A Bright Particular Star (54 page)

“
My darling girl,
”
he muttered t
hickly,
his hand
slowly
moving to cover
hers.
“
This
is madness!
Would
you really
marry me
after all
I have told you
?
”

“
Yes, if
only you will
ask
me.
”

“
You
are certain
you
wouldn
’t
regret it?
”

“
No!
For pity
’s
sake, Luc,
I don
’t
care about finery, I n
ever h
-h
ave!
”
she cried
, a catch in her voice.
“
I’m
not afraid of hardship.
I don
’t
mind being poor.
I don
’t
mind living in a
house
that is falling down
—
”

“
Wha
t, eve
n one with mice?
”
he
asked
, the corner of his
mouth twitching
.

“
Well, they will have to go,
”
she admitted,
smiling through her tears,
“
but nothing e
lse matters
as long as you are there
.
Home wi
ll be wherever you are.
If you
truly
still
want me
,
knowing
who an
d what I
am, I will always be yours
.
”

“
I can
scarce
believe it,
”
he murmured.
“
I love you so much yet
I never dared to hope
—
”

Suddenly, he went down on
one knee
,
took
her hand in his
and kissed it
.
“
In that case, m
y dearest
lov
e,
”
he said
, gazing
up at her
,
“
will you do me the immeasurable
honour
of becoming my wife?
”

The expression
in his eyes brought the colour rushing to Olivia
’s
cheeks a
nd took her breath away.
With a tremulous smile on her
lips
, she gave him her answer
.

Then
he
gathered her into his embrace
and
took her breath away again
—
first, with a ruthless,
searching kiss
,
and
then
with words, as
he
whispered
the myriad
ways
he intended to love her
and promised
her
a future filled with delight
.

****

Later
Sir Seymour
, magnificent in a
gold
brocade dressing gown, came into Harriet
’s
bedchamber.
She was seated
alone
at her dressing table, plaiting her hair and he
bent to
bestow
a
kiss on her
cheek.

“
Well, my dear,
”
he ventured,
“
are matters resolved to your satisfaction?
”

“
Indeed they are,
”
she replied warmly.
“T
wo weddings!
What could be more agreeable?
”

He laug
hed.
“
Nothing in your opinion
, to be sure.
”

An affectionate
mocking light
gleamed in
her eyes
as she regarded his reflection in the mirror
.
“
My love, don
’t
try to
gammon me
.
Y
ou are every bit as delighted as I am
!
You are a romantic at heart and well you know it.
”

“T
hat
is
your doing,
”
he observed,
smiling
.
“T
o think I did not know what love was until I found you.
”

Harriet
stood up and,
threading her arm through h
is, led him over to a small chaise
.
“
We are
lucky, a
re we not?
Dinny,
I’m
so pleased about Theo
and Sophie.
She is not
the sort of girl I expected him to marry, but
they will deal extremely well together
.
Have you noticed
the look on his face
when he watches
her
, and
how he seems to glow with happiness
?
”

“
Glow
?
He
’s
positively luminous
!
”
gru
mbled Sir Seymour
.
“
Why, he
’s
so besotted he
paid no attention
at all
t
o the
celebratory
bottle of b
ur
gundy I opened
earlier
—
too busy
listing
Miss Devereux
’s
virtues
to give an opinion on it!
”

“
A sure sign he is love
,
”
said Harriet, with a little laugh
.
“
May I ask what you said
to Luc?
Were you surprised to learn he had offered for Olivia?
”

“
Indeed
I was.
Oh, I
had
guessed he admired
her,
but I had no idea how
deeply he felt
.
I felt obliged to warn him that
marriage and his current role won
’t
sit easily t
ogether, but he is already
aware of it
.
”

“
Ah, yes.
Can you help at all?
”
she
asked,
her expression one of studied innocence.

His eyes twinkled
at her perception
.
“
I already have
.
Luc
is going to consider my of
fer to find him a less perilous
role.
As
I pointed out
,
there are other ways of serving your country.
Men of his calibre are always needed
in the Home Office
.
Daresay he won
’t
want to sit at a desk, but if
he has a mind
to pursue it, he has the
ability to hold a position in g
overnment someday.
”

“
It
’s
clear he
loves Olivia
very much,
”
mused
Harriet.
“T
hank goodness she has his support
.
This has been a traumatic day for her and if Luc had
not proposed
…
”
She
shook her head
and then
added in a lighter tone,
“
I
’
ve grown
very
fond of her, Dinny.
After
the life she has
led, the
child deserves to be happy
an
d
I’m
certain
she will find it
with Luc
.
He
will give her
the love and attention she is wor
thy of
, and she will help him find true contentment.
I could not have w
ished for a better match
.
”

Sir Seymour quirked a humourous eyebrow at his wife.
“
Ar
e there any other young men you would like to see pierced by Cupid
’s
arrow, my love?
Your influence certainly seems beneficial
in this
area
.
”

She considered for a moment.
“T
here is Luc
’s
reclusive
brother.
”

“T
he Solitary Duke
?
”
Dinny uttered
a crack of laughter.
“
A lost cause if ever there was one!
”

“S
o were you, my l
ove,
”
Harriet pointed out, giving him
a wry look
.

****

In the saloon, Theo was
bidding Sophie
good night
.
Cradled
in his arms,
he kissed her thoroughly
before saying,
“
I
’
ll be back
first thing in the morning.
Have you
sent
word to Verney yet?
”

She nodded.
“
I wrote to him
earlier.
Lady Verney would have been
concerned
by my absence,
and I thought it right to let
them k
now what had happened.
I
’
ll call
on them in a few days but in the meantime
I
’
ve asked for
my things
to
be sent here
.
”

“
At least that
’s
dealt with
.
”
He smiled down at her.
“
Now
to more important matters:
w
here would you like to get married?
”

“
Wherever
you will be waiting for me at the altar
,
”
she replied
candidly
.

“T
hen I
’
ll post down to Chenning and
arrange for us to be wed there
.
”

“S
ounds wonderful.
Theo?
”

“
Hmm?
”
he murmured,
after
planting another long, languorous kiss
on her mouth.

“
What happened to t
he Star?
I meant to ask you earlier when you returned to the inn after the accident but
,
for some reason,
”
she said, a wicked dimple appearing,
“
it went out of my mind
afterward
.
”

He grinned.
“
Guilty as c
harge
d,
”
he admitted
.
Then, more soberly, he added,
“
I’m
sorry to say
ther
e was no sign of it.
We checked Peregrine
’s
pock
ets
,
and his
remaining boot
, and
Luc went back to
search
around the canal
and along the route
, but it was nowhere to be seen.
Must have been los
t during the
mêlée
.
T
here
’s
little chance of it turning up now.
”

She bit her lip.
“
I
suppose it could not be helped
.
”

“
I’m
afraid not
.
No doubt you
’
ll mourn its loss because of its connection to your family
.
”

“
It
’s
not on
ly that,
”
she admitted,
sliding her arms
around him
.
“
In some ways,
it
’s
for
the best
that it has gone
. T
urmoil and unhappiness has fol
lowed the Star through the years
,
but
it also
formed most of my inheritance
.
I have little
money otherwise.
”

“D
o you
think that matters?
”
His breath stirred
the si
lky tendrils of hair
against her neck
.

“
Only i
n
as much as I could have sold t
he Star and used the proceeds to set up your stud farm.
”

“D
euce take the proceeds
!
”
muttered
Theo
, in a voice
like rough velvet
.
“
I want
to achieve that through my own efforts
—
our
efforts
—
and
not by selling an heirloom.
”
His hold on her tightened
as his lips drifted over her foreh
ead
.
“S
ophie,
I don
’t
care if you
’
re
a
s poor as a church mouse, we
’
re
getting married
,
and soon
.
Y
ou
are
my ‘bright
particular s
tar
,
’
not some dash
e
d sapphire.
Now
,
kis
s
me again.
”