XVII #3
“Oh, Philip,” she said softly, “I love you so dearly, and I should like to marry you above all things, but are you certain you are not offering for me out of pity, fearing that I shall otherwise be left upon the shelf as a prop to my aging mama?”
“Nell, you are a goose,” he said, kissing her lightly.
“I’d never do anything so absurd. I love you.
” Despite the touch of amusement in his voice, she detected a tightness that she had heard only once before, and looking up at him, she could see the truth of the simple statement reflected in the heat of his gaze.
A glow seemed to spread to her very toes, and she could not take her eyes from his.
Returning her mesmerized look with a somewhat searching one of his own, Huntley began visibly to relax.
He bent to kiss her again, and this time Nell’s response made further conversation impossible for some moments.
At last he said, “I fell in love with you eight years ago.”
“Nonsense.” But she softened the effect of the word by caressing his cheek. “You never gave anyone the slightest of hints.”
“My suit would never have prospered,” he said.
“It would have been cruel to lead you to believe I felt more than friendship toward you, so long as your family was what it was. Only consider the problems we have had to overcome with Crossways and your sister, merely because Talcott is a younger son. And he has money and property of his own, which I did not have. I was completely dependent upon my father and then, after his death, upon my brother. I was not exaggerating when I said my sole reason for joining the military when I did was to avoid the humiliation of hanging upon his sleeve. It was bad enough to be made dependent upon Papa, but dependence upon my brother was intolerable to me. When I met you in London, I wanted nothing more than to ask permission to fix my interest with you. But I had no way to support you. The best I might have hoped for was an adequate allowance from my family. But your grandfather was a marquess, my dear. Your family would never have considered my suit while I was a mere penniless younger son. They’d have written me off as a fortune hunter.
And two years ago, when I came into the property, it never occurred to me that you would not have been married long since, with a brood of children at your knee. ”
“I thought much the same about you,” she confessed, smiling up at him, wanting to banish the look of pain that had touched his eyes again as he spoke. “Oh, Philip, how fate does play with us!”
“No more, my love.” His look softened, and he held her close. His hands began to move gently over her body. “We are together at last,” he murmured gruffly against her curls. “Your wretched niece will be well provided for, I think, so we can attend to our own affairs without a qualm.”
Nell sighed with pleasure at the thought, then suddenly wrinkled her brow. “I do worry about Mama,” she said. “She depends a good deal upon me, you know. Do you think perhaps she ought to live with us?”
He made a small choking sound. “I don’t think that will be necessary, love. Lady Agnes will be in good hands.”
“I wish I could be certain of that, but Kit, you know, has not the habit of looking after her.”
“You cannot say the same of Sir Henry.” He looked down at her quizzically.
“Well, of course not,” she retorted, “but he is merely her man of affairs, scarcely as close to her as a daughter.”
“As a husband, however, he will be a deal closer,” Huntley murmured, letting his hands play teasingly across her breasts.
But she pulled away from him in astonishment. “Philip, you must be joking! Sir Henry?”
“Indeed. Not only did I procure one special license at Crossways’ request, but a second at Sir Henry’s. I am a most obliging fellow.”
“Well, for heaven’s sake!” She eyed him innocently. “Two licenses, my lord?”
“Three licenses. And at vast expense, I’ll have you know.”
“Ah,” she said wisely, watching him from under her lashes, “and to think I once thought you a cautious man.”
He chuckled, drawing a finger lightly beneath her chin. “But I am cautious, my love. However, I am also sure.”
“Are you, my lord?” He nodded, drawing her into his arms again. “Well, I am also sure, but I am not very cautious,” Nell murmured into his waistcoat. “Are you truly persuaded that you wish to be saddled with an impulsive bride?”
“You may be as impulsive as you like, little one,” he said, amused. “I shall endeavor to do what I can to rescue you whenever you fall into the briars.”
“Just like a knight in shining armor!” she said soulfully, twinkling up at him. “And to think Rory had quite convinced me that you hadn’t got a romantic bone in your body!”
“I haven’t!” he denied, revolted.
“Fiddlesticks. But you needn’t repine. I shan’t tell a soul. ’Tis the duty of a good wife to protect her husband’s proud name.”
“Does that mean you will marry me, Nell?” His tone was deeply serious again, and there was anxiety in the hazel eyes as he waited for her response. She smiled at him.
“Yes, Philip, I will.”