A massive weight vanished from Leo’s shoulders. He could breathe again. Drawing in a lungful of air, he exhaled and feathered a kiss on Ivy’s temple. She snuggled closer, still asleep. This was what his mother had told him to find. A woman who would undo him from the inside out, a woman he could not live without. He had made his choice before taking her to bed. He knew then he could not propose to Mildred. Still, after finally being with Ivy, it was a relief to know his decision had been right. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with someone he loved.
Loved.
Did he love Ivy?
For someone who had lived the last several years denying himself joy, he felt like a starving man perusing the menu of the Savoy and unable to limit his choices. If he could have Ivy at his side, as his wife and equal, he could do anything. She made him weak and strong all at once. Only love could be that contrary to a sensible man’s heart. A little grin twisted his lips. The only problem was convincing her that she should marry him. How was a man supposed to get a suffragette leg-shackled?
A draft settled in around him like a deep fog over his skin, and he glanced at the fireplace. The logs were nearly burned out. If he didn’t get out of bed and get some fresh ones, the fire would die. With infinite care, he slid out of bed without waking Ivy and hastily dressed. He paused at the door, his eyes lingering on the vision of his black-haired Gypsy sleeping in the bed. His chest tightened and a soft warmth enclosed his heart as he slipped outside to retrieve some firewood from behind the lodge.
* * *
A cold breeze tickled her nose, waking Ivy from sleep.
“Leo,” she murmured, searching for his warm body to cuddle against. Her body was sore, and a prick of pain between her legs forced her eyes open. When she reached out, her hands met an empty bed.
Leo was gone.
The fire was nearly embers and ash.
Had he left her? After what they’d shared, she thought he might not leave, at least not so soon. Tears burned in her eyes. His clothes were gone, but his gun was still resting against the wall by the door. Perhaps he’d gone to fetch firewood. Yes, that must be it. He wouldn’t have abandoned her. She buried her face in her pillow, still able to smell his tantalizing scent where it clung to the fabric. If only she had more time with him, but she’d promised herself one day.
The door to the lodge suddenly creaked as it opened. Leo was back! She sat up, clutching the sheet to her neck, protecting only from the cold, not from modesty. After what they’d done, she really couldn’t be that shy.
“I say…Leo, are you here? Had a devil of a time finding you.” Owen Hadley’s voice drifted through the cabin a second before his head popped around the edge of the door. Ivy couldn’t move, like a hare frozen in front of a wolf. Owen’s eyes scanned the room, fell on Ivy, and his lips parted in shock, then narrowed.
“Miss Leighton? Where’s Hampton?” He took a step across the threshold, and then with a glance behind him, he shut the door, closing them both inside.
“He’s gone to retrieve firewood.” Please come back, Leo. Where are you…
“Well, now, this is most interesting…” He started toward her, his steps slow but sure.
Her skin prickled with fear.
“Mr. Hadley, you must leave immediately. I’m not properly dressed.”
Humor lit his eyes. “I can certainly see that. You know, the others are within shouting distance…If we were discovered together, like this, I’m quite sure your father would have to allow us to marry. Your reputation wouldn’t survive the scandal.” Owen reached the foot of the bed, watching her with heated eyes and an intensity that terrified her. How had she not seen his desperation earlier? She’d noticed his worn clothes and his determined interest in her, but she hadn’t wanted to believe he would stoop so low as to try to compromise her.
“Please leave,” she demanded this time.
“I’m sorry, love, but I’m quite determined to catch an heiress, and I’ll do whatever is necessary.” He walked quickly back to the cabin door and opened it, shouting her father’s name.
Ivy’s throat ran dry as panic tore through her like a violent wind. She scrambled around on the bed, trying to find her clothes, but they were littered upon the ground.
“Too late for that, love, far too late,” Owen muttered as he walked toward her again. “Now be a dear, and let me have one quick kiss, just to give them a good show. We ought to make it convincing, you see.” His words were uttered in a rush, as though he’d planned it out and had rehearsed this in his head.
“If you touch me, I’ll kill you!” she warned in a low growl.
“I have no intention of harming you, but a kiss would make things so much more believable.”
“I’ll never marry you! My father wouldn’t make me either!” She swung a hand at him, trying to strike him, but he caught her wrist.
“Christ, woman, it’s one bloody kiss!”
His other hand shot out, grabbing her by the shoulders and dragging her up to her knees. He planted a kiss on her and she bit him. Hard.
Everything happened so fast after that. Someone bellowed like an enraged beast and Owen was ripped away from her. Leo was there, a vengeful god. He swung a fist and knocked Owen flat on the bed next to Ivy. He didn’t stir. Ivy’s body exploded with shivers, and she fought off the tears that rushed forth now that Leo was here.
Gripping her shoulders, he looked her over, as though inspecting her for injuries. “Are you well? He didn’t…”
“No. I’m fine,” she assured him.
As her heartbeat slowed, she became aware of people speaking outside the open door to the lodge. Leo lunged for the bed, shoving Owen off the other side. He landed with a thud out of sight of anyone who might come into the cabin. Then Leo wrapped the blanket around Ivy and hauled her into his arms, kissing her ruthlessly. She melted instantly, but seconds later, she stiffened as voices echoed inside the lodge.
“What in God’s name?” someone shouted.
Leo broke the kiss.
Her father stood in the open doorway, backed by Mr. Atherton and Mr. Pevenly.
“Oh, Lord,” Mr. Pevenly muttered as he and Mr. Atherton retreated outside.
Ivy’s father didn’t budge an inch. His rifle hung dangerously ready to be fired and Ivy wondered if she should slide her body in front of Leo’s to protect him.
“Care to explain why you and my daughter are in that bed?”
Leo met her father’s stare head-on.
“Because I have been with her, and I intend to marry her.”
Ivy’s mind blanked. Marry her? Surely he didn’t mean that…He was doing it because he’d been caught compromising her.
“You seem to be courting my daughter out of order. Bedding typically follows matrimony, Hampton.” Her father raised the gun an inch, a hint of a threat.
“I’m well aware, Mr. Leighton,” Leo said stiffly, and tucked Ivy under his arm, supporting her.
Did he know she was in a state of shock? What sensible woman wouldn’t be while facing an irate father in nothing but a blanket, with a lover who offered marriage only to do right by her. Finally she found her voice.
“You don’t have to marry me,” she told him, not looking at him, in case he saw the disappointment in her eyes.
“Of course he does,” her father snapped at the same time Leo growled, “Of course I do.”
Nausea welled up inside her, and she stared at him. He let her go, and she slid off the bed to gather her clothes. This wasn’t what she wanted. She couldn’t marry him, and she couldn’t do it this way even if she had wanted marriage.
“Escort her back to the house when she is dressed. Then you and I will talk, Lord Hampton.”
Leo assented in a quick nod. A silent exchange seemed to pass between him and her father before her father at last left the hunting lodge.
Ivy struggled to dress with trembling hands. Marriage was the only way to save her reputation, but she didn’t want to marry a man who would despise her because he’d been forced to go to the altar. She didn’t even want to think about how it would destroy her freedom, her rights…everything she had been fighting so hard for this last year since she’d joined the WSPU.
“This isn’t right…We shouldn’t have to—” Her words came out haltingly as despair choked her.
“No, Ivy. You will listen to me.” He caught her arm and dragged her around to face him. “I want to marry you. I wanted to before this happened.” He gestured to the rumpled bed.
She wrinkled her nose. “What?”
He stepped closer, invading her space and running riot over her senses. Curling an arm around her waist, he drew her against him and did something that sent her heart skittering. Leo trailed a fingertip down the bridge of her nose and tapped the end of it.
“I said…I want to marry you, Button.”
Button? Her chest tightened painfully. “You know…who I am?” Her voice broke a little as she tried to face the fact that her past was no longer a mystery to him. He knows who I am…
He smiled, a little embarrassed. “I saw you visit your mother’s grave this morning. I put the pieces together.”
She nibbled her lip. “Are you angry that I deceived you?”
He shook his head, his golden hair delightfully mussed from their earlier lovemaking.
“No. I assume my mother commanded your silence. No doubt she planned this.”
“She did,” Ivy admitted.
“My only question is why?” As Leo talked, he threaded his fingers through her dark hair and gently tugged, making Ivy tilt her head back. The blue of his eyes was dark, like a lake in winter.
“We met over tea in London a month ago while we were attending a WSPU meeting. We both learned there was to be a local meeting near Hampton and she invited me to come down for the meeting and join the house party.”
Leo chuckled. “I told her she wasn’t to go to that meeting. She then convinced me a house party would be a decent exchange for my barring her suffragette activities. Does this mean she’s still planning to attend the gathering?”
“Um…” Ivy bit her lip, not sure how much to divulge of Leo’s mother’s involvement. One did not betray a fellow sister in arms.
“Right,” he sighed, a wry smile upon his lips. “I suppose this is something I’ll endeavor to get used to if my wife and mother will be battling the establishment.”
“You mean…” Her heart stilled for several painful seconds as she waited for him to speak.
Leo cupped her face, brushing his fingertips over her lips. “I won’t fight you on suffrage, my darling. If you want to vote, then by God, I shan’t stand in your way.” He was silent a long moment. “I might even help you, if you’d let me. I’m already damned, so what’s one more scandal?”
She tensed. “Damned?” That sounded…dreadful, and she didn’t like him thinking she was damning him.
With a sigh, he pressed his forehead to hers. “Damned by my father, not you. Never you. I know you must have heard the rumors. They’re unfortunately true. He had a mistress, an Italian opera singer, and he passed away while in her company. It was a messy business.”
She had heard the rumors and the questions whispered as to whether he would follow in his father’s steps.
“Will marrying me make matters worse for you?” she asked quietly.
“Matters are already worse, but I won’t care about it if I have you. You matter more to me than society’s opinions. Damn them all if they think they can judge you for my father’s sins. You are wonderful, pure, brilliant. You’re not a mistress, not a thing to be hidden away and whispered about.” He seemed to be searching for the right words, his blue eyes bright with pleading. “I need you more than anything. Do you understand? I can survive whatever else may happen if I have you at my side.”
He wasn’t ashamed of her? And he wouldn’t let gossip and loss of reputation destroy him?
This was the Leo she’d loved, the young man who had been her Prince Charming, who fought dragons and climbed a tower to save a frightened child from her nightmares. Tears burned her eyes.
“I feel the same about you, that if you stood with me, I might yet have all my dreams, even the ones I’d long ago banished.” Like marrying for love. She’d never thought it was possible to have love and have her freedom, but Leo would give her that; she was sure of it now. Her heart felt light enough that it might take wing and fly away if it weren’t bound to him by invisible threads.
They shared a smile and her heart was fit to burst. Then Leo suddenly grinned.
“Did my mother have a scheme for you to distract me when she brought you here for the party?”
“Yes. She wanted you to have a chance to see there were other women out there.” She nibbled her lip before continuing. “I didn’t want to deceive you and honestly I had no intention of marrying you or anyone because I was afraid to have a husband who wouldn’t have supported my belief in women’s suffrage. I always intended to tell you the truth of who I was, but I didn’t want you remembering me as Button either. I was just a child and you were always so brotherly to me. I wanted to be seen as…” She trailed off, feeling completely foolish.
“A beautiful, intelligent woman?”
She swallowed and nodded. “I didn’t want to lead you on since I had no intentions of marrying, but part of me wanted you to love me even though I was sure you couldn’t love a suffragette and support her.”
“I wouldn’t have thought it possible either but I do love you and I do support you. You’ve changed me, darling, in more ways than I’d ever imagined,” he murmured gently. “And to think my mother’s scheme ensnared me in her parson’s mousetrap after all.”
Ivy shook her head. “I don’t think she meant to trap you. She truly doesn’t want you marrying Mildred because she believes you would be unhappy and that is the last thing she wants for a son she loves with all her heart.”
Leo brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes, his gaze warm. “I shall swallow my male pride and tell her just how wonderful a mother she is for finding me my heart’s desire. Hell, she’ll crow with delight when she finds out I’m attending your WSPU meeting.”
Ivy kissed his cheek fervently. “You’ll really come with us?” She still couldn’t believe it.
He nodded seriously. “If I have a daughter someday, a daughter with you, I don’t want her to face the trials you have. I want her to have a voice, to be free. You made me see that and now I can’t imagine a world where any daughter of mine would be silenced and treated only as a pretty pet for some man to marry. She deserves more than that.” His voice was rough with emotion and Ivy’s heart sung with joy. He really was going to support her.
They stayed huddled close a moment longer, neither of them speaking, simply enjoying holding each other and clinging to the last few minutes they’d likely have alone until after they were married.
Leo finally cleared his throat. “Well, are you decent? We ought to get back to the house and assess the damage we’ve done.” He fetched their coats and helped her into hers.
“What about Mr. Hadley?” she asked, suddenly remembering the poor fellow Leo had struck. They both leaned over the bed to see him, still unconscious.
“Let him be. He’ll rouse and come back soon enough. Damn fool. I knew he was desperate to find a wife for his estate. I just didn’t realize he was far more desperate than I. I hope you aren’t too angry with him.”
Ivy scowled down at Leo’s friend. “He did try to explain but I was so furious…”
“Owen is a good man. He wouldn’t have done anything beyond kiss you. His estate is in poor shape and he’s turned fortune hunter, I suppose.” She didn’t miss the note of sadness in his tone.
“Many men have these days,” she agreed, looking at him. She knew full well that he had been trying to marry Mildred for her fortune and her reputation. The dowager countess had explained that clearly when they’d reconnected over tea at the WSPU meeting. She’d been shocked to learn Leo was so desperate as to abandon his heart in a quest for stability.
“No man should have to marry simply to keep the estate. Even I made the mistake when I was planning to propose to Mildred. I thought it was the right thing to do, but now I see what a mistake it was. I only hope Owen can find a way to happiness like I have.”
“I did like him, compromising intentions aside.” Ivy sighed. He’d been a bit of a bounder but he’d been amusing, too. “I do hope you’re right that he will be as lucky as we are.” It had always been her nature to forgive and while Owen’s kiss had frightened her, she was not as angry as she’d been earlier. It was the way of the Romani, to forgive and forget.
When they reached the door to the lodge, they shared a gaze. Leo grinned like a boy and Ivy’s own mouth curved upward. She wanted so desperately for him to want her and for this to really be happening, but after losing her mother, she dared not hope.
“Leo, do you really want to marry me?” She couldn’t look away even as her cheeks heated. “We’re practically strangers. It has been sixteen years since we’ve last seen each other.”
“Have you so little faith in a man’s heart?” He studied her. “Or is it that you think we will not suit?” The corner of his mouth kicked up in a rakish expression that promised utter wickedness. He lifted her hands to his mouth, pressing little kisses on her knuckles.
“I used to be wild and free once…when I knew you. Teach me to be that man again, Ivy. When my father died, I lost myself to my worries and fears of becoming just like him. I don’t ever want to lose the man I am because my worries grow too big.”
He leaned down and kissed her. Her eyes fell shut, and in that moment, she was living the dream she’d always wanted in the most secret part of her heart. She could be a free, independent woman and still have love. His lips urged hers to part and they shared a breath before he deepened the kiss. Lost in him, she found herself, the girl she had been before her mother died. Leaving Leo and his world behind had left her empty in a way she’d been too afraid to admit until now, when true joy was finally within reach. What was there to living a life only in halves? Nothing. With Leo and Hampton, she would be whole.
“I think,” Leo murmured against her lips as they broke apart, “that marrying a suffragette is just what I need.”
She stood up on tiptoe and kissed him, quick and hard, unable to stop the flood of hunger she had for him in that moment. He truly was the most wonderful man she’d ever known.
“And being with you has always been what I wanted.” She nuzzled his cheek before meeting his gaze.
He tucked her under the chin. “Ready to meet our parents?”
“Are you?” she teased.
“Only if you hold my hand,” he replied in all seriousness.
“I promise.”
* * *
Leo entered the library where Mr. Leighton and his mother were waiting for them. Ivy’s hand was in his, and it gave him strength to face her father. He had no idea what sort of storm he was to encounter. He had scandalized the house party guests by being with Ivy in the hunting lodge. It would only be natural to have Leighton in a rage, but Leo didn’t know him well enough to guess how he would react. Leo knew how his father would have been in this situation. The old tyrant, as his mother called him, was no exaggeration. How often had he dreaded coming into the library when his father was alive? Far too often. The old earl had mastered the ability to lecture his victims for hours. But his father was gone. It was Ivy’s father he had to contend with now.
Mr. Leighton stood by the large paned window, a glass of brandy in one hand. No sign of his rifle anywhere. Relief exploded through him, and when his lungs stopped burning, he realized he hadn’t been breathing for the last few seconds. Ivy’s father turned when Leo’s mother coughed. She was perched on the edge of a rose-colored couch, clearly anticipating the coming discussion. She pursed her lips, but hope glimmered in her eyes as Leo led Ivy inside.
“Ahh, there they are. The lovebirds have finally emerged from their nest.” Mr. Leighton was smiling.
Smiling. Leo froze, sensing something was afoot.
“Oh, Leo dear, tell me it is true. You are to be married to Ivy?” His mother rose from the couch and joined them, her eyes so bright with hope that his throat constricted. Here he had been feeling irritated that she continually interfered with his life. She had only ever wanted him to be happy, and she’d known right away that Mildred wasn’t for him.
“Yes, it’s true, Mother. Your scheming bore fruit. Lucky for you.” He kissed her cheek. “I love Ivy.”
“We are glad to hear it.” She beamed like the sun in the height of summer. “I knew if you rescued Ivy from her motorcar that neither of you would be able to resist each other. To think, you chastised me for my meddling. But look how everything has turned out!” She clapped her hands together.
“Wait, what? Someone tampered with the Hudson?” Ivy demanded.
Her father joined them, looking amused. Leo glanced at Ivy and could tell she had got her back up. She was bristling like an angry cat. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing.
“I had the petrol tank tampered with so it would have a slow leak.” He tipped Ivy’s chin back and kissed his daughter’s cheek, still chuckling at her silent outrage.
“There was no guarantee that Leo and I would fall in love just because my motorcar broke.”
God bless her, she was a dear. “Ivy, sweetheart. If there’s one thing I know about my mother, her instincts, fortunately in our case, are never wrong.”
“So let me be clear.” Ivy jabbed her father in the chest with a finger. “You were involved with this scheme as well? I thought only Lady Hampton and I were party to this plan.” The dagger-laden glare she gave her father would have killed any other man.
“Of course. Mina couldn’t have done this all on her own.”
Leo arched a brow and shock rippled through him. Mina? Since when did Mr. Leighton and his mother exist on such familiar terms? They stood awfully close together, almost touching.
“Oh.” His mother blushed like a young girl. “That reminds me, Leo…Mr. Leighton has asked me to marry him. I’ve accepted.” She glanced away as though embarrassed. “I didn’t plan that part, you see, but we just spent so much time together, planning this and well…nature and all that.” She waved her hand in the air, dismissing any further discussion on that particular subject.
“You’re getting married?” Ivy clenched Leo’s hand tight, and he squeezed back to reassure her.
“The way I see it, lad,” Mr. Leighton said, “you are taking my daughter, and I will take your mother. A fair Romani trade.” He winked at Leo and burst out laughing.
She had wanted to live scandalously…
“Mother, if this is what makes you happy, then I am happy for you both.”
“Ivy?” His mother bit her lip, hands clasped together. “I hope that this is all right with you. I cannot replace your mother and would never want to…” She trailed off, eyes glimmering with unshed tears.
Ivy sniffled and then let go of Leo’s hand to embrace his mother fiercely.
“I always thought of you as my second mother. Mama would have wanted all of us to be happy. And now…now I think we are.”
Leo placed his hands on Ivy’s shoulders and nuzzled her cheek. He couldn’t have said it better himself.
“How will we explain this to everyone?” his mother asked, looking a tad vexed at their new social situation of her marrying Mr. Leighton and Leo marrying Ivy. It was certainly unusual.
With a crooked grin at his mother, he winked. “I believe our marriages will be the least of everyone’s concerns. The biggest scandal will be when I attend your WSPU meetings and start a petition for women’s rights in the House of Lords. I’m liable to bring down society altogether.”
“Oh, Leo!” She swatted him, but he didn’t care. Ivy was here in his arms, in his life. He made a vow in that instant to never waste a second of life with her. He would do everything he could to give her what she wanted in life, including love and even equality in the eyes of English law. He gazed down at her, hoping she could see the love he felt bursting from inside him.
“What is it?” Ivy asked. “You have an odd expression…” She stroked a finger over his lips.
“I am finally free.” He echoed her feelings, the word she’d whispered in the wake of their passion. “With you, I will always be free.”
Ivy’s skin blossomed into a delicate red, and he couldn’t resist stealing one kiss, knowing it would never be enough. That…that was love.
This is love.