“You are here.”Lord Thornbridge stepped forward the moment that Emma came into the room. His arms went about her as she clung to him, her heart beating furiously as she prayed silently that her cousin would stay out of the room for just a few minutes. The relief and the joy which swept over her as she held herself tight against him was so overwhelming that tears pricked the corners of her eyes, and a great smile spread across her face at the same time. “You cannot know how much my heart has ached in being apart from you. I know it has only been a few hours, but I have felt it most painfully.”
Lord Thornbridge’s words were spoken softly into her ear, and Emma shivered with delight. Gently untangling herself a little, she leaned back so that she might look up into his face, and saw how wonderful his smile was.
“Everything has been resolved. You have your fortune, Lord Warrington will no longer be a part of society, and none are in danger from him any longer.”
Lord Thornbridge’s smile softened, his hands still about her waist with one shifting gently up and down her back in what was almost a comforting gesture.
“But what you do not know, for I did not have time to tell you last evening, is that Lord Warrington has given me far more than the amount that he stole from me. It was quite inadvertent on his part, of course, but I have a good deal more than I had ever expected!”
Emma’s eyes open wide as Lord Thornbridge nodded, and then chuckled.
“Indeed?”
“Yes, it is quite true! You need not think that I will I have any intention of keeping the surplus, however.”
“I would not think ill of you, even if you did. Not after all you have endured.”
“I could not do such a thing.” Lord Thornbridge’s smile faded a little. “I am determined to act honestly, and that is what I must do. I have spoken to Colbridge this morning and thus, the surplus will go to him. It will keep him well satisfied until the time comes for him to take on his uncle’s title. It will also give him a security that he may live as far away from his uncle’s estate as he pleases, and live safely, without any fear of facing consequences for what he has done.”
“He will be grateful for that.”
Lord Thornbridge smiled.
“I believe that the honorable actions he took must be treated with great respect and recognition. If he had not done as he did, then I might not ever have recovered my fortune.”
Emma looked up into Lord Thornbridge’s face, and found her heart lifting all the more. She loved this man; loved him so desperately that it was as though it swept up through her, wrapping itself around her, so that it became a very part of her being. She would never be able to forget him, would never be able to push away from him now. He had settled in her heart, and that was where he was to stay – and that was the only place she wanted him. Recalling how her cousin had encouraged her to tell Lord Thornbridge the truth about how she felt, Emma took a breath, and with that familiar boldness that was such a part of her character coming to the fore, smiled up at him.
“I want to tell you that I love you, Lord Thornbridge.” The words were softly spoken, but with great meaning filling every one. “I think you the most honorable, courageous, honest gentleman who has ever been.”
“Truly?”
She smiled.
“Truly. And the most handsome, of course.” This last was said with a small smile, which made Lord Thornbridge chuckle. Smiling still, Emma reached up and pressed her hands to his face, marveling at all that she felt for this incredible, astonishing gentleman. It was almost too overwhelming to believe that he could be called her own. “You may have found my pursuit of you to be most frustrating, even irritating, perhaps. But I will never be sorrowful that I chose to do such a thing. I will never regret it.”
“No, nor I.” As he spoke quickly, Lord Thornbridge’s hands held tighter around her waist and he gave a small shake of his head. “Do not think for a moment that I could ever wish that the circumstances had been different, or that you had not done what you did. I am so glad that you chased after me, that you dogged my steps,andthat you would not accept my explanation – as poor as it was. You forced me to reconsider, forced me to look into my heart and see that you were still there, refusing to move, no matter how much I told myself that I did not need you there. But now I see that I could never want you anywhere else but right next to me, close to my heart andinmy heart also.”
“And is that the truth?”
She smiled up at him and Lord Thornbridge found her hands and squeezed her fingers.
“That is the truth.” His voice had dropped low, and a shiver ran over her skin. “It is the truth. You have settled in my heart. You say that you love me, Lady Emma, and I believe that, but I cannot accept that it is as great as the love I have for you. I marvel at you every day. I long for you with every moment. There is such sorrow at our partings, no matter how short they may be, and I wish, very much, to put an end to our partings from this moment forward.”
At the very moment that he spoke, sunlight streamed through the great windows of the drawing room, filling the room with light. Emma stared up into the handsome face of Lord Thornbridge, wondering whether or not she had truly heard such words from his lips. From the light in his grey eyes and the smile on his face, she quickly realized the truth and, with an exclamation of delight, threw himself into his arms.
With a gasp of surprise, Lord Thornbridge held her tight. Emma began to laugh, and Lord Thornbridge laughed with her, their happiness complete.
“I assume, then, that you are saying yes?”
Her feet practically swinging as he held her higher, Emma giggled up at him.
“I assume that you are asking me to marry you? You did not say specifically.”
Setting her down carefully, Lord Thornbridge dropped his head and then pressed a long kiss to her lips. Emma melted into him, her breath sighing softly out of her as he ended the kiss.
“I hope that answers your question.” Lord Thornbridge’s lips were only an inch or so from hers. “And is your answer still to be yes?”
Pushing herself up on tiptoe, Emma set her lips to his once more. She did not pull back for some moments, and then a low growl ripped from Lord Thornbridge’s throat as she broke away.
“I hope that answers your question,” she murmured, repeating the very same thing he had said to her. “My heart is yours, Thornbridge. Forever and always.”
