I wore my bike leathers and I rode my bike out to the estate. I could have worn a suit and arrived in a limousine, but that wouldn’t be showing Jeanette that I saw her; that I saw who she was deep inside. The suit and the limo were the public version of Jeanette, the good girl who tried to please everybody. The Jeanette I had gotten to know and fell in love with was the one who rode a hot pink Ducati and looked smokin’ hot in bike leathers.

I timed my arrival to be a little after seven. I didn’t want to arrive before Lord Cameron and spoil the surprise. I still had no idea what I was going to say to her, but I wasn’t worried about the words. I was wearing my heart on my sleeve and that should be enough to convince her that I was telling the truth when I told her I loved her. That’s all she really needed to know. A pretty speech might make it more romantic and memorable, but the words weren’t the important thing, the sentiment behind them was.

A bolt of nerves jerked through me as I dismounted the bike and faced the front door of the imposing estate. It was a big place - not quite a castle like Château de Monterey - but definitely bigger than the house I’d grown up in. I took a deep breath. Jeanette didn’t care about the difference in our upbringing and neither should I.

I stalked up the steps confidently and rang the doorbell. The door was opened by a butler in livery and I had a moment of fear thinking I had made the wrong choice in wearing my leathers. It didn’t last long. This whole thing wasn’t about me or who I was. It was about who Jeanette was and making sure that she knew I saw her… saw the real her.

“Yes, sir?” the butler asked with a decidedly condescending look. MacClaren could learn something from this guy.

“Drew Taylor,” I replied with a smile. “I believe I’m expected?”

The butler’s eyebrows twitched, but his face remained a mask. He inclined his head as he stepped back and opened the door, granting me entry. I stepped over the threshold and took a good look round the foyer. It was grand, but again I had been spoiled with having stayed at the Château de Monterey. It didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate the history and workmanship, but it didn’t leave me gaping like a tourist either.

“This way, sir,” the butler said and I followed him down the hall past portraits of what I could only assume were former marquesses, I could only assume. The hall had been designed to intimidate and I could appreciate the effect. This was a family with a long and distinguished history and they wanted everyone to know it. It was the same reason I hung my diplomas in my office - to prove a point.

The butler opened the doors and announced me to those waiting inside.

“Mr. Drew Taylor,” he said and then stepped back revealing me.

I took a slow look around the room. Martin was standing behind the wet bar, a glass of whiskey in his hand and another on the bar in front of him. Joshua stood in front of the bar, leaning casually against it, one foot propped on the footrest and an elbow resting on the wooden top. Seated in a wingback chair was a woman I hadn’t met but whom I assumed was the current Marchioness of Astonbury. She looked down her nose at me, which was a feat in and of itself considering she was sitting and I towered above her. Standing by the mantlepiece with a drink in his hand was Lord Cameron. He looked like a typical English gentleman in his dinner suit, leaning casually against the mantle with one leg crossed over the other. The viscount looked to be holding court and I was glad that I had arrived when I did.

The last person I turned to look for was Jeanette. She had been seated in a small settee opposite her mother, near Lord Cameron and when I had walked through the door she’d stood. Now she was looking at me a mixture of hope and distress crossing her face. I was glad to see the hope and relieved that no anger showed in her brown eyes as she looked at me.

“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” Lady Astonbury said.

“I apologise for my unexpected appearance,” I said, not looking away from Jeanette. “But there was something I needed to tell Lady Jeanette and it couldn’t wait another moment.”

“Surely it could have waited until after dinner,” Lord Cameron said.

“I’m afraid not,” I said, “You see it is rather time critical.”

“Well out with it then,” Lady Astonbury said. “You’ve already interrupted our drinks, you may as well say what you’ve come to say.”

“I’m afraid I must speak with Lady Jeanette in private—”

“Absolutely not,” Lady Astonbury said. “You say what you have to say here and now or you leave us to our dinner in peace.”

I shot a quick look at Martin and he shrugged one shoulder as if to say it was now or never. I took a breath and stepped fully into the room, heading straight for Jeanette. She stood frozen by her chair and I could see the pulse at her neck fluttering madly. I had really hoped to do this in private, but with that choice being taken away, I would just have to make the best of it. I took her hands in mine and opened my mouth to speak.

“I’m in love with you,” I said.

My pulse was pounding so loudly in my head that I barely heard the words. I couldn’t believe Drew was here. I couldn’t believe he had come out here and was standing in front of me in his soft leathers smelling of the fresh air with a subtle hint of bike fumes. Rather than detract from the moment, the bike fumes only enriched it.

“I’m in love with you,” he said again and my eyes widened.

It hadn’t been my imagination, he really was here declaring his love to me. I opened my mouth to reply but no words came out.

“I know you thought that I was lying when I told you before, but I want you to know that I am telling you the absolute truth. I have barely been able to function since the night of Freddie and Alex’s ball and I know that I just couldn’t go on without you knowing what was in my heart.”

“You love me? Really?”

“Oh God, so much,” he said in a rush. “I love how you care for your family and friends. I love your soft nature and your kindness. I love the way your hair lifts in the breeze and the way your eyes sparkle when you smile. I love the curve of your lips and the blush that stains your cheeks when someone compliments you. I love how humble you are and your fearlessness when you ride.” He cupped my cheek and his eyes bore into mine like he could see into the very depths of my soul. “I see you, Jeanette. I see the woman you really are behind the mask and I love you, just as you are.”

I couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. No one had ever said those things to me, no one had ever listed such complimentary things about me. I only ever heard the bad things, the things that needed work. But here was Drew and he was letting me see how he saw me and it was a revelation. No one had ever seen me the way Drew did. No one had ever really seen me at all. He was the first person to have ever looked beyond the façade that I had carefully cultivated to see what was beneath. He was the first person to truly love me for who I was under the mask.

I lifted my hand to his cheek and felt the roughness of his whiskers under my palm. I remembered how it felt to be in his arms. I remembered what it felt like to have him spin me around the dance floor. I remembered the soft brush of his lips on mine and the way he made me feel when he breathed me in and leaned his chin on my head. I had missed him so much. I had missed all those little things that had shown me how he really felt about me. I had allowed my insecurities to blind me to the truth and the comfort of familiar lies to turn me away from something new and different.

“I love you too,” I said and his lips tilted up in a sweet smile.

“No!” Mother said, standing from her chair. “No. Absolutely not! I will not allow this.”

“You really don’t have any say in it, Mother,” Martin said as he walked around the bar and my eyes shot to him in surprise.

“I am the head of this household—”

“No,” Martin spoke again, “You are not. I am the marquess and I am the head of this household.”

“Surely I have a say in all this,” Lord Cameron said, stepping away from the mantel, “After all, I do have a marriage agreement with Jeanette.”

“Actually you don’t,” I said. “You made an agreement with my mother without my consent. The contract you have with her is void. A fact I would have made clear tonight, had you proposed. It took me a while but I finally came to my senses. I would never marry someone like you. You are arrogant and rude. You continually tear others down in order to make yourself feel better, but do you know what? That’s never going to happen. Until you can see your own flaws and deal with them you are always going to feel inferior and feel the need to criticise others. In fact you and my mother make a great pair, maybe you should be marrying her.”

His mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air and I had to bite back a smile.

“Jeanette!” Mother growled. “I am your mother and you will do as I wish or—”

“Or what, Mother? You will ground me? Send me to bed without supper? Withdraw your affection from me?” Mother spluttered under my words. “For far too many years I have done everything in my power to make you happy. I wanted you to love me so desperately that I was practically doing cartwheels just so you would notice me. You never did. All you could see were my faults. I was too tall, too thin, too plain, too average. I was never pretty enough or clever enough or bright enough or funny enough. Nothing I did pleased you and yet I kept on trying. I stuffed down my own wants and desires and put you first always, but it didn’t matter what I did, you didn’t care. So I left. I came to Merveille in the hopes that I could somehow make you happy by being part of the royal entourage and do you know what I found instead? Backbone. I found my backbone and I had begun to find myself too, my true self. It was buried beneath the rubble you had heaped on it, but it was still there. The authentic me was half starved and nearly dead, but she was still alive and given some fertile soil, she began to get stronger. And then Drew came along and breathed new life into her.” I turned to him and smiled. “Drew showed me that all the things you spent my childhood telling me were lies. He thinks I’m beautiful and he thinks I’m intelligent.” I turned back to Mother. “And I am inclined to believe him because you know what else I discovered when I was out from under your vitriol? I discovered I liked myself. I liked those parts of me that you had so despised and I discovered that your criticisms said more about you than about me.”

“How dare you,” Mother said, her voice low and menacing. “After all I’ve done for you, you ungrateful little—”

“And just what have you done for me except erode my self-confidence down until you could control me? Why Mother? Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do that would cause you to feel justified in tearing me down so?”

“You took everything from me!” she screamed at me, her face going red. “From the minute you were born your father never looked at me the same again. He was my husband! He was mine and you stole him from me!”

I gasped, taken aback by her vehemence.

“You’re not really sick, are you?” I asked, but I knew the answer.

“What?” Martin asked.

I looked at him sadly. “She told me she was dying. Oh, not in so many words, but just enough to control me, to use my affection for her against me. She told me she wanted to see her grandchildren before she died and that she wouldn’t go to a specialist until I had married Lord Cameron.” I turned to look at Mother, feeling nothing but pity for the old, bitter woman who stood before me. “It was all just another lie to get me to do what you wanted. Why was it so important that I have a title? What would you even get out of it?”

“Something to show for everything I lost,” she spat, “If I had to have a daughter with so little going for her, at least she could have some standing in the peers.”

“You do realise I would outrank you, right?” I said and her face blanched. “I would have been a viscountess and you a dowager marchioness.”

“Why you little—”

“Stop!” Drew said, standing in front of me and pushing me behind him as if to protect me from her lashes. “I will not allow you to stand there and degrade the woman I love any longer. The way you have behaved toward your daughter is despicable. You have taken a little girl who was born perfect in every way and you have torn her down piece by piece because of your petty jealousies. The woman who stands before you is strong and independent and the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on. I will not let you poison her with your venom any longer.”

My heart fluttered in my chest as Drew stood in front of me and defended me like a knight in a fairytale. How could I have ever doubted for one moment that he didn’t love me?

“Come on,” I said, taking his hand in mine, “Let’s get out of here.”

He turned to look at me questioningly and then his face broke into a grin.

“Let’s go,” he said, nodding to Martin and Joshua who were standing there with big goofy grins on their faces.

I followed him out the door and came to a stop in front of his bike. I looked down at my dress and heels and he shrugged and handed me his spare helmet. I leant in to brush a quick kiss on his lips and then slid the helmet on over my hair.

We rode off into the night and my world seemed to right itself once again. This is where I belonged, with my arms wrapped around Drew as we sped along the winding road, the growl and vibration of the engine below us. It didn’t take long for Drew to reach our special place, the lookout where he had first kissed me, the place when I had realised I was falling in love with him.

We got off the bike and removed our helmets and walked hand in hand to the rail and looked out over the city of lights below us.

“Did you really mean all those things you said?” I asked, turning to him.

He pulled me closer and wound his arms around my waist, lowering his head to kiss me sweetly.

“Do you really have to ask?” he said softly, his breath puffing against my lips.

I kissed him back in answer and he pulled me tighter into his chest.

With a sigh, I leaned my head against his chest and luxuriated in the feel of him in my arms. No one had ever made me feel the way Drew made me feel, even if it was a clichéd thing to say. I always felt like I had to perform in order to make other people like me, but it was different with Drew. He liked the real me, the me I hadn’t even known existed before I came to Merveille. What more could I want for in a man?

“I really hope I haven’t caused a rift in your family,” he said, brushing a kiss on top of my head.

I took a deep breath and burrowed into his chest. “The rift is not of your making,” I said, “And maybe it needs to be there, for a little while at least. Maybe it’s time for my mother to get a dose of her own medicine.”

His arms tightened around me. “I only want you to be happy,” he said, “I know I’m not the man your mother would have chosen for you but I intend to prove to her that I am the man you need.”

I looked up at him and smiled. “You don’t need to prove anything to anyone,” I said, “The only thing that matters is that you are the man I want. I love you Drew Taylor and I am so sorry I didn’t trust you enough to believe you when you said it the first time.”

“I love you too Lady Jeanette Bower and I am sorry too. I should have made my feelings known to you earlier and then maybe we could’ve skipped all the bad bits.”

I snuggled back into his chest and sighed. “Oh, I don’t know,” I said, “Sometimes it’s the bad bits that make us realise just how good the good bits are.”

“Like how the darkness makes the light brighter?”

“Exactly,” I said.

“Hey, do you wanna do something fun?” he asked and I looked at him questioningly.

“Like what?”

He walked over to his bike and opened the pannier, pulling out a gift bag. He handed it to me without a word. I took it and opened it to look inside. It wasn’t immediately clear what it was he was giving me, so I reached in and pulled out… a dress. A red dress. The red dress to be exact.

“How did you—” I couldn’t believe he’d bought me the very dress I had been coveting. I held it up against my body and he grinned.

“Let’s go dancing,” he said.

I looked up at him, a little dazed. “Dancing?”

“I found this little salsa club. Come on. I’ve even got shoes for you.”

He reached into the pannier again and removed a pair of red stilettos. The highest pair of stilettos I had ever seen let alone worn.

I did a little skip of delight and then threw myself into his arms kissing him passionately. “Let’s go dancing,” I said.