“I’ll do it again if you let me.” He reached for her hand, taking the fingers playfully in his own.
“Again? Wait, I do not understand,” she said, shaking her head and looking down at their connected hands. For one awful minute, Aaron feared she would pull her hand out of his, but she did not. She let their fingers twist together in an intimate grasp. “You are my friend, Lord Tattershall.”
“I am but must that always be the way it is between us?” he asked in a whisper. At last, she looked up to him again. He could have sworn those eyes were dazzling in the moonlight, with unshed tears, but he could not be certain.
“You once told me your heart belonged to another.” Her voice was so quiet he had to strain to hear it above the sound of the waves from the beach.
“I did say that, didn’t I?” He grimaced in memory of that moment. “Allow me to set the matter straight, right now. My heart has been in one place for some time now. In fact, I do not think I even realized when it first began to reside here, but it has been here. For goodness knows how long.”
“You are not making much sense, my Lord,” she said softly, with the smallest of smiles.
“I am clumsy at this; I do not know what to say for the best.” He ran his free hand through his hair, hoping it would somehow calm the errant thoughts beneath his head. “Lady Emily, my heart is yours. Completely. It has been with you for some time, and I don’t think I even realized what that meant until this afternoon, but the truth is, I am falling in love with you.”
The moment the words were uttered he breathed deeply, realizing exactly what he had done. He was laying his heart on the line again. The last time had had done this, it had been shot through, by the woman that turned away from him. He was terrified of feeling that way another time.
“You know me well by now. You know I have hurt from love before,” he said quickly, looking down at their hands and swallowing past his fears before he looked up at her, gazing at those eyes. “I fear I need to know now, before my heart is hurt again. Do I stand a chance, Emily?” He abandoned her title, for just this one time. “Do I ever have the possibility of winning your heart as you have mine?”
Chapter Eleven
Emily thought she must be dreaming, imagining herself in one of her novels, for how could this be true?
“Emily?” Lord Tattershall whispered, staring at her with what appeared to be desperate eyes. “Please, say something.”
“I am afraid of waking myself from this dream,” she said quietly. He smiled at once, hearing her words and lifting her hand to his lips. The moment he kissed her hand, she gasped, knowing without a doubt this was real. “This is all true?” she asked breathlessly. “How can you be falling in love with me? Withme?”She was baffled by the idea.
“I could explain it all to you, but I have a feeling we would be out here for many hours whilst I sang all your praises,” he said with a smile, practically whispering against her hand and teasing her with his lips on her skin. She giggled, unable to keep that laughter in. How was it possible that he cared for her in such a way? “I have a chance then?” he asked.
“A chance? You fool!” she said boldly, tapping him round the arm with her other hand.
“What?” he asked, pretending to be hurt and affecting a wince.
“The only reason I have stopped my heart from running away with you is because I thought you loved another.” She confessed the truth, feeling as she uttered the words that a lightness took over her body.
For a minute, nothing else mattered. Not the woman who had once had his heart, nor the letters up in Emily’s room that were demanding Emily stayed away from Lord Tattershall, all that mattered was that the two of them were here together.
“I only love you,” Lord Tattershall whispered, lifting her hand to his lips again. This time when he kissed her, he turned her hand over, kissing the inside of her wrist. It was a much more intimate area, with the touch of his lips against her skin making her step toward him, practically into his arms.
“The riddle you gave.” She laughed in realization. “It was directed to me, was it not?”
“If you’ll have me,” he said playfully. “If you would consider a courtship?”
“I…” Emily did not have time to answer for there was a loud clap from the side of them.
Emily jumped back, but Lord Tattershall did not let her go, he kept his hand firmly in hers this time as they both looked toward the doorway that led back into the house. In the space between the open doors, Arthur stood, looking at the two of them with his hands clasped together.
“Hurrah!” he said with humor in his tone. “I have been sent out here to the two of you as a chaperone.” He hurried forward toward them. “I’m guessing by the stance you two have taken that my appearance is somewhat late. Perhaps that is a good thing.”
“Arthur, please.” Emily winced, wishing she could wish her brother away anywhere else at this moment.
“You are clutching her hand for dear life, my friend,” Arthur laughed, reaching their side.
“I had noticed,” Lord Tattershall agreed, smiling despite Arthur’s jests.
“Arthur,” Emily said in a warning tone, making her brother laugh even more.
“What? Can I not delight in the fact that you two have stopped tiptoeing around each other at last?” he asked, gesturing between the two of them. Both Emily and Lord Tattershall looked sharply at him.
“What do you mean, tiptoeing?” Emily asked. “This is the first moment we have discussed anything likethis!”
