At the mention of her father and how she had married Henry, she glanced at her hands and then at the earl. He was more awake and aware now. His skin pink. His pale eyes bright. “When I heard he had married the girl whom the sheets declared had been rescued by an American named Belmont, well, I had to send for him and learn if he belonged to us.”
“Naturally, you did.”
The old man nodded. “Justin was a good man. He is still.”
“A fine man.”
“A very noble man, my dear, in more ways than I ever was. And in all the ways that a man should be.”
“You are proud of him,” she said, with pride of him herself, and had to fish for a handkerchief in her tiny purse to blow her nose. “I am, too. What he did for me, my lord, eleven years ago was extraordinary. Honorable and very brave. I shall forever be grateful to him.”
“So then tell me why you and I discuss him, Kitty. I may call you Kitty, may I not?”
“Yes, sir.” She dabbed at her eyes and blew her nose. “I have come today to ask you to reconsider your stipulations for a bride for Justin.”
“Intriguing. And why should I do that, Kitty?”
“Because, my lord, I want to marry him. I want to ask him to marry me.”
He pursed his thin lips. “Why?”
“I love him dearly. I have loved him since the first days he rescued me, and I shall love him until the day I die. I want to ask you to allow me to propose to your nephew, my lord.”
The old codger seemed to float and gloat. “Wonderful. A woman who finally knows her own mind.”
She tipped her head, confused. “
Finally
? My lord, what–?”
He waved a hand at her. “Why must I waive the stipulations?”
“Because I do not fit them all.”
He hemmed and hawed. “You are an heiress in your own right.”
She nodded.
“You are well received, well regarded. Provided, of course, no one ever learns about what happened in the pantry and the library.”
“I am. And no one will learn of it. They have not yet, and so I doubt it will come out.”
“And the last stipulation?”
“The dowry. The money. You must know, my lord, I have little. Henry left me nothing but the house in Cavendish Square. And for you to require Justin to marry a rich woman—”
“In my position, would I not look the idiot if I did not insist on money for my heir?”
“Well—”
“Every man worth his salt declares it to be so. Don’t you agree?”
“I do, but—”
“And a man should also insist on his wife being prudent with his money.” He stared at her, then smiled. “Come, tell me about your finances.”
“Oh, well, I–” She hesitated over that. Then realized any delay now was not only foolish but also counterproductive. About the need for Justin’s bride to be an heiress, had she succumbed to a presumption? One that did not exist? “I have paid off Henry’s debts with my earnings, and I live from moment to moment. But I plan to sell the house. If Justin will have me, I will not need it. I could bring that amount of money to the marriage, if he likes. And also, I will promise Justin to temper my spending on bonnets.”
“And perfume?”
Had she no secrets at all?
Good God! Maggie had told Justin so many of her foibles, but clearly in turn, Justin had shared quite a few with his uncle!
Oh, hell. Best to give in and get on with it!
“Absolutely. No perfume or French chefs or silk negligees.”
“Oh, my dear girl, if you marry Justin, you best buy the most diaphanous negligees your Parisian lingerie designer can sew!”
“But I cannot marry Justin, my lord, unless you agree to free him from the necessity of marrying a rich woman.”
He leaned forward and gazed into her eyes. In his, she saw the joy of an old man with a delicious secret. “My pet, Justin has been free to marry any woman he wished for more than ten years. He did not wish any of them. He wanted only one woman, and she was—until a year and a half ago—beyond his reach.”
Tears dribbled down her cheeks. “You mean to say that he made up these stipulations? All of them?”
“The frivolous ones. The golden blonde. The widow. The mother.” The earl nodded. “Of course he did.”
“But your requirement for wealth?”
“I freed Justin of that requirement the day Henry Varney died. At his demand.”
“You knew then that Justin—?”
“Wanted you for all these years. Would court you if he could. Marry you if he could persuade you. Yes. Oh, yes.”
She sat there for an hour or more, visiting with the old man, laughing and talking with him. Finally, she asked one more question of him, “Where can I find Justin? He has disappeared from London, and none of the scandal mongers has even a clue where he might have gone.”
* * * *
Two days later, Kitty climbed down from the very same carriage with the very same coachman she’s had when she first came to Belmont Manor nearly two months ago. This time, the man seemed friendlier, but she was certain that was because he suspected risqué doings between her and the owner of the manse. The fact that she insisted he return in the hour from the village and that he not remove her trunk from his boot had him frowning.
“Should I not just wait here for you, milady?” he asked after she alighted.
“No, please.”
I must have hope. I must appear to be confident of acceptance
.
Justin’s butler opened the door, shock the most thrilling emotion inscribed on his usually placid features. “My lady. We are honored by your presence.”
She wanted to hoot at his pleasantry. “I wish to see Lord Belmont immediately.”
But wherever Justin was, whatever he had been doing while she paced in his receiving room, she was not prepared for how he looked when he did appear in the doorway.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he rasped, eyes bleary, sans cravat and coat, casual breeches of tan and cordovan riding boots splattered with mud and dust.
She faced him fully. Not having dared to sit, lest she appear too comfortable when she really felt like bouncing around the room like a ball, she smoothed her skirt. “I came to talk with you.”
“
Talk
to
you
? No. You are deaf!” He advanced on her, fire in his eyes.
She stood her ground, even if her heart twisted painfully in her chest at his anger. “Obviously, I am blind as well.”
That took him aback. But he turned on his heel and waved an arm. “Stay. Go. I care not.”
“But you do. I now know you do!”
“Late for that,” he muttered, almost to the door and taking her heart and all her hope with him.
“I went to see your uncle.” She tried one last lure.
He spun. “At the Abbey?”
“Yes.”
“What the devil for?”
Blurt it out!
“I had to ask his blessing so that I could propose marriage to you.”
His mouth dropped open. He snapped it shut. She could not have shocked him more had she fallen to her knees like a lovesick swain to ask for his hand.
She had to work quickly. “After the garden party, I felt wretched, and I suspected something between you and Maggie.”
“Never!”
She was not deterred. “Something like friendship. Something like trust. I went to her and lo and behold, I see that the two of you have been scheming together!”
“No matter. Our plans did not work.”
“My sister loves me. I know she does. And she has never in her short life worked against me.”
“She is a wise woman.”
“Wiser than I, apparently. Yes.” Taking the advantage, she rushed onward. “Then the day after the party at the Darlingtons, I learned you had left London. Soon after, the gossips put out that Susanna Curtis would come here soon. I could not bear the idea that she might be here with you and that the only person who should ever enter your tiny wedding cottage is me.”
“Susanna grows roses,” he informed her as he searched her gaze for truth.
“But you did not plant them for her to nurture, Justin.” She stepped so close to him, she could smell his cologne, and the fragrance brought back memories of his musky skin pressed to her own. “I am the only one who should tend them. I am the golden blonde, the mother, the widow, the heiress to a grand old title. I am the well-respected woman you want. Need.”
“Too late. I am done with wanting you, chasing you.”
“You are. Oh, you most definitely are! And your uncle confirmed it for me.” She placed her palms over the soft cotton of his shirt and spread her fingers over his broad chest. “He released you from the requirement of wealth long ago. At your demand. I did not know. How could I? I did not know how you and he discussed your desire to have me. To marry me. I presumed he demanded wealth from your future bride. Oh, Justin, do not divide us now by your pride. I am the woman you have loved, my darling, for so many years that you refused to marry anyone else.”
He cursed. “He should not have told you.”
“You wanted me to realize for myself that you loved me. I know. I know.” With both hands, she cupped his cheeks.
Grasping her wrists, he pushed her away.
Desperate now, she would not let him go. “For all the years we lost together, let me make them up to you. Let me.”
“How can I?” he bellowed.
“Because you will not marry any other woman.”
“And I will not marry you. Not when you do not tell me why you wish to marry me.”
Had she not declared that? Had she not tossed pride and dignity to the winds to tell him how she—
She stepped to him once more, and this time she rose on tiptoes and brushed her mouth on his once, twice. “I adore you. I have since I was a young girl. I have since I was a sad and forlorn bride, forced to marry a man because my father owed him money. I have loved you through years and years when I endured a lonely, bitter relationship with a man who did naught but belittle me and spend my dowry. All those years, I loved you for how you had saved me from the French. Loved you for the man whose reputation in the
ton
was sterling. I loved you for the nobility of your character. Loved you when I presumed I would never have you near me. If I was deaf and blind to your true intent with me these past few months, you must forgive me for being a creature unused to having men wait upon her. Unused to happiness. Unused to having anyone make her dreams come true. I loved you, Justin Belmont. American and privateer. Englishman and gentleman. Heir and Viscount. I loved you eleven years ago, and I love you now.”
Placing her hands on his arms, she put them around her waist. Stiff, unyielding, he did not touch her with his hands. But neither did he retreat. She put her body flush to his, the warm contours of his muscles fitting so well to hers. “Will you please marry me, Justin? I fulfill all your requirements, darling. But most of all, marry me because I love you.”
He crushed her close to him, one hand around her waist, one hand cupping her hair, dislodging her bonnet. Clasped so near, she could not breathe. Dared not think beyond the moment and the hope he might accept her.