She blinked. “Yes,” she said to Marek. “I—I do. Idolove you.”
There were more gasps, but Marek ignored everyone but her. “Then come to Wesloria. You don’t have to answer me straightaway. But...unfortunately, you must answer me soon. Do you understand, Hollis? You know I must return. You know why. But my hand to God I don’t want to return without you.”
“I can’t,” Hollis said. “This is not... I don’t know what...” She looked at Donovan.
“Aye, she needs a bit of time to think it through,” Donovan said crisply.
“She doesn’t!” the duchess exclaimed and gained her feet, moving to her sister’s side. “Hollis?” She took her sister’s face in her hands and forced her to look at her. “You love him. The cat is clawing you apart, remember? You’ve lamented that we’re all moving on. You grieved Percy well, darling. You were the best widow a man could ever hope for. But you are young, and you love him—what holds you?”
“Is this true?” her father asked. “My daughter loves this man?”
“I think she does, Your Honor,” Lady Chartier said, her voice shaking with emotion.
“Why haveInot heard of it?” Iddesleigh demanded, his voice shaking a little, too.
“Sometimes life is happening right below our noses, isn’t it?” Lady Blythe asked cheerily.
Hollis had her gaze fixed on her sister. “But there is so much to consider. Donovan, and Mr. Brimble and Ruth, and Mrs. Plum.”
“This is divine!” Lady Blythe said. “This is true Christmas magic. It’s as if you trained a horse and he’s won the race.”
Iddesleigh jerked his gaze to Lady Blythe. “That’s whatIwas thinking.”
“Hollis,” Marek said, pulling her back to him. “I will vow to you now, before God, before your family, before the bloody Alucians, even, that I will honor you all your days and do whatever I must to make you happy.” And then, to prove it, he put his arms around her and kissed her on the mouth beneath the mistletoe.
The cheers that went up sounded deep and ominous to his dead ear. But when he lifted his head, Hollis’s blue eyes were swimming with love and the faces around him were smiling.
“More wine! Someone bring more wine!” Iddesleigh bellowed.
But Marek was aware that Hollis still had not answered him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
When the New Year bells ring, we may expect new matchmaking, as bachelor gentlemen make their rounds of open houses and leave their calling cards. We join all the happy families who hope that perhaps this year will bring the sound of wedding bells into their lives.
It is now apparent that in spite of Britain’s best efforts, and the earnest negotiations between Weslorian and Alucian delegations, peace has not come to the two countries as hoped. In response to news that Weslorian troops had invaded the Astasian region, Alucia has advanced troops to counter. “In war, events of importance are the results of trivial causes,” wrote the great playwright, William Shakespeare.
Revelers walking to the home of Lord Pennypiece were witness to the arrest of Lord Dromio of Wesloria, who has been taken into custody for crimes against the king and was quickly put on a ship bound for St. Edys.
Ladies, if your New Year’s wish is to conceive a child, it is recommended that you put your corset aside, as it is known to suppress the natural process of conception by squeezing all your necessary parts together.
—Honeycutt’s Gazette of Fashion and Domesticity for Ladies
DONOVANHADAgift for Hollis when they returned home from her father’s house. He grinned as she unwrapped it. It was a silver fountain pen. “Oh, Donovan. It is beautiful,” she said, admiring it in her hand.
“You seem to always be writing,” he said proudly.
They’d been home for half an hour, just the two of them in the drawing room. Christmas Day had ended with hugs and kisses around. The farewells were the worst for Hollis, and she’d cried through most of it. Her family thought she was weeping with happiness after Marek’s declaration.
The truth was that she was weeping with sorrow. She already missed her family.
Marek had returned to the Green Hotel to prepare, he said, for his departure. “May I call in the morning?” he’d asked. His eyes had searched hers, as if looking for a hint of what her answer would be.
“Yes, of course,” she’d said, trying to hold her tears at bay. She’d been so stunned and so moved by his declaration. And so...confused.How could she make a decision like that so quickly? How could she even think of leaving her home? It didn’t matter that Eliza and Caroline had pulled her aside and begged her to consider her own happiness if she truly loved him. It didn’t matter that her father had hugged her tight and said he knew she would do what was best for her. It didn’t matter that she’d actually imagined being in Wesloria with him. She had never thought it could actually happen. There was so much to think about!
Thank God for Donovan—he knew she needed time to think. To talk. It simply wasn’t that easy. Was it?
“I have a gift for you, too,” she said, and went to the window and reached behind the brocade drapes for the package she’d hidden there. She brought it to him.
