Was it possible? Had she come to care for him as much as he had come to care for her?
Remembering the courage Leonora had shown the night before, Drake stepped forward, his hands reaching for hers, gently unclenching them and wrapping them within his own. He looked down at her and smiled, seeing the effect of it upon her face. He felt a tremble go through her, and his hands tightened upon hers, pulling her closer. “I shall always protect you, Leo,” he whispered to her, delighting in the glow that came to her blue eyes as he called her by her nickname. “But that is not the reason why I spoke to your father, why I asked for your hand.”
A shuddering breath left her lips. “It’s true then?” she mumbled, disbelief in her voice as well as her eyes. “Can it be that you truly love me? Despite everything you know about me, about my past, can you truly love me? Enough to want to marry me? And not…”
Drake’s hands tightened upon hers, his thumb brushing gently over the backs. “Not despite,” he told her, remembering the strength and determination she had so often portrayed. She had risked everything to reclaim herself, to stand tall and proud once more, to right a wrong and to warn others. “But because of it. Everything I know about you makes me proud, makes me care for you more, makes me want to…keep you close.” He searched her eyes, waiting, asking for permission.
Again, Leonora sank her teeth into her lower lip. Only this time, it was to keep a wide smile from stretching across her face.
Fortunately, she failed.
Miserably.
Drake’s right arm snaked around her middle, pulling her closer, as his left hand traced the line of her jaw. The tips of his fingers brushed over her skin, slid along her neck and then up into her hair. He felt her shiver, a shuddering breath drifting from her lips as she lifted her head, her blue eyes never leaving his. “I enjoy kissing you,” Drake whispered against her mouth.
Again, that smile tugged on her lips, and a soft sigh drifted to his ears. “I enjoy kissing you as well.”
At her words, Drake felt himself relax, that last shred of tension falling away. He wanted her to feel at ease with him, could not imagine ever drawing near without not only her permission, but also her desire to have him close. “May I?”
In answer, he felt her hands reach up and gently grasp his face. Then she pushed herself onto her toes and kissed him.
It was a kiss that was unlike any other in every way. Shy one moment, daring the next. She had so many facets about her that Drake wondered if he would ever tire of learning them all. He wanted a lifetime of trying to. A lifetime of gathering her close.
He wanted a lifetime with her.
It was as simple as that.
“Will you marry me then?” he asked as he pulled away, reluctant but also eager.
An odd expression came to her face, a mix of a frown and a smile that Drake did not quite know what to do with it. “You said there was another reason. One you have yet to tell me about.” A mischievous twinkle came to her eyes.
Drake smiled at her, loving the way she always spoke her mind. “Very well,” he said, suddenly feeling oddly at ease. “I want to marry you because…” Where would he ever find the right words? Would they not always seem insufficient? “Because I never want to find myself wondering if and when you will return here again. Because I simply don’t want you to leave at the end of the day. Because I never tire of looking at you and speaking to you. Because without you, this place is just a house, but with you it would be a home. Because you make me laugh and smile and look forward to the next day. Because you make me feel stronger than I ever have before, and yet, weaker at the same time. Because…I never thought I could be happy.”
A gentle smile came to her face, and she cupped a hand to his cheek. “I never thought I could be happy again, either.”
Drake held her tightly, wanting her to know how deeply he felt for her. “You are everything to me, and on some level, you have been since the day we met. When I looked at you, I knew I needed to know you. I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I did not. I knew I needed to keep you close. I wanted to keep you close.”
Tears trailed down Leonora’s cheeks, and yet, the smile upon her face told him that he had not made a mess of things as he had feared. “I love you as well,” Leonora whispered, reaching up to brush away the tears. “I love you for all you’ve done for me, but mostly for all you are. You understood me from the first moment we met, and even before...that night, I’ve never felt quite at ease with anyone else the way I do with you. You understand me, and you let me be who I am.” She inhaled a deep breath, that smile once more fighting to curl up the corners of her mouth. “So, yes, I will marry you if—” She lifted a hand to stop him as he leaned down to kiss her, overjoyed with her answer. “I will marry you if you are certain that that is what you want. Remember that after last night, society will—”
Sweeping her back into his arms, Drake kissed her, for once not asking permission. He simply kissed her to silence her. He kissed her because he could. He kissed her because he wanted to. He kissed her because deep down he knew that she wanted him to.
And she kissed him back.
Their paths had crossed in a fairly unusual way. Yet, Drake could not imagine anyone more perfect for him. They complemented one another. They understood one another. They were alike in many ways and knew to appreciate each other’s differences.
Drake found himself wondering what would have happened if he had not gone to Lord Archibald’s Christmas house party. He would never have met Leonora, and it would have been the greatest regret of his life.
But he had gone, and he had met her, and now he would never let her go again.
Epilogue
London, Early summer 1803 (or a variation thereof)
A few weeks later
After only ever sneaking into Drake’s house through the side entrance and then immediately heading to the study, Leonora was looking forward to finally exploring the rest of the house as the new Marchioness of Pemberton.
“You’re positively glowing,” her mother beamed as she pulled Leonora into her arms. “You are a beautiful bride, and I am so happy that you two found each other.” She looked over her shoulder at her husband, sharing one of those looks that always whispered of their connection. Finally, Leonora understood what that felt like. She cast a glance across the room to where Phineas was congratulating Drake upon their nuptials. Their eyes met, and Leonora could all but feel a spark, as though lightning had struck the air around them.
Judging from the look in his eyes, Drake felt it, too, and Leonora wondered if that feeling would ever go away. She looked at her mother and father and simply knew that it would not, for they still looked at one another in that same all-consuming, deeply absorbed way that meant that for a moment, nothing and no one else existed but that other person.
The one they loved.
After the scandal she had caused that night, Leonora had never expected to ever find herself received outside her immediate family, much less invited anywhere else. Yet, strangely enough, it did not matter. Particularly not on her wedding day.
With her family at her side, Leonora knew she would forever be happy with Drake. He was all she needed. Nevertheless, she had found herself surprised to see that her family had indeed invited close friends and an acquaintance here and there. Leonora had been even more surprised when most of them had, in fact, shown up that morning to join in the celebration. Some eyed her curiously, and she could see a hint of apprehension in others. While Sarah, their former neighbor, was overjoyed to be invited and quickly fell into easy conversation with Christina and Harriet, her mother, Lady Hartmore, seemed on the fence. Her own reputation, due to her husband’s gambling debts, was strained as it was, and she no doubt figured that by associating with the Wicked Whickertons—as some in the ton now called them—she would only hurt her daughter’s prospects and thus herself.