Jasper smiled. Ruth and Martha burst into applause. The duchess raised her glass.
But her father’s eyes bulged. “What flummery is this? You saw the duke for a minute at the stall and a minute at church. How can you be in love with him? A woman grown does not have such missish fancies, daughter.”
Ada glared at him. “It is not a missish fancy, Father. His Grace and I have been conducting a secret affair, meeting several times at an old cottage on this estate. Jasper is kind, intelligent, and generous and never have I been happier than my stolen hours with him. He makes me feel special. And beautiful. That I matter,” she finished at a yell, her voice so loud it would no doubt be heard in every square inch of St. Mary’s church.
Mr. Ambrose squeaked like an outraged mouse, but her father actually collapsed into a chair, his face pale with shock. “Well I never.”
“That was long overdue,” said Ruth, her lips twitching. “I’m proud of you, Ada.”
“The vicar needs a drink,” said Martha, brandishing the decanter. “Take a swig, sir. You’ll feel better.”
But Ada couldn’t look at her father. The only reaction she wanted to see was Jasper’s, the man who had probably bitten his tongue and stood on his own feet so he did not heave the vicar out a window. Instead, her lover had once again offered the freedom to make her own decision while standing ready and willing to offer assistance if required. “Your Grace?”
A tender smile curved his lips, one that warmed her to the soul. “I gave you leave to call me Jasper.”
“You did,” she agreed cautiously. “At the cottage.”
“Indeed. Well, everyone knows about the cottage now, so perhaps the boundary needs to be extended further. How do you feel about coronets?”
Ada’s breath hitched.
A coronet?
Jasper wanted to marry her?
Unbridled joy surged through her entire body and Ada took his hands in hers before gazing deep into his eyes. “That sounds very much like you wish to negotiate a new contract. In which case we should probably retire to your library.”
“I think that best,” he replied, nodding. “Plenty to discuss.”
Ada glanced back at the others in the room. Ruth and Martha were beaming. The duchess was dabbing at her eyes with a lace handkerchief. The curate muttered about recalcitrant women, but her father continued to stare at the brandy decanter and shake his head. Gracious. The vicar of fire and brimstone certainly could not take a spoonful of his own medicine.
“Do excuse us, ladies,” said Ada, curling her arm about Jasper’s as they turned and began to walk out of the parlor. “Very special business to attend to.”
“Call me Lavinia,” said the duchess. “And if you’re going to play chess, don’t forget to lock the library door.”
“Oh bloody hell,” said Jasper. “Mother.”
Ada could only rock with laughter. She had triumphed over villainy and found happiness.
Mrs. Radcliffe would be proud.
Chapter Eight
Two weeks ago, Ada had been bold and brave enough to walk into this library and make him an offer he couldn’t help but accept.
Now it was his turn.
Jasper paused and allowed the scent of leather-bound books and his favorite John Constable landscape on the wall to soothe him. Damn it, he shouldn’t be so nervous, but he wanted to say this the right way. A romantic way. Now Ada had declared herself, the onus was on him to share the stirrings of his heart, to push past the desire for rules and contracts and order and be vulnerable in front of a woman.
“Ada…” he began, feeling like a fool when his throat closed over. Christ, he wasn’t a green lad meeting his first young lady!
She patted his arm. “Let me lock the door, like your mother advised. There we go. Please do proceed, Jasper.”
It was difficult to imagine a time when he wouldn’t enjoy the way she said his name. Lovingly possessive, but with a hint of wicked as well. Truly, Ada was a woman he could both laugh with and discuss the most serious of matters.
“Earlier in the parlor I asked how you felt about coronets. And by that I meant marriage, in case it wasn’t entirely clear.”
A little grin tugged at her lips. “Well, I did have my heart set on being Mistress of Peaches and Pastries, but if Duchess of Gilroy is the offer, then I suppose I could accept that. Are you going to woo me? I must say, it will be difficult to best this ghost-repelling dill pouch. That was an inspired choice; how I knew for certain that you saw the real Ada.”
Jasper took a deep breath and reached for her hand. Now or never. “I will walk beside you, never in front. Whether here, in London, in church, or the most haunted castle in England. I will applaud your victories, and comfort sadness or when your eyes misbehave and trickle water. While my jests aren’t quite as beneficial as peaches and pastries, you’ll have an endless supply of both. I will share my thoughts and hopes and dreams with you, although I must warn you, you’ll be in them. Frequently. Wearing spectacles and probably naked because I am enraptured with your Renaissance figure. But most important of all…I’ll love you. Without condition or clause. From this day forward, forever.”
Her eyes shone like stars, and tears trickled down her face. “I’m not crying.”
“I know, misbehaving eyes,” he replied, lifting her hand to his lips for a kiss. He’d done it. He’d actually managed to say the words in his heart without stumbling or faltering, and he’d made her happy. Perhaps this love business could indeed be easy with the right woman. “Marry me, sweetheart…please.”
Ada twined her arms about his neck and tugged his head down for a long, desperate kiss. Any notion of it being wholly sweet and tender incinerated in an instant as she rubbed herself against him and whimpered. “Jasper.”
Drawing back a little, he cupped her beloved face. “You have not responded to my offer,” he said as sternly as possible when his own eyes threatened to misbehave and trickle water.
“How could it be anything other than yes? Yes! I will say it once or twice or two hundred times. The tales are true, bold acts bring great rewards, because never in my wildest dreams did I think hiring a duke to be my first lover would result in forever after.”
“Tell me you love me,” Jasper said hoarsely. “I find…I need to hear it again.”
Ada giggled. “You mean when I’m not in the throes of orgasm or lecturing my father?”
“Tell me,” he repeated, blotting her tears with his thumbs. “Minx.”
Curling her fingers around his wrist, she turned her head so she might brush her lips across his palm. “I love you, Jasper. So much.”
“Even if you’ll be a duchess?”
“Even then,” she replied. “I fear I won’t be a very good one. I’ve never been to London, and the thought of fancy balls or directing hundreds of staff makes me itch all over. I want to make the lives of others better. That is the responsibility of peers. Too many ignore their tenants, leave bills unpaid, or compromise maids. The stories we heard from town…”
“I know. And we are in perfect accord. You’ll be a splendid duchess, caring and thoughtful. But I hope you’ll always be my bold Ada, too. Who speaks her mind and revels in pleasure.”