“I must have some charm, too,” Bridget pointed out.
The Duke laughed and spun her with more gusto. She gasped and then laughed as she was spun around. The world around them became more of a blur. The Duke’s eyes shone brighter, and a glow appeared around him. Bridget became bathed in it, and it warmed her through and through.
She held onto him tighter, less afraid to let him go now but still not wanting to let him escape her grasp.
“You will be nothing like your father,” Bridget reassured him.
The Duke nodded, the smile leaving his face for a moment. “I know.”
“You are a good man, but you don’t need me to tell you that. You already know you are a good man.”
“I have a theory,” the Duke admitted.
“What is your theory?”
Bridget could hear the muffled sounds of others dancing around her, but it felt like they were in a bubble, and they could only properly hear each other.
“Perhaps we are only irritating and infuriating because we have not found the person who can provide balance in our lives. It is as if we have only been half the people we are supposed to be until we meet each other. Does that make sense?”
“I think it does,” Bridget replied. “I have spoken for many years about not finding a man who could treat me well enough, and I believed for a long time there was not such a man. Then, you came along, and you are the opposite of what I thought I was looking for, but it somehow works.”
“I thought the very same,” the Duke admitted, slightly out of breath as his movements quickened with the music. “We spent a long time looking for something separately, and it was not until the opposite of that thing came along that we finally felt complete.”
“I don’t understand it, and I don’t want to,” Bridget said.
The Duke spun her around one more time, and the music came to an end. Clapping rang out from those who were still seated, and murmurs of approval rang out across the dance floor. Bridget spotted Margaret, even though her sister did not catch her eye, and it warmed her heart to see how happy she was.
“I must tell you something,” Bridget murmured.
It did not feel as if they were alone on the dance floor anymore, but there was enough noise to talk and not be overheard. Everyone was either too busy congratulating their partners for the dance or looking toward the married couple to be bothered about the Duke and Bridget.
“What must you tell me?” The Duke asked.
“When we danced under the stars all those nights ago, that was when I knew I had feelings for you. Those feelings only grew in our time apart, and when we came back together this afternoon, I knew what they had grown into. I cannot hold it in any longer and must tell you that I love you.”
“As you should,” the Duke deadpanned. “I am a handsome and charming man.”
Bridget was stunned. She tried to compose herself so she could say something to him, but she did not have time before he spoke.
He held up his hands. “I am only teasing you. I apologize, I could not resist. I love you, too. Of course, I love you. We are destined to be together, Lady Bridget, and we shall be once I have dealt with one final matter.”
CHAPTER29
The People Who Once Were
“Excuse me for a moment,” the Duke said as they left the dance floor. “I need to check on your father.”
“And I need to talk to Margaret. She has been giving me questioning looks ever since we returned from our walk, and I know it will make her day better if she knows what has become of us. Oh, should I tell her, or are we supposed to keep this a secret?”
“The world deserves to know,” the Duke declared, his voice filled with conviction. “You may tell anyone you wish, for I will be doing the same. We are in love, and that is a beautiful thing. Please, go and spend some time with your sister, and I shall come and find you soon.”
Bridget smiled, and the small dimples in her cheeks popped. The Duke had to stop himself from leaning in and kissing her on the edge of the dance floor. She was so beautiful that it made his heart ache, and it made his heart ache even more to be away from her, even if it was for a short while, but he needed to do things properly.
The Duke took her hand and squeezed it before kissing the back of it. He let her hand go and smiled at her one more time before walking toward his uncle Albert, who had not yet danced, and who the Duke needed if he were to talk with Lord Lincoln alone.
“Ah, Uncle Albert, how are you enjoying the celebrations?” Nicholas asked.
“Wonderful! Wonderful!” Albert replied.
