Chapter Thirty-Three #2
From his sofa placed in a position of honor where he could see and be seen, Prinny’s voice rose above the murmuring. “Good show, Lady Clementine.” Several faces in the crowd swiftly rearranged their expressions to show approval. If the regent approved, no one would dare say otherwise.
Clem didn’t really care what they thought, not when her stomach felt as though a thousand butterflies had taken flight at the same time. She couldn’t work out how the dance and the punch bowl figured in Rufus’s plan to see her wed to Will, but his note had told her to do whatever was asked of her.
The earl took her hand, and Clem curtsied to the room.
Jenkins stepped in beside her and lifted the bowl so all could see. The action had the effect of hiding his face, and he pitched his voice low. “There is one card stuck to the bottom of the bowl, my lady. Reach right to the bottom and take that one out.”
“What?” Off to her right, Rufus gave her a single nod and a singularly encouraging smile. If this was Rufus’s plan, it was different, interesting, and—
Jenkins raised the bowl high above his head and then lowered it just enough that Clem would not be accused of being able to see, or of choosing any particular calling card.
She lifted her hand high over the rim of the bowl and plunged to the bottom. Sifting through cards that slipped easily out of her reach, she sought the one card she was intended to draw out.
At last, her fingertips touched card and glass.
She hooked two fingers beneath the edge and slid her thumb across until she found the opposite edge.
The card offered some resistance, but she gripped it and drew it up through the slither of cards contributed by generous donors.
Once clear of the bowl, she raised the card high.
“Please read it out, my lady.” Jenkins wore his usual non-expressive face, but in his eyes she saw a gleam of pleasure.
She raised the card and, in a loud, clear voice, read out the name:
“Sir William Ravenshoe.”
Staring at the card—were her eyes deceiving her?—she read the name to herself. Sir William. Sir?
Her gaze flicked up to where Rufus had been but moments earlier. By his side, Will now stood—tall, handsome, and smiling his special smile just for her. The smile that told her she was all he ever needed or wanted.
With no idea how this dance played into their plans, she focused on the promise in Will’s eyes. That, and his smile, reassured her that this strange ceremony would somehow lead to their life together.
He stepped forward and offered his hand to assist her down from the dais. “My lady Clementine, I believe this dance is mine.”
A space opened up on the dance floor as guests drifted to the sides of the room. She and Will took their places. Prinny watched in stately splendor from a sofa that Lavinia had ordered to be reinforced for his use alone.
As though in a dream, Clem curtsied, Will bowed, and the strains of a waltz floated on the air. He held her right hand and placed his right hand lightly on her waist.
Heaven!
To dance the waltz with Will in full view of the assembled crowd, and no one would dare to criticize. Not after the crowned heads of Europe had danced this very dance in London last year.
She floated in Will’s arms around the floor.
The sensation was delicious, and she understood why matrons had expressed concern about the morality of the dance.
The spinning, twirling, dizzying turns made her lightheaded, but even better was the fluttery feeling in her stomach that came from Will’s touch, from Will holding her and looking into her eyes.
All too soon, the dance ended, and Will was bowing to her and offering his arm. “I would, if I could, dance every dance with you, Clem,” he whispered softly.
As he led her from the floor, Prinny called them over and slapped his hands down on either side of his generous bulk.
“Lady Clementine, even this early in proceedings, I am prepared to declare this evening an outstanding success. I should like to see a lady with your ideas and enthusiasm assisting the Board of the Hospital with future fundraising efforts. What say you?”
Shocked and scrambling for words, Clem tried to string together a suitable reply. “I am stunned and humbled that Your Royal Highness would consider me. I would be honored to serve in such a worthy endeavor.”
Prinny nodded. No other response had been expected.
Beside her, Will stood tall.
Dear God, how she longed to be alone with him, to glide into his arms, kiss him, and never let him go.
Rufus bent close and spoke in the regent’s ear, words that brought a sparkle to Prinny’s eye.
“Capital.” Prinny lifted a goblet from the silver salver offered to him and, turning to Will, raised it to include both of them. “High time you settled down, Sir William.”
A distinct impression formed that the regent was playing a role and enjoying himself immensely. Clem had so many questions, but one could not ask them of the regent. Schooling her impatience, Clem sneaked a glance at Rufus.
What on earth has he planned?
The regent drank deeply before gesturing again with his glass towards Will. “Sir William. Pleased I thought of that. Knighted him myself for services to the Crown, you know, Lady Clementine.”
“They must have been very special services to warrant such an honor from Your Royal Highness.”
Prinny nodded and tapped the side of his nose.
“Special and top secret, my dear. Say no more, eh? But Sir William, it’s high time you took a wife and started a family.
In fact, given how well you and Lady Clementine appeared to be suited in that waltz, you should offer for the lady.
She is, as I understand it, unattached.”
Clem gasped. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father frown and step forward.
Mama put a hand on his arm and stopped him with a bemused shake of her head. Was she also a part of Rufus’s plan or simply eager to see what eventuated on this oddest of nights?
Rufus met Clem’s gaze and then looked over the regent’s head towards her parents. “You are correct, Your Highness. Lady Clementine is at liberty to marry whomever she chooses.”
Mama’s lips parted, her gaze moving from Rufus to Will, and then she nodded.
The scene unfolding before Clem was like a dream, strange, yet at the same time wonderful. It was a wholly unexpected but elegant plan, a plot worthy of the greatest writers of any time.
Glancing at Will, she noticed his lips twitched, but he held back his smile.
“Is that a royal command, sire?” he asked.
Clem’s gaze returned to Prinny, who looked between her and Will. His gaze narrowed on her hand, and she realized with no small surprise, it was still held by Will.
“Lady Clementine, what say you to a match with one of England’s heroes?”
Turning, Will’s gaze met hers, and his beautiful smile asked the question, too.
Slowly, she nodded. “I say yes, Sire, with all my heart.”
Prinny slapped his knee and threw himself against the back of his seat, laughing heartily.
The sofa creaked, but held. “This time next year, I expect to see a godson presented for my inspection.” He tossed back the wine and set the goblet on the tray.
“Excellent idea. Glad I thought of that. Best make the announcement this evening.”
“Yes, Your Highness.” Will took Clem’s hand, and together they bowed and curtsied before he led her to a side room where the door opened ahead of them.
Rufus appeared by Will’s side, beaming from ear to ear. “For the third and final time, my congratulations to you both.”
Clem looked up into Rufus’s face. Tears pricked her eyes. “You did it, my wonderful friend. I don’t know how, but thank you.”
“The regent enjoys playing a part in the lives of those important to him, especially when he believes it to be his idea. It took but the seed of the idea for him to want to manage Will’s and your wedded bliss.”
“But our engagement. How did you—”
“I’d already apprised his highness of the reason for and nature of our engagement, and the fact, we only agreed to it until Will returned from France. At heart, Prinny’s a romantic.”
Will clasped Rufus’s hand. “You are, as ever, the best of friends. My eternal thanks also.”
Rufus’s glance slid past Clem’s shoulder, and he nodded.
“Time enough to discuss the good news with your parents after you have sealed your engagement in the usual manner, my dear. I shall distract them for a short time, and after you have fulfilled your obligations at the ball, you two may slip away for a more private celebration.”
Clem reached up and deposited a sisterly kiss on Rufus’s cheek. “Thank you, Rufus, for everything.”
He nodded and left them alone in the room.
From the ballroom, the sounds of a quadrillion faded into the background as she stepped into Will’s arms. “Sometimes I wondered if this day would ever come. I trusted Rufus would make good on his promise, but I could not see how it might be.”
Will’s arms tightened around her, and she pressed her face to his chest, breathing in his scent.
“Are you happy, Clem?”
“Very, but ask me that on our wedding night. My answer may be different.”
He frowned. “I thought you were more than satisfied with our congress in Vinnie’s parlor. What can I do to make it better?”
Her hand rose, and she cupped his dear face. “That was beyond anything I imagined it could be, but the first night in our own bed as husband and wife will be sublime, my darling. I love you.”
“And I have loved you since I first saw you by your father’s lake.”
Clem shook her head. “That was merely attraction. I’ve had far too much time to think about this, Will, and I know now.
There are many expressions of love, including our lust-filled encounter in the carriage and our coming together in the parlor.
They are all a part of how I feel about you, but the love I have for you wants to wake with you beside me every morning and see your face across the table from me every day. ”
Will nodded. “And the love I have for you wants to fall asleep beside you every night God grants us, and make a family together. Clem, leaving aside the regent’s command, I want to ask you now, for the last time—will you marry me?”
“Yes, with all my heart.” She pulled his head down. Their mouths found one another’s, and for some time after, they heard not a note from the ballroom.
When at last a discreet tap came at the door, both were breathing hard. After a longer-than-usual pause, the door opened and Rufus stuck his head in. “Are you ready to speak with your parents?”
Will glanced at Clem, who nodded. “Papa will not make a fuss, not with the prince regent’s blessing on our marriage. And it won’t hurt that he has elevated you.”
“You knew?” Will asked.
“That you were concerned about being a mister while Papa sets great store in the longevity of titles, yes. But you, my darling, are the hero of Waterloo! Nothing is better than the grateful thanks of the regent.”
“Your eyes are sparkling with mischief, and I suspect your father will be unable to resist you.”
“Ahem!” Rufus still stood holding the door. “May I bring your parents in now, Clem? I’ve explained some of how we got here, but they are under no illusions. I made sure they understood you two have been in love a long time, and I was merely a placeholder.”
Will took her hand and nodded. “I guess it’s time to formally ask for your hand in marriage.”
“I’ll be right back with them.” Rufus gently closed the door behind him, and Clem turned back to Will.
“How wonderful, knowing the answer will be ‘yes’.”
Will reached into his pocket and withdrew the small box he had brought with such high hopes and no little uncertainty. Opening it, he offered the box to Clem.
Inside reposed a glorious sapphire flanked by two smaller diamonds.
“Do you like it?”
“Oh, Will, it’s perfect.”
She watched as he took her hand and drew off her glove before sliding the ring onto her fourth finger. “I’ve had it since the day before I left for France. I intended to give it to you after I’d secured your father’s agreement.”
“But you have it now, along with a royal blessing on our union and—wait! Did the regent say he wished to be godfather to our first child?”
“He did, and I believe we should begin work on that as soon as possible.”
“Tonight?” Clem’s heart beat faster at the thought. Loving Will was easy, but she didn’t want to wait another day for them to be man and wife in the eyes of the law. To lie with him every night would be bliss.
“Perhaps not tonight, but I’ll see about obtaining a special license in the morning.”
“Then I will try to contain myself until then.”
Another tap on the door, and Rufus opened it fully. Stepping to one side, he announced, “Lord and Lady Basingthwaite.”