No one had ever cared for him like this before. He was accustomed to doing as he pleased, without question or explanation. Making Marjorie worry was the last thing he wanted. In hindsight he’d been selfish. He should have made an effort to clarify his actions. If the roles had been reversed, he too would have succumbed to suspicion and allowed his insecurities to mount. He needed to do better in the future. Alister grasped her hands and squeezed. “Come with me.”
Marjorie shook her head. “If we venture any closer to the bed, I won’t want to discuss anything.”
“Very well.” He leaned back and reached out to lift her chin up so he could study her expressive features. “Shall I share with you my thoughts for the past week?”
Moisture filled Marjorie’s eyes and she blinked before tears could form.
He ran a thumb over her cheek. “My existence before I met you was empty, filled with self-loathing and fear. My heart beat only to see to it that I carried on, but now my heart beats with a purpose—for you. This past week has proven to me I can’t live apart from you, Marjorie.” Her eyes widened and he continued, “I’ve never needed anyone until you.” He brushed away the trickle of moisture that escaped the corner of her eye. “I must reside under the same roof as you, because I can’t bear the hollowness in my chest when you are not close.”
He lowered onto one knee, retrieved his mother’s ring from his pocket, and held it out to her. “Marjorie, my love, will you marry me?”
Alister couldn’t breathe. He waited as she looked down upon the rectangular-cut ruby held tightly between his fingers.
The glint of amber firelight sparkled in the bright-red gem. Alister was proposing. She’d thought long and hard about how to go about suggesting that they never part again this past week. Marjorie had intended to seduce the man into submission, which was why she was dressed in a lovely red silk gown with a décolletage so low that it barely covered her nipples.
Marjorie smiled and gave him her answer. “Yes. Yes, of course I’ll marry you… I thought you’d never ask.” She presented her trembling hand to him, and Alister let out the breath he’d been holding.
Months of volleying between wanting to marry Alister, and then not wanting to, had twisted Marjorie into knots. Now that he had proposed and she had accepted, a calmness she’d never experienced before descended upon her. She tugged the ring off her gloved finger, wanting to feel the cool metal directly against her skin.
Alister stood and clutched her by the shoulders and said, “You can’t change your mind. You already said yes.”
“I haven’t changed my mind…” She removed her glove and slid the ring back onto her finger, holding it up to admire the set of diamonds that surrounded the large ruby stone in the middle. “And I have no intention of letting you change yours.”
“Good, because I fully intend to steal you away to Gretna Green after tonight’s ball.”
“After the ball…” Marjorie wrapped her arms about Alister’s waist. “I’d envisioned that we would return here.”
“Not a chance. I’m rather fond of traveling with you, and I’m eager to call you wife.” Alister ran a hand through his hair. “We wouldn’t have to venture so far if I’d managed to gain an audience with the archbishop before some blasted gentleman, who the archbishop referred to as the devil and the rake of all rakes. Apparently, the gentleman angered the archbishop when providing his reasons for requesting the special license. The archbishop is in a right mood and denied all requests for the rest of the day.”
Marjorie reached up and smoothed his wrinkled brow. “I’m not complaining. I’ll be happy to travel wherever necessary so long as I’m with you.”
Alister smiled down at her. “Good, because there is no escaping me now.”
She tilted her head to the side in contemplation. “I wonder who dared to raise the ire of the archbishop.”
“Not a clue, but I hope the fellow’s intended is as understanding as you.” Alister bent his head intending to plant a chaste kiss upon her cheek, but she shifted so that their lips met. She’d missed his kisses. Swept up in Alister’s arms, Marjorie reveled in the victory of having stolen a scoundrel’s heart.
