Chapter Thirteen − A Life's Reward
“Go!” Diana snapped, her voice harsh, as she glared at him. How dare he torture her so?
His gaze remained fixed on hers as the muscles in his jaw clenched. “No,” he repeated, determination clearly visible on his face as he took a step toward her.
Diana’s eyes narrowed. “Why are you doing this to me?” she asked, feeling the protective wall she had once more begun to erect around her heart begin to crumble. “Why can you not simply leave me alone? Go and dance with…” She shrugged, her lips pressed into a tight line.
For a long moment, he stared back at her, his eyes travelling over her face as though he had suddenly realised something that had eluded him before. Then he drew in a deep breath and took another step toward her. “I was worried about you.”
Diana scoffed. “You were worried about me?” she challenged. “Rather about my reputation, is that not true? You can simply not abide that there are people in this world who would risk it all for−” She clamped her mouth shut before she could say anything unwise. “Go!”
Again, his jaw clenched as his eyes hardened with determination. “I will not leave,” he finally said, and the indecision she had seen on his face before vanished. Instead, she watched in terror as he came toward her with measured strides, undeterred and unwavering. “Why did you come out here?” he demanded, his eyes holding hers as he came to stand in front of her, a mere arm’s length away.
Diana swallowed, wishing he would simply leave her alone. At least, Lord Norwood had been honest about his disregard for her. He had not pretended and then…
Drawing in a shaky breath, she met his gaze. “I came out here to be alone,” she said pointedly.
“Why?”
Diana felt her muscles tense as she instinctively retreated from the looming threat before her. If he didn’t leave soon, her heart would shatter all over again, and she didn’t think she was strong enough to survive that.
Shaking her head, Diana took a step back, feeling the rail cut into her lower back.
“You saw me dancing with Lady Abigail,” he finally said as though his sharp eyes could read her mind.
Instantly, Diana’s head snapped up as though he had struck her.
For a long moment, he held her gaze, gauging her reaction, waiting.
After their silence became too painful to bear, she nodded, “I did.” Perhaps now that he had his answer, he would leave her alone.
However, he didn’t.
Instead, his eyes seemed to sharpen as though he was getting closer and closer to unearthing a secret. “It bothered you.”
As it was not a question, Diana remained silent, wishing she could simply walk away, but knew that he would never allow her to step past him. What did he want?
A touch of impatience came to his eyes as she failed to answer, and he took a sudden step toward her. “Did it bother you?” he demanded, and Diana shrank back. Never had she seen him so fervent, his gaze so intense as it seemed to burn into hers.
Leaning back, the rail cutting into her lower back painfully, she looked at him defiantly. “It did!” she snapped. “Is that what you wished to hear? Yes, it bothered me. Now, will you please leave me alone?”
A grim smile came to his face. “Why?”
As her head began to spin and her emotions ran rampant, Diana felt as though she was losing her mind. She could no longer tell up from down, or right from wrong. All she knew was that she needed him to leave or she would crumble onto the ground and never be able to rise again.
“Why?” he demanded once more as though his life depended on her answer.
Flinching at the snap of his voice, Diana lost her footing as her whole body strove to get away from him.
In the last moment before she would have tumbled over the rail, he shot forward, his hands coming around her waist lightning-quick, pulling her back against him.
Breathing heavily, Diana looked up into his eyes, surprised to see a flicker of fear there as he gazed down at her, his own breathing elevated as well. And yet, his hands still rested on her waist, their warmth in stark contrast to the chill that coursed through Diana’s body. “Why?” he whispered once again, only this time his voice was gentle, and his warm breath sent a tantalising shiver down Diana’s back as it brushed over her lips.
Swallowing, Diana knew the danger she found herself in as her heart urged her to confide her feelings. However, no sound came out, and she continued to stare at him, trying to read on his face what lived in his heart.
Finally, he sighed. “It bothered me when I saw you with Oakridge,” he admitted, his jaw clenched and his voice harsh as he spoke. “It bothered me to think that you were meeting him again…here…tonight.”
As−despite her best efforts−joy began to blossom in her heart, Diana felt a careful smile tug at the corners of her mouth. “Why?” she asked, returning his question to him, seeing the same hesitation on his face that she herself had felt only a moment before.
He inhaled deeply through his nose, and the muscles in his body tensed as though he was preparing himself for an attack. His mouth opened…but then closed again, and Diana’s hopes sank.
Dropping her gaze, she lifted her arms and urged him to release her.
For a moment, he seemed to comply before he suddenly drew her to him with even greater force than when she had almost gone over the rail. His fiery eyes met hers, held hers, as he opened his mouth and said what she had longed to hear. “Because I love you.”
Before Diana could even comprehend what he had just said, before she could revel in the soft feeling that slowly built within her, his lips claimed hers in a passionate kiss.
***
Holding her in his arms, Arthur wondered how he could ever have lived a day without her and fancied himself a content man. Now, however, he was more than simply content. He felt deliriously happy.
As she returned his kiss, he wrapped his arms more tightly around her, determined to never let her go again.
In answer, her arms snaked up and came around his neck, pulling her closer against him. Her fingers brushed over his neck, sending tingles all over his skin. However, then she suddenly stepped back, pushing him off her, and his heart stopped, dread filling his being.
Smiling up at him, she held his gaze, and his heart slowly calmed. Then she whispered, “I love you, too,” and for a moment, he closed his eyes, suddenly aware how desperately he had needed to hear that, “I thought you might want to know.”
Delighted with the teasing tone in her voice, Arthur rested his forehead against hers, feeling the strain of the past minutes leave his body.
“What do we do now?” she whispered then, a touch of uncertainty and apprehension in her voice.
Lifting his head, Arthur frowned, praying that she would not refuse him. Not when he had finally realised what he wanted and on top of that had found the courage to admit to it. “We get married,” he stated simply, unaware that he was holding his breath.
In answer, her eyes bulged and the air rushed from her lungs as though her head had just broken the surface after diving into the ocean. Then she closed her eyes, drawing new air into her body, and a soft smile lifted the corners of her mouth. “Are you serious?” she whispered, searching his face.
He chuckled, unable to help himself. “Have you ever known me not to be?” Her face aglow with happiness, Arthur felt his own heart sing with joy. “Are you truly surprised that I wish to marry you?”
Diana swallowed, and a dark shadow crossed her eyes.
“What is it?” he asked as tension once more gripped his body. “Do you not wish to marry me?”
Instantly, she shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I do. Believe me, I do.” She drew in a deep breath, needing to fortify herself for expressing what was on her mind. “It’s simply that I’ve been here before.” Shaking her head, she snorted as her eyes drifted over their surroundings. “In this very spot four years ago, I had my heart ripped from my chest because a man I thought I loved refused me, and it changed everything. It changed me.”
Inhaling deeply, Arthur pulled her closer with one arm as his other hand cupped her face, making her look up at him. “I’m sorry for the pain you had to go through,” he whispered, “however, I am glad that you did.”
A frown came to her face.
“For if he had wanted to marry you then, I would have lost my chance,” Arthur said, terror filling his heart at the mere thought of it. “Never in my life have I been more grateful that there are dishonourable men in this world for if he had done his duty, I could not marry you now…not out of duty, but for love.”
“Truly?” Diana whispered, her face flushed, her eyes filled with awe as though he had just descended from the heavens.
Arthur nodded, a large smile on his face. He could not remember ever having smiled as much as he had that night. “The world−my world−would be empty without you.” Clearing his throat, he held her gaze, needing her to understand. “Emotions have never come easy to me−I cannot say why−but loving you simply happened.” He shrugged, still at a loss, unable to explain even to himself how this had come to pass. “I cannot even remember how or when, but it did.” Gently, he brushed his lips over hers, then met her eyes again. “I do love you.”
A teasing smile lit up her face. “Does that mean you were jealous?”
“Of course, I was,” he growled before his voice softened once more. “As were you.”
Taking a deep breath, Diana nodded. “I was.” Then she swallowed, and tears formed in the corner of her eyes. “I thought I’d lost you or rather that I’d once again imagined your affection…as I had before.” Sniffling, she brushed a tear from her cheek. “Once again, I thought that no one could love me. It’s always felt like a cruel joke. As much as I always dreamed of it, it seemed as though it would never happen. Not for me.”
“I know what you mean.” Seeing incomprehension on her face, Arthur sighed. “I’ve never been in love myself. I’ve never even felt the slightest inclination to be closer to someone.” He shrugged. “I don’t know why, but it always made me wonder.” A deep smile tugged at the corners of his mouth and he allowed it to spring free. “But not anymore. Now, I know why.”
“Why?” Diana asked, hope shining in her beautiful eyes.
“Because I was waiting for you,” he whispered.
A moment later, she flung herself into his arms, her blissful sighs music to his ears.
“Will you marry me then?” he asked, realising that she hadn’t yet given him an answer.
Pulling back, she met his eyes and her lips parted. However, then she hesitated, and for a moment, his heart stopped, only to pick up where it left off when he saw a teasing curl come to her lips.
“What is going on in that devilish mind of yours?” he asked, his eyes searching her face.
Biting her lower lip, she grinned, a mischievous sparkle in her gaze. “Oh, I will marry you. However, it just occurred to me that…I am technically still in mourning.”
“Technically?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
“Well, you know what I mean,” she replied mockingly before her gaze grew serious. “Can you wait a year?”
Arthur swallowed as he realised that the circumstances of their situation had never even occurred to him. Of course, she was still in mourning. If they married now, people would talk. Their reputations would suffer. It would be a scandal.
Everything he’d ever tried his utmost to avoid would come to pass if he were to break this particular rule. And yet, Arthur couldn’t help but smile as he realised that he didn’t care.
Seeing his reaction, Diana’s face broke into a deep smile as well. “Neither can I,” she declared. “However, I feel compelled to warn you that…if I were with child, it would be considered yours, your rightful heir.”
For a moment his eyes narrowed. “Are you?” he asked earnestly.
Holding his gaze, she shook her head. “I simply meant to say that society might believe any child born to us within the first year to be my late husband’s. Could you live with the whispers?”
Arthur frowned as his eyes searched her face. “Are you trying to convince me not to marry you?”
Diana laughed. “I simply mean to warn you,” she said, and the expression on her face grew serious again. “The life I’ve lived these past few years was far from easy. I don’t want you to wake up one day and regret the path you’ve taken.”
Shaking his head, he pulled her closer. “The only regret I’m afraid of ever waking up to is not having married you.” Holding her gaze, he nodded, needing her to believe him. “Any child of yours is mine as well. Including Ben. If you’re willing to share him.”
For a second, she closed her eyes, seemingly savouring the moment before her eyes were on him once more. “What about your mother?” she asked teasingly.
“To hell with my mother,” Arthur declared laughing, knowing only too well that she would be yet another obstacle they would have to overcome. However, with Diana by his side, he didn’t care. “So, will you finally answer me?”
“I thought I already had.”
“That was not an answer,” he insisted. “That was a warning. I want a clear answer. Yes or no?” Holding his breath, he waited, a part of him still thinking that this couldn’t be true.
Only when she pushed herself up on the tips of her toes, her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers once more trailing over his skin, sending shivers through his body, and kissed him with all the passion he felt in his own heart did he dare believe that miracles did happen after all.
“Yes!” she declared in a steady voice when she pulled back, looking up at him with eyes that held nothing but promise and hope. “My answer is yes.” Then a flash of mischief returned to her gaze. “How soon do you think we could dare to get married?”
Pulling her back into his arms, Arthur kissed her breathless, congratulation himself on finding the one thing he had never known he’d wanted, wondering if tomorrow might be too soon.