Chapter 64
Chapter sixty-four
When Valeraine arrived at the Pemberley estate — unexpected — astride a dragon — the servants were all a flutter. They recognized her, and so welcomed her, but it was clear they were all anxious to pass the problem of Miss Valeraine Longbourn to someone else as soon as possible.
Lelantos laid down on a green in their garden, content to nap. Perhaps his previous stay of a week at this nest had accustomed him to it.
Valeraine sat on a bench nearby. A large parcel (a sturdy and padded sack) sat next to her feet, waiting to be hand-delivered. A servant offered her tea, which she accepted. It was twilight, and she watched the dimming sky.
When the Master of the House finally arrived, it was clear he had rushed to her without tidying his appearance.
He was in plainer clothes than she had ever seen him wear; these were not the polished flying leathers he wore to the derbies, but a rougher and more comfortable variety.
This casual Pemberley was at odds with how she thought of him: poised and concerned with appearances.
It was like he was naked before her, without the fine fabrics and pretenses.
His hair was terribly mussed, showing evidence of his recent flight.
Valeraine wanted to run her hands through it and tidy it.
He had been working with his dragons, and now he was here, looking at her with an expression she could not decipher.
Well. He had made it plain that he did not like to think of her, so having her here was surely not a pleasant experience. It didn’t need to be. She wasn’t here for niceties.
Pemberley began to sit on the bench next to her.
Valeraine stood, holding the sack out.
Pemberley stood, for propriety’s sake. He did not move to take the parcel.
“I believe this is yours,” Valeraine said.
Pemberley leaned forward to take it. Once it was in his hands, recognition sparked in his eyes.
He could feel the heft and curve of the contents, and he had handled so many dragon eggs in his life it was instantly familiar.
He looked inside the bag to check, anyway.
“Miss Longbourn, I have made it clear that this is your bounty,” he said stiffly.
Valeraine did not reach out to take the offered bag. “Longbourn has no place for an egg. As you yourself have said, we are but a lowly house with no future.” Her heart twinged to say the words, letting go of a dream. This was what her family needed.
“I cannot accept this, surely you see that.” Pemberley was bereft, still holding out the heavy sack, frozen in the space between them.
“And you think to move your problem onto Longbourn? We do not accept it.”
“But you earned this,” he gave the bag a little bounce. “It is yours by right. The egg and the money —”
“We have claimed the money. I will not be returning that.”
“Oh. Yes, then.” He seemed to not know what to do with this, that she was conceding to his wishes, and yet putting him in the position of arguing against her anyway. “But you cannot give the egg back to me.”
“I cannot, can’t I? How is this action any different than yours? At least I’ve done it in person, instead of by letter.”
“I assumed you wouldn’t want to see me, and I did not want to burden you with my presence.”
“Very well. I will not burden you with mine any longer.” Valeraine took a step toward Lelantos.
Pemberley stepped to block her way. “You are an impossible woman! At least,” he began, then lost his momentum. “At least,” he said again, “Allow me to pay you for this egg.”
“The Crown would have us in irons for that deal.”
“What would you have me do?” Pemberley straightened, towering over her. He stepped close to Valeraine, and said in flustered frustration, “Shall we share the egg, then? Shall I join with Longbourn, or you come to Pemberley?”
For a moment, her heart leaped at the idea. Them. Raising this egg together. Building something together. It couldn’t be done. Unless... “What do you mean?”
“Miss Longbourn, you have previously made your opinions on my suit very clear. If your opinions are unchanged, simply say the word and I will depart from the subject forever.”
He spoke of his proposal of marriage from the winter.
The one that she had so roundly dismissed, when he had been so insulting and dismissive of her.
Valeraine struggled to connect this Pemberley (apologetic, trying so hard to appease her) to that Pemberley (who had been certain she would accept him).
Seeing she did not immediately contradict him, Pemberley gathered a little more courage.
“But if your opinions have changed... I dare to hope. Because though my attitudes toward many things have shifted since that fateful day, my admiration of you has not. I wanted so desperately to see you, but mailed the egg instead because I thought I would not be welcome at Longbourn. I took your victory, and I’m so sorry for that. ”
How did Valeraine feel about this man? He was terribly rich, and insufferable.
His nest was large and well-maintained. He took care of hatchlings with the greatest of gentleness, and wrote impassioned articles about decorum and safety for The Dragoneer’s Journal.
He was loyal to Mr. Nethenabbi to a fault, and had once put a stop to his courting of Alyce.
But, now, he had reversed that position, and the wedding was still on.
Pemberley had once said he loved her. Against his reason and better judgement.
That was all things he had done, though, the facts of the case. How did she feel about this man?
Valeraine wanted to see what he became. He was already changing, chipping away at his prejudice toward her family, like when he had invited them to stay at his manor.
She might be in love with this man.
She was in love with Bennington Pemberley. He was proud, and uncommunicative. His proposal to her had been offensive beyond belief, and yet despite it all she wished she had said yes.
She loved the way that he easily accepted her, even with all of her faults (which he was ever cognizant of).
She loved seeing the change in him, where he had transformed from so disapproving that he separated Nethenabbi from her family, to repenting and repairing his mistakes and supporting her in the Royal derby.
He was a man capable of great change, and she loved him for it.
She wanted to be close enough to see how he changed next.
Valeraine admitted, “My feelings, since I expressed them in the winter, have changed drastically.”
Pemberley knelt by her side, and took her hands gently in his.
“Since my last plea for your hand, I’ve had opportunities to admire you.
I’ve seen your courage and tenacity, your care and your sacrificial spirit.
You have bewitched me, and give me courage and hope that I can one day take a fraction of the beautiful risks you do.
You set the world aflame with your beauty and passion, and I’m full of joy to look upon you. I love you, Valeraine.”
Valeraine had no words. She could do nothing but squeeze his hands with hers, a fluttering touch.
“I have been abominable toward you. I keep remembering what you said to me, ‘If you had presented yourself with humility.’ I have behaved most ungentlemanly toward you. I have insulted your family, and your person. I apologize with my whole heart, and beg you to forgive me. I will endeavor to correct myself to be even the smallest bit worthy of your company.”
“I forgive you,” Valeraine whispered, and found it was so. She couldn’t continue to be angry with this sincere man in front of her.
“Valeraine, will you marry me?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
Then, in realization, she said, “No. No, I cannot.”
“You cannot?” Pemberley looked as if he might fall over, his kneel becoming wobbly.
“I cannot leave Lelantos. He’s my dragon.”
Pemberley stood up at this, still holding her hands. “I cannot live without you. If I were to leave Pemberley nest to be with you at Longbourn, would you accept my suit then?”
Valeraine shook her head, disbelieving. He would give all this up, for her?
“What if I bought Lelantos, and brought him here to Pemberley, would you come to be the mistress of this nest then?”
That might just work. But, “It might be years before he settled enough here to contribute any useful work,” she protested. “And you must know that people say he will not live long.”
Pemberley smiled ruefully. “For a chance to have the winner of the Royal derby as a drake in my nest, I consider that a worthwhile investment. And for the chance to have you at my side, all the better.”
Valeraine imagined this life. Her and Pemberley as the masters of the grand nest together, with Lelantos at her side.
Her dragon would ease into a new life at Pemberley nest over the years, his temperament mellowing as he acclimatized.
She would have a husband who not only accepted her riding, but championed it.
This was what she needed: not the acceptance of all the dragon houses. Not the praise of the wider world. She needed to be proud of herself, and have a collection of loved ones who cheered her.
“Yes,” Valeraine said.
Pemberley tentatively approached her and pulled her into his arms, soft and slow.
She looked into his eyes, intense and sincere.
“Valeraine,” he whispered, and leaned in for a kiss.
She kissed him, and her heart soared. This was where she belonged; she was sure of it.
“I love you,” he murmured in her ear. Another kiss. “I love you.”
“I love you,” she whispered back.
They held each other as the stars twinkled to life.