foyer of Sinclair’s house. Even this area was packed with people. He slid past the lords and ladies mingling everywhere, hoping to catch sight of her tempting dress.
Lisbeth had taken Thomas’s breath away when he’d stepped into her bedchamber.
She was stunning, and it had taken everything in him not to immediately wrap her in his arms and make love to her until all the anger disappeared from both of their beings.
Still, he’d stopped himself. And, truthfully, he was glad they talked.
They were in a much better place. A loud laugh caught his attention, and he glanced up to the second-floor landing to see Addie, Rose, and Lisbeth studying a painting.
Sinclair had both the first and second floors open for guests.
An expansive gallery was located on the second floor, and people went between there, the ballroom, and the outdoor gardens.
“I knew the two of you were meant to be,” a gruff voice said from behind him.
He turned and smiled at Benjamin. “You always said that.”
Benjamin beamed. “And I was right. Though I feel like I should be thanked for bringing you back together.”
Thomas raised a brow. Benjamin liked to take credit for most things. His friend grinned. “I was the one who suggested to Lisbeth that she bring the ancient map back to Syria.”
He laughed. “You did. What if we had hated each other?”
Benjamin shrugged. “I remember when I first met the two of you. You looked at each other as if there was no one else, finished each other’s sentences, and were fiercely loyal to each other. It reminded me of my wife.”
Thomas studied Benjamin. The man was in his fifties and cut a handsome figure. “Have you ever considered remarrying?”
His friend frowned. “I’ve had relationships and formed great friendships, but I’m not sure another marriage is for me. Rose’s mother would want that for me. Still, one great love is enough for me.”
Thomas glanced at Lisbeth. She was still staring at the painting with the other ladies. He suspected, like Benjamin, that he was meant to have only one soul mate. It had always been Lizzie—no one else.
Benjamin followed his gaze and chuckled. “I don’t think you will reach her. How about a drink in the library?”
He frowned at his wife. The stairs were much more crowded now. “I suppose you are right.”
They made their way through the crowd of people, but Thomas stumbled to a stop as several ladies screamed.
A loud noise of something or someone tumbling down the stairs echoed through the foyer.
He glanced up and saw that Lisbeth was no longer there, and people were surrounding a person now crumpled at the bottom of the stairs.
His heart hammered. It couldn’t be Lisbeth. He pushed through the crowd with Benjamin right behind him. Thomas had to prevent himself from roaring in anguish when he spotted Lisbeth’s gown swirling around her while she lay there with her eyes closed.
He dropped to his knees in front of her. “Lizzie, wake up.”
She didn’t move. This couldn’t happen. They’d just found each other again. He leaned forward, and relief coursed through him. She was still breathing.
“Someone send for a doctor immediately.”
He gently tapped on Lisbeth’s cheeks. She mumbled, but her eyes refused to open. He heard Rose in the background asking everyone to return to the ballroom. The room emptied, and Rose dropped down next to him in her emerald and silver ball gown.
“Lisbeth, you must wake up,” his friend said to his wife.
Thomas’s eyes connected with Rose’s. “She has to be okay. I can’t lose her. Do you understand me, Rose?”
She squeezed his hand reassuringly. “Lisbeth will be fine. She is still breathing.”
Sinclair said from behind them, “The doctor should be here soon. He isn’t far.”
Thomas nodded, squeezing his wife’s hand. His voice cracked as he said, “Lizzie, please wake up. Alice, Jeremy, and I need you.”