Read A Bright Particular Star Online

Authors: Elizabeth Hanbury

A Bright Particular Star (54 page)


My darling girl,

he muttered t
hickly,
his hand
slowly
moving to cover
hers.

This
is madness!
Would
you really
marry me
after all
I have told you
?


Yes, if
only you will
ask
me.


You
are certain
you
wouldn
’t
regret it?


No!
For pity
’s
sake, Luc,
I don
’t
care about finery, I n
ever h
-h
ave!

she cried
, a catch in her voice.

I’m
not afraid of hardship.
I don
’t
mind being poor.
I don
’t
mind living in a
house
that is falling down



Wha
t, eve
n one with mice?

he
asked
, the corner of his
mouth twitching
.


Well, they will have to go,

she admitted,
smiling through her tears,

but nothing e
lse matters
as long as you are there
.
Home wi
ll be wherever you are.
If you
truly
still
want me
,
knowing
who an
d what I
am, I will always be yours
.


I can
scarce
believe it,

he murmured.

I love you so much yet
I never dared to hope


Suddenly, he went down on
one knee
,
took
her hand in his
and kissed it
.

In that case, m
y dearest
lov
e,

he said
, gazing
up at her
,

will you do me the immeasurable
honour
of becoming my wife?

The expression
in his eyes brought the colour rushing to Olivia
’s
cheeks a
nd took her breath away.
With a tremulous smile on her
lips
, she gave him her answer
.

Then
he
gathered her into his embrace
and
took her breath away again

first, with a ruthless,
searching kiss
,
and
then
with words, as
he
whispered
the myriad
ways
he intended to love her
and promised
her
a future filled with delight
.

****

Later
Sir Seymour
, magnificent in a
gold
brocade dressing gown, came into Harriet
’s
bedchamber.
She was seated
alone
at her dressing table, plaiting her hair and he
bent to
bestow
a
kiss on her
cheek.


Well, my dear,

he ventured,

are matters resolved to your satisfaction?


Indeed they are,

she replied warmly.
“T
wo weddings!
What could be more agreeable?

He laug
hed.

Nothing in your opinion
, to be sure.

An affectionate
mocking light
gleamed in
her eyes
as she regarded his reflection in the mirror
.

My love, don
’t
try to
gammon me
.
Y
ou are every bit as delighted as I am
!
You are a romantic at heart and well you know it.

“T
hat
is
your doing,

he observed,
smiling
.
“T
o think I did not know what love was until I found you.

Harriet
stood up and,
threading her arm through h
is, led him over to a small chaise
.

We are
lucky, a
re we not?
Dinny,
I’m
so pleased about Theo
and Sophie.
She is not
the sort of girl I expected him to marry, but
they will deal extremely well together
.
Have you noticed
the look on his face
when he watches
her
, and
how he seems to glow with happiness
?


Glow
?
He
’s
positively luminous
!

gru
mbled Sir Seymour
.

Why, he
’s
so besotted he
paid no attention
at all
t
o the
celebratory
bottle of b
ur
gundy I opened
earlier

too busy
listing
Miss Devereux
’s
virtues
to give an opinion on it!


A sure sign he is love
,

said Harriet, with a little laugh
.

May I ask what you said
to Luc?
Were you surprised to learn he had offered for Olivia?


Indeed
I was.
Oh, I
had
guessed he admired
her,
but I had no idea how
deeply he felt
.
I felt obliged to warn him that
marriage and his current role won
’t
sit easily t
ogether, but he is already
aware of it
.


Ah, yes.
Can you help at all?

she
asked,
her expression one of studied innocence.

His eyes twinkled
at her perception
.

I already have
.
Luc
is going to consider my of
fer to find him a less perilous
role.
As
I pointed out
,
there are other ways of serving your country.
Men of his calibre are always needed
in the Home Office
.
Daresay he won
’t
want to sit at a desk, but if
he has a mind
to pursue it, he has the
ability to hold a position in g
overnment someday.


It
’s
clear he
loves Olivia
very much,

mused
Harriet.
“T
hank goodness she has his support
.
This has been a traumatic day for her and if Luc had
not proposed


She
shook her head
and then
added in a lighter tone,

I

ve grown
very
fond of her, Dinny.
After
the life she has
led, the
child deserves to be happy
an
d
I’m
certain
she will find it
with Luc
.
He
will give her
the love and attention she is wor
thy of
, and she will help him find true contentment.
I could not have w
ished for a better match
.

Sir Seymour quirked a humourous eyebrow at his wife.

Ar
e there any other young men you would like to see pierced by Cupid
’s
arrow, my love?
Your influence certainly seems beneficial
in this
area
.

She considered for a moment.
“T
here is Luc
’s
reclusive
brother.

“T
he Solitary Duke
?

Dinny uttered
a crack of laughter.

A lost cause if ever there was one!

“S
o were you, my l
ove,

Harriet pointed out, giving him
a wry look
.

****

In the saloon, Theo was
bidding Sophie
good night
.
Cradled
in his arms,
he kissed her thoroughly
before saying,

I

ll be back
first thing in the morning.
Have you
sent
word to Verney yet?

She nodded.

I wrote to him
earlier.
Lady Verney would have been
concerned
by my absence,
and I thought it right to let
them k
now what had happened.
I

ll call
on them in a few days but in the meantime
I

ve asked for
my things
to
be sent here
.


At least that
’s
dealt with
.

He smiled down at her.

Now
to more important matters:
w
here would you like to get married?


Wherever
you will be waiting for me at the altar
,

she replied
candidly
.

“T
hen I

ll post down to Chenning and
arrange for us to be wed there
.

“S
ounds wonderful.
Theo?


Hmm?

he murmured,
after
planting another long, languorous kiss
on her mouth.


What happened to t
he Star?
I meant to ask you earlier when you returned to the inn after the accident but
,
for some reason,

she said, a wicked dimple appearing,

it went out of my mind
afterward
.

He grinned.

Guilty as c
harge
d,

he admitted
.
Then, more soberly, he added,

I’m
sorry to say
ther
e was no sign of it.
We checked Peregrine
’s
pock
ets
,
and his
remaining boot
, and
Luc went back to
search
around the canal
and along the route
, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Must have been los
t during the
mêlée
.
T
here
’s
little chance of it turning up now.

She bit her lip.

I
suppose it could not be helped
.


I’m
afraid not
.
No doubt you

ll mourn its loss because of its connection to your family
.


It
’s
not on
ly that,

she admitted,
sliding her arms
around him
.

In some ways,
it
’s
for
the best
that it has gone
. T
urmoil and unhappiness has fol
lowed the Star through the years
,
but
it also
formed most of my inheritance
.
I have little
money otherwise.

“D
o you
think that matters?

His breath stirred
the si
lky tendrils of hair
against her neck
.


Only i
n
as much as I could have sold t
he Star and used the proceeds to set up your stud farm.

“D
euce take the proceeds
!

muttered
Theo
, in a voice
like rough velvet
.

I want
to achieve that through my own efforts

our
efforts

and
not by selling an heirloom.

His hold on her tightened
as his lips drifted over her foreh
ead
.
“S
ophie,
I don
’t
care if you

re
a
s poor as a church mouse, we

re
getting married
,
and soon
.
Y
ou
are
my ‘bright
particular s
tar
,

not some dash
e
d sapphire.
Now
,
kis
s
me again.

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