She felt the raw pain in the back of her throat that was the prelude to tears. Robins and thrushes twittered in the trees along the brook and beyond. The brook rushed on its merry way, oblivious to her tumultuous emotions. “Why are you making this difficult? We’ve already agreed. We won’t suit.”
He cupped her face with his free hand. She fought the urge to lean in, to nuzzle.
“I was wrong.”
She tried not to be distracted by his callused thumb slowly sweeping across her cheek.
“It has recently been brought to my attention,” he took a deep breath, “that I’m an idiot.” He briefly squeezed his eyes shut. “An inept idiot.”
She raised her fingers to caress the back of his hand, hardly daring to hope. “You are, but what has that to do with me?”
A fleeting grin passed over his features, both of them remembering how they had bantered this way in Portugal. He grew serious again. “I have realized the woman I fell in love with is the demure Miss Chase I met in London. The brave chit who was intimidated by me yet refused to back down. And the determined woman who wouldn’t let go of the rope when dragged overboard in a storm.”
Her stomach was twisting in knots, but in a good way.
“The woman who kept her wits when tied up by a highwayman. And,” he took another deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling, “and the woman who overcame her fear of heights and enjoys scampering about the foretop. Even though watching her doing so in a storm scared a decade off my life.”
He let go of her to rest both hands on her shoulders, his thumbs and fingertips gently massaging as if passively touching her was insufficient contact. The growing twilight made it difficult to see his expression. She tugged on his neckcloth and he bent a little, and they rested their foreheads together.
Her breathing was ragged, but she barely heard it over her pounding heart.
“I would be an idiot to try to change you, to make you be someone you aren’t.” With his thumbs he stroked her neck, just below her ears. “Marry me, Harriet. Sail with me. Manage this manor and estate with me. Whatever life requires of us, so long as we do it together.”
She grasped his face with both hands, frustrated she couldn’t see the sincerity in his gorgeous blue eyes through the tears blurring her vision. She sniffed.
“I’ll beg if I have to.” He started to bend one knee.
She hauled him in for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off her feet, holding her against the length of his body, and she twined her arms around his neck.
He leaned back, his head tilted. “Does this mean yes?”
“Yes,” she whispered. She cleared her throat. “Yes, yes, yes!”
She was about to kiss him again when applause and cheers from above caught her attention. They both looked up. Whoever had been standing at the edge moved back out of sight so quickly, only shadows were visible.
“Um, you have a party going on.”
He still had his arms wrapped around her lower back, holding her up snug against his big, masculine body. He gave her a squeeze. “Is that a double entendre?”
She chuckled. “I was referring to the large group of people gathered on your lawn. Who a few minutes ago witnessed you kiss a man. At least that’s what it probably looked like to them.”
“Bugger them. I’ll kiss who I want.” He tried to kiss her again.
She tilted back out of his reach. “Oh, really?” She arched her brows.
He nodded. “And the only person I want to kiss is you.”
After another lengthy kiss, he gently set her on her feet. He looked up the path to the lawn and sighed, then quickly brightened as though just remembering something. “There are some friends here I’d like you to meet.” He took her hand again, interlacing their fingers, and led her up the steps to the lawn.
The quartet was still playing for a handful of couples on the dance floor, but there was a suspicious crowding near the edge of the lawn, including his friends, all failing miserably at feigning nonchalance and disinterest.
He quickly introduced Sinclair, Alistair, Tony, and their wives.
“That was my favorite waistcoat, you know,” Charlotte said, throwing her arms around Harriet. “It’s so good to see you again!”
Harriet laughed and hugged her one-armed, as Nick hadn’t let go. “You as well.”
“It appears you were right, Charlie,” Nick said. “I have an announcement to make after all.”
