30 #2
He took up the ring, turned her hand over, and slipped it on her fourth finger with shaking hands. “It is also a promise. I know I don’t have anything to my name right now. I’m penniless, and homeless, and jobless. Hell, I can’t even support my own mother and sister, much less a wife.”
Iris sucked in a sharp breath, her heart pounding in her chest. Wife. But he didn’t hear her for how rapidly the words poured from his mouth.
“But I will make something of myself, without anyone’s help, without having to rely on people like Durand.
You’ve made me realize how desperately I miss investigating.
That night of the ball, working alongside all of you, made me see that I could make a living for myself.
That I could take the talents I honed with the Runners and work independently.
It will take time to make enough to live on.
But I’m certain I’ll succeed. I can make a good home for you, Iris, I promise.
If you will just wait a bit, until I’ve got my feet under me—”
His words broke off and he stared blankly at her, and it was only then she realized she had begun to laugh.
“Oh, Oliver,” she said as her joy tumbled from her lips like bells. “I do want to be your wife, so very much. It will be lovely,” she mused, “to have a husband I desperately love.”
His eyes were beginning to glow. “You will wait for me?”
“Oh, no,” she said, all seriousness. “I won’t wait.”
His face fell in an instant. “You?.? .? .? won’t?”
“Of course not, silly.” Smiling widely, she took his face in both her hands, momentarily distracted by the glint of that lovely green gem before Oliver, with an agonized “Iris,” dragged her back to the issue at hand.
“I will not wait because we have no reason to wait.”
He frowned, a peculiar expression as he was also beginning to look fairly longingly at her lips. “But we will have no place to live, no money to live on. I cannot ask you to join me in such a life.”
“I don’t need to join you in such a life. Not that I would mind living thus as long as I’m with you.” She smiled beatifically at him. “But truly, there is no need for such concerns.”
“Iris, please explain,” he begged. “I’m growing more confused by the minute, which is not the best state of mind to be in considering how badly I wish to kiss you.”
Which was such a pleasing thought that she had to force herself to explain herself properly, something she had apparently been failing at horribly in the last minutes.
“Oliver, I have a house. And money. Quite a lot, actually.”
He frowned, his confusion seeming to increase. “You?.? .? .? do?”
“Of course I do. My mother left me everything.”
Still that confused frown remained in place. “But?.? .? .? the house, it burned to the ground.”
“And over the past five years I have been having it rebuilt.” She laughed lightly.
“I wasn’t going to just let the land sit empty like that, was I?
We have a place to stay, you and I and your mother and Verity.
And we shall be quite comfortable, too. And you will not have to rush your business, but may take your time and build it slowly and surely so it is strong and long-lasting. ”
Still he gaped at her, as if he could not quite grasp what she was saying.
Or mayhap he was displeased? Her heart plummeted into her stomach.
Oh God, was he unhappy? Did he think she was being cruel in telling him how much she had while he struggled with nothing?
She had been told that men could be extremely prideful when it came to financial security, after all.
Perhaps he resented the idea that she would be the one supporting them for the foreseeable future.
She looked down, pulling her hands back against her chest, fingers going to her cuff and picking mercilessly at it.
“If you would rather wait I would, of course, understand. The house might not be to your liking at all. Or mayhap it’s the location and you wish to stay in London.
Yes, we can certainly wait if you wish and move into a place of your choosing.
It matters naught to me. Whatever you wish, truly—”
He laid a hand gently over hers, stopping her agitated scratching. Then he hooked a finger under her chin and raised her gaze to his.
“Now who’s the silly one?” he murmured, eyes full. “We can begin our lives together immediately. That is such an incredible blessing.”
“You aren’t displeased? I haven’t hurt your pride?”
His hand moved to cradle her cheek. She could do nothing but lean into his touch, her very soul needing the physical connection.
“Love, I am the furthest thing from displeased. In truth, I could not be happier. And you think my pride could be hurt? The fact that you could love me fills me with a pride I never thought possible.”
He pulled her closer then, into the circle of his arms. “My God, I love you,” he murmured, eyes scouring her face before he lowered his head and claimed her lips with his own.
And Iris, like a key in a lock, felt the utter perfection of the moment as her life, once so out of sync with the rest of the world, found its home.