Chapter 18
Florence paced up and down the room, her fingers at her lip as she walked.
Yesterday evening had been both the worst and the happiest of her life, though she had been a trifle frustrated at just how determined her father had been to take her from the room.
She had wanted to wait, had wanted to stay and speak with Lord Applegate but her father had insisted.
Florence had not missed the way he had shot one or two angry looks at her mother.
Nor had she ever seen her mother so bowed and quiet on the carriage ride home.
It seemed that Lady Grangemouth had more to answer for than Florence had realized, that the weight of responsibility for Lord Cheswick’s presence in their lives had been solely her doing and that would bring with it its own consequences.
The door opened and Florence spun around, her heart throwing itself up into her throat, only for it to crash down again. “Helena. Good afternoon.”
Her cousin paused in the doorway, her eyebrows lifting. “You need not sound so disappointed to see me, Florence.” Her smile was quick, reassuring Florence that she was only teasing. “If you wish for me to take my leave again, then I can do so.”
“No, no. Please, do come in.”
Helena chuckled and came to grasp her hands. “Tell me, Florence, are you quite well?”
Florence nodded. “I am.”
“You look a good deal better than I saw you and I do not think it is because of the brandy from Snapdragon last evening!” Helena’s words were lilting, her eyes twinkling as Florence flushed. “You are happy, are you not?”
“I am relieved,” Florence answered, walking with Helena to a chair.
“But yes, more than anything else, I am happy. Happy because I do not have to spend another moment with Lord Cheswick! Happy because my mother has finally seen that she was wrong to push me into an engagement I did not want.” She winced as Helena rolled her eyes.
“There were some sharp words this morning as we broke our fast. My father asked me to quit the room so he might speak with my mother and his voice was… very loud indeed even when I closed the door.”
Helena held her gaze. “You are very good to feel concern but you must see that it is deserved.”
Florence shrugged. “I do not think of that, to be truthful. Now that I am free of Lord Cheswick and have such a hope in my heart – and because it is so near to Christmas – I confess that there is nothing but relief present in me. I do not want to hold any anger or upset towards her, not when I have so much now to look forward to.”
“And by that, you mean the hope of Lord Applegate coming to confess his affection for you.”
A flush tore into Florence’s cheeks. “I do not know if it is affection but there is certainly an interest there.” She grasped Helena’s hand, a sudden wave of happiness crashing over her.
“Oh, Helena, when I heard him say that he had such an interest in me, I felt as if every part of me had come to life! I wanted to cry out aloud, to jump up and down for sheer joy, to laugh with the relief and the wonder of it all!”
“And instead, you simply turned and sobbed into my shoulder.” Helena squeezed her hand. “You care for Lord Applegate so very much, that is clear to me. You shall find happiness with him, I know it. I will see you wed before Christmas, mayhap!”
Florence laughed as a thrill of excitement ran up her spine. “I do not know if he will propose, my dear cousin. It may be that he will want only courtship first, with engagement to follow if we suit each other well enough but – ”
A knock came to the door and Florence caught her breath, her heart slamming into a hurried rhythm. She tried to call for the servant to come in but her voice catching in her throat. Helena did so instead and the footman came in at once, handing Florence a calling card.
“The Marquess of Applegate, my lady.”
Helena grinned at her as Florence rose to her feet at once, a nervous excitement pulling at her. “But of course. Send him in at once.”
“I should take my leave,” Helena said, but Florence shook her head.
“You must wait, else my mother will be forced to come in and be my chaperone,” she whispered, gripping Helena’s hand again. “Please?”
“Very well.” Helena’s eyes twinkled. “But I may be forced to step out for a few minutes, however. I cannot promise to always be with you.”
Florence’s heart quickened even more at the thought but there was no time to respond. As she turned to the door, it opened and inside came Lord Applegate.
“Lady Florence.” He bowed low, his green eyes vivid in intensity as he beheld her – and Florence could look nowhere but him. “How glad I am to see you.”
Helena cleared her throat and Lord Applegate started, only to flush red and incline his head. “Lady Wickton.”
“I am about to take my leave for only a few minutes, Lord Applegate,” Helena said, with a chuckle. “That is, if it would suit you?”
Lord Applegate smiled. “It would suit me very well, Lady Wickton. I thank you for your consideration.”
With a smile at Florence and a nod to Lord Applegate, Helena made her way from the room but left the door ajar, as though that, in some way, would make everything quite respectable.
Florence, watching her cousin leave, began to twist her fingers together, a sudden nervousness clutching at her chest. She had never before been alone with a gentleman and now, suddenly, here she was without any chaperone or the like.
“Lady Florence?”
Dragging her gaze towards him, Florence tried to smile but her whole body trembled lightly. “Lord Applegate.”
“I hope it was not presumptuous to come to call so soon.” His voice was gentle, perhaps a little concerned that she was still fatigued after yesterday’s circumstances. “Your father took you quickly away from the soiree and I was worried that you might be a little unwell because of it all.”
Her head shot up, her eyes fixing to his. “Unwell?”
The way his eyebrows lifted had her blushing.
“I apologize,” she said stumbling a little over her words. “I do not want you to think me poorly, that is all. Yes, I was quite taken aback by all that took place, but to be truthful, Lord Applegate, there was more relief in my heart than anything else.”
His hand brushed down her shoulder, her arm and then caught her fingers. “Relief that you did not have to wed Lord Cheswick.”
“Yes, indeed. I thought…” Her throat knotted and she closed her eyes briefly. “I thought that I was tied to him, that there was nothing to be done. Helena tried to reassure me but I was lost in darkness.”
“She spoke to me.”
Florence’s eyes flew wide.
“Her concern for you was great.” Rubbing one hand behind his neck, he offered her a wry smile. “The way she berated me was… well, it was what I needed to hear.”
The heat in Florence’s face rose quickly. “I did not ever expect Helena to berate you, Lord Applegate. If she was in any way upsetting, then I – ”
“She was quite right to do so,” Lord Applegate interrupted, albeit gently.
“I did not come to you when I ought to have done. After what happened with the cake – and no, you need not blush for it was not your doing – I should have come to speak with you, should have come to call upon you or written to you at the very least. Instead, I waited, hoping that you would be at the next social occasion I attended.”
Aware of the lingering flush in her cheeks, Florence took in a deep breath and looked back at him. “Might I ask why you did not come to call? Why you did not write?”
Lord Applegate’s mouth tugged to one side. “Because I was uncertain.”
“Uncertain of what?”
“Of my feelings, of what they meant,” he said, his hand finding hers again, his voice lowering just a fraction. “In addition, I had realized, for the very first time, just how cruel I had been.”
Surprise caught her chest. “Cruel?”
He nodded. “Yes, I was cruel. The way I spoke to and about others was inconsiderate and uncaring. I should never have had such complaints and held others to such high standards. Yes, there is the matter of propriety and expectation within society but I went above that, did I not?” His brow furrowed.
“I always had something to say, some grievance to make. I do not think that I truly realized just how much sorrow I had caused by being such a way, not until the night of the Christmas ball.”
Florence did not know what to say. This vulnerability, this awareness of himself and his failings was so astonishing, but yet so very welcome. “I have been aware of that part of your character, Lord Applegate, but your kindness to me and your understanding have always drawn me to you.”
The words were out of her mouth before she could even think to take them back. Silence filled the room, the fire crackling the only sound between them. The air seemed thicker now, and Florence stared up at Lord Applegate, her heart slowing to a dull thud as she waited for him to respond.
The gentleman dropped his gaze. “I do not think I deserve your consideration, Lady Florence. You speak so well of me but I know my failings.” A tiny smile touched one side of his mouth as he brought his eyes back to hers.
“And yet, despite my awareness of that and my acknowledgement of it, I cannot help my heart.” With a slow movement, he took a step closer to her, his hand still holding hers as he gazed into her eyes.
“Florence, it leaps with joy to hear you say such a thing to me.”
“That I am drawn to you?”
He nodded. “I did not ever expect that my heart would feel such things, truly. And yet, as this festive Season has continued on, as we have shared soirees and balls, as we have danced together, as – ”
“As you have endured my clumsiness?”
Chuckling, Lord Applegate’s eyes danced as his free hand reached out to brush lightly down her cheek. “As I have begun to understand you, as I have seen your fears and your worries and your strength building throughout, I have found my heart overwhelmed.”
His free hand now touched her shoulder, his fingers tracing her neck as she shivered with excited anticipation, his head lowering.
“I did not realize the extent of my feelings until my sister spoke to me.” His lips quirked. “She does not know of my presence here nor what my intentions are but I have every hope that she will be very pleased indeed once she hears of it.”
“Your sister is very kind,” Florence murmured, a little distracted by his touch, her breathing coming in short, sharp breaths. “I have always thought so.”
“Kinder than I,” he replied, softly. “But I think that having you near to me brings that kindness to the fore. I hope it will continue to grow… just as I hope that you will stay close to me, Florence.”
She could not speak, a knot in her throat.
When his head began to lower, Florence could only close her eyes and wait.
Her heart was thrumming in her chest, her whole body burning with a new anticipation, one that she had never felt before.
She started lightly when his hand cupped her cheek, his thumb grazing the curve of her jaw as she felt the warmth of his breath on her lips.
Then, he kissed her.
The gentleness of it spoke of tenderness and consideration and Florence leaned into him, her hands lifting to hold onto his shoulders, then sweeping around his neck.
Slanting his head a fraction left her breathless, feeling his hands drop to her waist, pulling her close to him.
This was not a moment to hold back, not a moment where she could hold back.
As inexperienced as she was, Florence kissed him with all the intensity and love she dared, her fingers now tangling through his hair.
When they finally broke apart, her whole body was tingling, her breathing ragged though Lord Applegate matched hers with his own quick breaths.
“Florence.” As he whispered her name, his forehead rested against hers and Florence smiled softly, her eyes still closed. “My darling Florence, I am quite in love with you.”
Keeping her eyes closed, Florence pulled herself close to him, putting her head on his shoulder as his arms crept around her, holding her there.
She lingered for some moments, saying nothing but lingering in the joy that surrounded them both.
“I love you too, my dear Applegate. I think I have loved you for longer than I truly realized.”
“Then you will marry me, will you not?”
She pulled back in surprise, hearing the urgency in his voice. “Marriage?”
“Yes.” Searching her eyes, Lord Applegate blinked quickly. “Is there something wrong?”
Florence shook her head, her happiness bubbling up all over again. “I did not expect it, that is all. I thought you would want courtship first, would want to make certain that this was what you wanted.”
“It is what I want. You are what I want,” he swore, leaning down a little so he could look deeply into her eyes.
“Florence, I have never felt this way about any creature before in my life. You have stolen my heart completely and I want nothing more than to make you my wife.” Another kiss was pressed to her lips, making her heart leap.
“This is all that I want, Florence. I want to make this the most wonderful Christmas for us both, and I want to make it the happiest you have ever known.”
Florence, bold now, reached up both hands and pressed them to either side of his face. “How could I refuse?” she whispered, tears of overwhelming joy in her eyes as he smiled at her.
“Then you will marry me?”
“Of course I will,” she answered, as a broad smile spread right across his face. “You have saved me from darkness and despondency and brought me instead more love and happiness than I had ever expected. I want nothing more than to spend every day with you.”
Lord Applegate turned his head and kissed her palm before Florence dropped it to his shoulder, slipping it around his neck once more. “Then we are engaged, Florence.” His smile faded suddenly, his eyebrows lifting. “Though I have not yet asked your father.”
Laughing, Florence put her other arm around his neck, her toes curling in her slippers as he held her close once more. “I can assure you, my dear Applegate, that my father will give you his agreement before you have even finished asking.”
Lord Applegate let out a breath of relief, a gleam coming into his eye. “Are you quite sure?”
“I am,” she promised. “I am absolutely certain.”
“Good.” His head began to lower again, making her sigh with expected contentment, her eyes fluttering closed. “Then I think, my love, that I shall kiss you soundly, all over again.”