Chapter Eighteen #2
‘There were bank records as well. Unsurprisingly, Grandfather also lied about our father dying with debts. With luck, we shall be able to untangle the money we were meant to have from whatever funds he began with. There will also be compounded interest and whatnot.’ She sighed.
‘Percy might not enjoy working it all out, but I am sure the end result will make him a very rich man.’
‘I did not come out here to talk about Percy,’ he replied. His smile now was not so carefree as it usually was. It was gentle and held an edge of doubt. ‘How much of my conversation with your grandfather did you hear?’
‘Very little,’ she admitted.
‘I told him who I was. I told him there was no Smith and that it was my idea to pretend to be him.’
It didn’t really matter now, but she was glad he’d told the truth, just the same.
‘It was stupid of me,’ he went on. ‘But I wanted to help you. And I thought, at the time, that if I could do so without bringing the Bonham title into it, I could prove something to myself.’
‘I thought, perhaps, you were ashamed to be seen with me.’ She had the old, familiar desire to look down at her feet but ignored it to look into his eyes.
‘Ashamed of myself, perhaps.’ He shrugged before continuing. ‘I’ve never thought Thomas Carew was good for much. I thought I might prove myself wrong with this little game we played. That I ended up making such a muddle of it only confirmed the truth. It is better for all of us if I remain Bonham.’
‘Do not be silly,’ she said and took his hand.
‘I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do half the things I did this week if it were not for Tom Smith urging me on.
I could not have stood up to my grandfather the way I did.
I didn’t have the nerve to be so outspoken with the Duke of Bonham.
I was even wary of Thomas Carew. Then I met Tom Smith and everything changed. ’
He raised her hand to his lips. ‘Smith was only a fantasy.’
‘The name was made up,’ she agreed. ‘But you were right before. The man himself was never anyone but you.’ It was terribly forward of her but she put her arms around him, just as she’d wished to, earlier.
Then she kissed him. It was long and sweet.
When it was through she had not fallen off the bench or done anything that rendered the moment less than perfect.
When he spoke, he was as breathless as she felt. ‘You liked Tom Smith?’
‘He said he loved me,’ she replied simply.
‘And how do you feel about the Duke of Bonham?’
Did she dare to admit it? ‘I think I always loved him,’ she said, willing herself not to look away. ‘But I knew it was hopeless.’
‘And even when you brought him to his knees, he still would not tell you he loved you,’ he said with a sigh.
‘He always was a bit of an idiot.’ He kissed her again.
‘How could I not have noticed this before?’ Another kiss.
‘Perhaps plain old Thomas Carew is not as stupid as I thought.’ Still another kiss.
‘Or was it Smith who fell in love with you, first?’ He nuzzled her neck.
‘I have no idea who I am when I’m with you.
I feel as if I have taken a long journey, only to walk in a circle and come back to the place where I began.
Beginning or ending, it was always you.’
‘But I’ve changed,’ she said, snuggling against him. ‘For the better, I think. I was timid as a mouse when I was in London. But today, I can do anything.’
‘Because you have beaten your grandfather at his own game,’ he said, slipping an arm around her waist.
‘And because you have come back to me,’ she said. She caught another whiff of his delicious cologne.
He caught her sniffing and laughed. ‘If you can do anything, and I believe you can, do you think perhaps you might try your hand at being a duchess?’
He was shifting again, preparing to go down on one knee. Once more she held him back.
‘The ground is dirty and your breeches are very fine. I would not want you to ruin them.’
‘Kneeling is customary,’ he pointed out.
‘But you cannot do that and hold me at the same time. I would much prefer that you keep doing that. Percy will be here soon and he’ll probably make you let go of me.’
‘True on all counts,’ he said. ‘Back to my question. You now have money enough to refuse me and courage enough to live on your own. But I am hopelessly in love with you and I don’t know what I will do if I cannot ever make love to you again.
Percy will definitely not allow that without a wedding ring. ’
She stroked his lapel, then slid her hand beneath it to rest over his heart. ‘I have heard that powerful men can get special licenses,’ she teased. ‘It is all the rage to marry quickly for ladies of fashion.’
Thomas looked off down the hill. ‘If we change horses and sleep in the carriage, we can drive straight through without stopping. Percy will need to sort out matters with the banks and the lawyers, of course. He can come along as a chaperone.’
‘I am of age and no longer need a chaperone,’ she reminded him, thinking of long hours alone in the carriage with Thomas.
He let out a low, throaty laugh. ‘Miss Skeffington, you most definitely need a chaperone. For the sake of your brother’s nerves, if nothing else. But we can be back in London tomorrow and I will go for the license as soon as I’ve had a shave and a change of linen. Is that soon enough?’
‘I suppose it will have to do,’ she said with a smug smile.
‘Oy! Bonham, take your hands off my sister!’ Percy called from the doorway to the house. To Louisa he sounded half serious, which was far too serious for the occasion.
‘Fetch the champagne, Percival,’ she called back, clinging even tighter to the man she loved. ‘I am to be a duchess and that is not the only thing we are celebrating.’ She stood, pulling Thomas after her. ‘Come along, Mr Smith, we have to tell my brother that he’s lord of the manor.’
‘As you wish, my love,’ he said. ‘As you wish.’