Chapter Thirty-one
It was hours before they returned to Glanmore Park, but Tobias was confident that the threat of the Ashbys was finally over.
The men the American couple had hired to help them abduct Charlotte had been more than willing to talk once it had been made clear to them that not to do so would be far more problematic for them than the opposite.
Tobias now had enough evidence to convict Grace’s father for attempted murder and both him and his wife for attempted abduction of Charlotte.
Whether he would press for a conviction was something he would decide later, when he was calm and he had discussed the matter with his brothers.
Though Grace had washed her hands of her parents, she would not want to see them hang, no matter what she said.
It may be enough for his family to see them returned to their home country and ensure they were stripped of access to Sebastian’s money.
As wealth was all the couple had sought, a lifetime of penury might be enough of a punishment.
Grace was quiet on the slower ride back to Glanmore Park.
Not tired or sad, just thoughtful. Even though they were surrounded by riders, he still threaded his fingers through hers, needing the contentedness touching her brought him.
Despite their linked hands, there was no time for them to have a private conversation and he did not think he could find the words to express what he was feeling even if there had been.
When they got back, those who had been left behind demanded detailed explanations, wanted points clarified and meaning dissected, until they were all almost word-perfect on what had passed at the inn.
The talking went on until after the sun had set, but not once did he let go of Grace’s hand, nor did she try and move away from him.
Much later, when his family were still talking about what had happened, even though every angle had been discussed a thousand times, Grace finally unlinked her fingers.
Smiling at him, she lightly brushed his arm with her hand before standing and quietly exiting the room.
No one else seemed to notice. Without thinking, Tobias followed her.
She was letting herself into her bedroom when he caught up with her.
‘Grace,’ he said, his fingers catching her elbow.
She stilled, her face upturning to look at him.
In the dimness of the passageway, he could not make out the fine details of her face, but she did not appear surprised to find him standing there.
From what he knew of her, he thought she might be trying to talk herself into believing his family did not want her around any more.
He was here to rid her of that notion once and for all.
But that was not all. He was tired of fighting his desire for her, tired of denying them what they both wanted.
Life was short, joy and happiness fleeting.
Not grabbing hold of it when it was in front of you was a waste.
‘May I come in?’
She blinked up at him, the meaning of his words slowly dawning on her. Her throat bobbed. ‘Of course,’ she said, the slight tremble in her body not evident in her words.
Inside, her room was quiet and still. Her nightdress lay neatly folded at the end of her bed and something about the innocent garment tugged at his heartstrings.
The faint smell of lavender hung in the air and he knew that, for the rest of his life, whenever he smelled it, he would remember this moment, the seconds before he surrendered everything to her.
‘Are you sure?’ she said, when he closed the door behind him, the soft click of it shutting seeming to reverberate around the space.
He slipped his fingers through hers and squeezed, delighting in her returning the gesture. Whatever happened next, he did not want to lose this closeness, the feeling that he was part of a pair.
‘I am,’ he said.
Slowly, they walked towards the bed, all the time in the world theirs for the taking.
They had been leading to this moment since the moment she had first grabbed at his sleeve, trying to save him from drowning.
And while that had not been a success, her arrival in his life had saved him.
Before that he had been living a half-life with only shades of grey, and now, with her in it, it was full of colour.
Sitting down at the base of her mattress, he pulled her onto his lap.
‘I realised something this evening,’ he said into her shoulder.
‘Something you have been telling me all along that I have not been hearing, not really.’
‘What is that?’ Her fingers threaded into his hair, her nails scraping against his scalp.
‘People have been trying to manipulate you all your life, telling you what to do and what to think. When you were spoken to in the inn, the way your mother phrased her comments, I finally understood. I promise you that I will never try to control your actions or your decisions. I still want you to be my wife. I will always want that. Not to be my duchess, you understand, but to be my partner in life. But today has shown me why that is not something you want and I will respect that.’ He swallowed, his throat tight.
‘I love you, and I want you in any way I can have you. If it makes you more comfortable to be my lover and my closest friend, then that is what I shall give you.’
‘Oh, Tobias.’ From her tone, he couldn’t tell whether his name on her lips was a good thing or not.
But the pads of her fingers trailed down his neck and underneath the collar of his shirt and he decided it didn’t matter.
He tugged her mouth to his, pouring his love for her into his kiss.
She responded, clinging to him as if he was her everything too.
They were shifting up the bed; her hair was unpinned, his jacket gone, the buttons of his shirt undone.
Fingers moved over skin, the underside of her breast, the curve of her hip; her dress was gone and then so were her stays.
He slowed his touch down, running his palm down her back, over her stomach, listening to the noises she made as he explored every inch of her.
He was going to take his time, savour every moment of this first time together.
‘Wait,’ she said, as his mouth travelled down her body, the lush curves laid out for him, her hand on his shoulder, urging him on even as her words said the opposite. ‘Wait.’
He groaned against her skin.
‘I am going to regret this,’ she said, her voice shaking, ‘but I think we should wait.’
‘What? Wait for what?’ His cheek brushed against her breast and she arched towards him.
‘No,’ she breathed. ‘Forget I said anything. Carry on.’
Most of him, nearly all of him, wanted to forget she had spoken, but he couldn’t. ‘Wait for what, Grace?’
‘Married,’ she blurted out, almost as if she were saying the word against her will. ‘We should get married. But we should not wait. That was a foolish suggestion.’
Only the words she had just uttered could have wiped the feel of her delicious body beneath his from his mind. ‘Are you serious?’
‘About not waiting. Absolutely.’ She wiggled underneath him, which almost scattered his thoughts completely. He just about clung to them, because this was the most important moment of his life.
‘No,’ he said, holding her still so that she could not tempt him further. ‘Are you serious about getting married?’
‘Yes.’
He moved back up the bed, so that her face was next to his. He wanted to look in her eyes while they had this conversation. ‘What has changed your mind?’
Her fingers traced his cheek, his forehead, brushing his hair from where it had fallen into his eyes. ‘You.’
He smiled, because he couldn’t not. ‘You will have to give me more than that.’
‘Always fishing for compliments.’ She rolled her eyes, but her smile was wide.
‘Because I love you. I want to be Mrs Dashworth. I want to see you grow old and to see these lines deepen every year because you smile so often.’ Her fingers traced the sides of his eyes where he must have wrinkles he didn’t know about.
‘I want to be your wife, because you are willing to give me the choice, because you are willing to sacrifice what you want for me. But…’ she gripped his arm ‘…you have been torturing me for weeks, winding me up until I feel as if I might burst from wanting you. Do not make me wait any more, I beg of you.’
Happiness this intense was new to him. It burned a path through his body, lighting him up from within. ‘Will you marry me as soon as is possible?’
‘I will.’
‘Do you promise? I know you always hold yourself to those.’
Her smile faded to be replaced by a look full of love, and he knew he would never get tired of seeing it on her face. ‘I swear to you, Tobias Dashworth, that I will marry you as soon as it is possible.’
‘Then I do not see any reason to wait,’ and he resumed what he had been doing when she had stopped him. Her soft cries of encouragement were all he needed to hear. Grace was his home and his future and whatever happened next, they would face it together.