“I will see you later this evening, Miriam!” Matthew declared.
He left the modiste with Tabitha’s delicate hand curled over the crook of his arm. “I do not understand,” Tabitha said.
He told her everything he knew about Rosemary’s schemes and Lord Fatherton’s involvement. He had not quite put together some pieces, but it seemed obvious that Rosemary and Lord Fatherton were somehow allied. He then explained about his daughter Elaine, news that Tabitha received with equal parts sympathy and horror. “So as you might imagine, I have decided to remain with the wife who chose not to flee and hide from me for over a decade,” Matthew said.
It sounded even more absurd the more he said it. Tabitha shook her head and let out a low breath of air. “I do not even know what to say,” she said. “How could someone do that to you?”
“She said she was unhappy with me,” Matthew replied.
“Even if she were – fleeing the Continent and letting you worry about her for so long … I cannot understand how anyone could do something so cold, especially to someone who loves them. Even if she did not love you, that does not mean she is allowed to mistreat you.”
“I know,” Matthew said, “but it seems that she disagrees.”
Tabitha bit the inside of her cheek, thinking. “I am sorry,” she said. “So very sorry.”
“I do not know that I am sorry,” Matthew mused.
Tabitha cast him a startled look.
“If Rosemary had not betrayed me, I would have never married you,” Matthew said, carefully avoiding her gaze. “I do not contest that our marriage has been a tumultuous one. Sometimes, I felt neither of us had the space to breathe. However, I have found that I enjoyed your company.”
“I enjoy yours,” Tabitha said, sounding as though she were carefully choosing her words.
“I know that I have been an inconsistent husband. I wanted a marriage of convenience, separate lives, and us to be truly married. Tabitha, I thought that Rosemary was the reason for my conflicting desires, but I realize now that was not it. I was conflicted because I found myself growing real affection for you, and I chose to deny it for a very long time.”
“And now?”
“Now, I want to be your husband if you still wish to be my wife,” Matthew said. “I know that I have erred many times during our short marriage, but I swear that I shall do my best to make amends.”
Tabitha halted, and he stopped with her. They stood on the street, gazing at one another as if they were the only two people in all of London. At least, it seemed that way to Matthew. When he gazed at Tabitha’s silver-gray eyes, he found himself utterly enchanted, unwilling to ever look away from her. She was Rosemary’s opposite in every way, and it seemed fitting somehow that the woman who was his former wife’s complete opposite would so thoroughly capture his heart.
“What do you think, Tabitha?” he asked. “Will you be my wife? I love you, and I dearly hope that I can become a man deserving of you.”
“You already are that man,” Tabitha said. “I love you, too. I realized it when I told you about the watch that Cassius had. I delayed because I did not want to ruin the relationship we had built. I know it was selfish, but I never wanted Her Grace to return. I felt she would charm you utterly, and I would no longer have you. I realized that I would be bereft without you.”
Matthew stared at her for a long time, certain that his desire for Tabitha must have conjured that answer. Surely, her love for him could not be so great. “Are you certain?” he asked.
She laughed. “I have never been so certain in my life!”
For the first time in years, Matthew felt truly at peace. It was as if the world snapped into place around him, and everything was perfect. With a sly grin, he pulled Tabitha into his arms and kissed her eagerly, feverishly, as if he had not seen her in an eternity and was determined to regain all their lost time in a single, lingering kiss.
She gasped against his mouth. “Matthew!”
He pressed his lips harder, more insistently against hers. She kissed him back with equal fervour until they were both panting for air. “You … you scoundrel!” she exclaimed without any real heat. “You cannot kiss me so brazenly on the side of the street. Why, people will see! They will stare!”
Matthew’s grin became wolfish. “Let them stare.”
Tabitha shook her head, but her hands traced his back and shoulders, coming to rest at last over his forearms. “I love you,” she said.
“And I love you,” he replied. “I do not care who knows or how much they see of my affection for you. I want the world to know that you are my beloved wife, and I adore you more than life itself.”
“And Her Grace will never return,” Tabitha said.
“I promise that she will not. We shall be happy and without her.”
“That was not where my thoughts wandered,” Tabitha replied, letting her fingertips rest over his chest. The slight touch sent a thrill of heat and delight thundering through him. “I was thinking of your daughter Elaine.’
“Ah. She will not be going with Rosemary. According to Lady Haywood, Rosemary never visited Elaine. She sent her letters sometimes, but I strongly suspect those were filled with lies.”
