Page 76 of Regency in Color

“What I gave is yours regardless of what happens here tonight,” he said, jaw stubbornly set. “I would give you so much more, Thalia. I would give you the world if you let me.”

Anger made her palms itch to strike him and sent heat flaring up from her middle. “I have already told you that I am not an object to be bought!”

“For the love of God, woman, I’m not trying to buy you!” he bellowed. “I’m trying to marry you!”

Deathly silence fell over the flat. Then, through the door, Thalia heard her sister squeal with delight. Shaking her head, Thalia frowned, certain she couldn’t have heard him correctly.

“Marry me? But … but you said …”

“I phrased my words poorly, and for that I apologize. What I should have said is that the night of the masquerade I realized I am quite madly in love with you.”

Thalia’s mouth gaped open, and she scrambled for words. “But you can’t be … it was only one night … we …”

“Have known one another for years,” he said with a smile. “I was too blind to see it, or perhaps I never allowed myself to consider the possibilities because we seemed to be worlds apart. At least, that’s what I thought when I considered myself a duke and you a bookshop owner. But my eyes were opened that night, Thalia, and I saw us as we really were—a man and a woman who were made for each other. There are hundreds of bookshops and libraries in London, yet I return to yours week after week, even when your selection isn’t as plentiful as the others. Haven’t you ever wondered why?”

Thalia felt on the verge of collapse. Her palms had broken into a sweat and now that her anger was dissipating, disbelief was taking over. “I suppose I never thought of it.”

Stephen smiled and took hold of both her hands. “It was you. It was your smiles and our witty bantering. It was the sweet way you wrinkle your nose when reading the titles on the spines. It was the way you moved, with grace and poise but also with purpose and strength. It was the way you looked at me, as if you could see past the title. As if you knew me.”

She did know him. Thalia had realized the night of the masquerade that they knew each other better than she’d thought. She knew his favorite books and authors, his favorite poem. She knew that he took great care not to damage the spines or covers of his books because he cherished them. She knew that he was averse to daisies, because he’d collapsed into a sneezing fit when a vase of them rested on her counter.

She knew she loved him, and always had.

“Stephen,” she whispered. “You cannot truly mean to marry me. If it is because of …” she lowered her voice and her eyes, face flushing hot. “If it is because of what we did, I can assure you I expect nothing because of it. I made my choice and do not regret it.”

“That isn’t the reason I want to marry you,” Stephen said, raising her hands to his lips and kissing the back of each one with such reverence she nearly wept. “I want to marry you because I love you. Because you are the only person who showed me who she really was instead of presenting what you thought would appeal to a duke. I want to marry you because you make me smile and laugh. I want to marry you because I want you so badly I feel as if I’m burning up from the inside, and I will die if I cannot have you.”

Now she really was weeping, tears, sobbing, hiccups—the works. “Stephen … I love you, too.”

He closed his eyes and rested his lips against her brow. “Thank God. I would have worked to earn your heart if you weren’t yet prepared to give it. But you love me?”

“I do,” she confessed. “I have for a long time.”

“Then say yes. Marry me.”

Swiping at her tears, she backed away from him. “You cannot make me your duchess. I know nothing of being a lady, and even less about the ways of the nobility. I would be an embarrassment to your family.”

“You would be my pride and joy. Besides, being an aristocrat isn’t difficult at all. You simply look down your nose at people and raise one eyebrow, perhaps while peering through a quizzing glass … like this.”

Thalia sputtered a giggle as he straightened and tipped his head, giving her a chilling look down the bridge of his nose. The effect was ruined by the almost maniacal lift one of dark eyebrow, making him look like some caricature of a gothic novel villain.

“See?” he said with a chuckle, using his fingers to dash away one last tear. “I can teach you, and no one would dare speak a word against you. But more important than you being my duchess is the fact that I want you to be my wife. My partner. My lover. The mother of my children. My best friend.”

Thalia drew in a sharp breath as he reached into his coat pocket, coming out with a box that fit in the palm of his hand. Her knees went weak as he sank to one knee, and it took every bit of her strength to keep from collapsing.

The ring he revealed was brilliant gold with a large, square-cut ruby as its centerpiece. The tiny diamonds flanking it sparkled in the light of the lamps.

Thalia put a hand over her mouth as she stared at the extravagant ring. She had never seen anything so costly or precious in her life. “Stephen … my God, it’s beautiful.”

“It’s yours,” he said, staring up at her with pleading in his eyes. “And so am I if you will have me. So are all the things I possess—my title, my lands, my heart and soul. Marry me, Thalia. Let me care for you and your family and make you happy for the rest of your days.”

Thalia went to her knees with a sob and threw her arms around him. “Yes!”

Stephen embraced her, holding her so tight she could barely breathe. But Thalia didn’t need to breathe, for the sweet kiss he bestowed on her provided all the air and light and life she needed.

He helped her to her feet, and they stood there staring at one another and grinning like a pair of imbeciles. Thalia had been about to speak, but a loud crash from the other side of her bedroom door made her nearly jump out of her skin.

The door swung open to reveal Theo, who was grinning from ear to ear. The walls were so thin, Thalia didn’t doubt every word had been overheard.

“What was that?” Thalia asked, fingers intertwined with Stephen’s. He had placed the ring on her left ring finger, and its weight served as a reminder that this was real.

Theo glanced over her shoulder, then looked back at them with a laugh. “Oh, it’s nothing. Mother has fainted.”