The first week after Quentin left, her emotions ran the gambit from anger to despair. One moment she would be furious, berating him for his callousness and the shabby manner in which he had used her, then departed-recalling that he hadn"t even given her the courtesy of a note.
But in the next breath, she would be sunk in misery, telling herself the fault was her own for being careless enough to fall in love with him. Suppose he had had written her a note, or had even stayed to tell her good-bye. What might he have said that wouldn"t have crushed her just as much as his leaving? How could words have possibly softened the agonizing blow of knowing he did not love her in return? written her a note, or had even stayed to tell her good-bye. What might he have said that wouldn"t have crushed her just as much as his leaving? How could words have possibly softened the agonizing blow of knowing he did not love her in return?
He"d said what they shared was nothing more than a fantasy. But for her, every moment, every emotion, was as real as the moon and as radiant as the stars.
Finally, her tears had dried, and in their wake, she"d taken a vow to forget him-as he no doubt had already forgotten her. But as the days moved past, and her life resumed its natural course, her devotion for him did not fade. If anything, her love strengthened. Try as she might, she could not free herself from her memories of their days together-thoughts of him embedded deep into her bones, her love for him inextricably entwined around her soul.
Forcing a smile, she looked across at her sister. "I just have a great deal on my mind these days, that"s all."
"Like going to London in the spring?"
"Yes. Exactly."
"I wish I I could go to London for the Season," Poppy said with a wistful sigh. could go to London for the Season," Poppy said with a wistful sigh.
"That day shall come soon enough. Pray do not be so impatient." I certainly wish I didn"t have to go, since I shall be expected to seek out a husband-a man who will not be Quentin Marlowe. I certainly wish I didn"t have to go, since I shall be expected to seek out a husband-a man who will not be Quentin Marlowe.
And what if she saw him there? How would she bear such an encounter?
She was just about to reach for a new spillikin stick when two pairs of slippered feet came stamping through the doorway. Her sisters-Anna and Janey-raced in, sliding to an abrupt, skirt-swinging halt.
"India, India, you shall never guess!" twelve-year-old Janey declared, breathless from her apparently mad dash up the stairs.
India met her gaze. "Never guess what?"
"That we have a visitor and you are to come downstairs immediately."
Her lips tightened on a repressed sigh. "What sort of visitor? Has the squire called again?"
"No," stated Anna, in the exaggeratedly calm voice she had taken to using since turning fifteen last month. "The visitor is a gentleman, and Mama says you are to put on your best frock and join them as soon as may be."
"A gentleman? What"s his name?"
"Well, we do not know, nor what he looks like, since he arrived before we had a chance to see," Anna continued. "But he is closeted with Papa in his study at this very minute."
India scowled at that bit of news.
"You don"t suppose he"s here to propose to you?" Janey said on a giggle. "Oh, heavens, what if it"s one of those fellows Spence brought home last summer? Maybe the one with the chuckleheaded expression who followed you around spouting poetry wherever he went."
Peter Harte!
India felt her eyes widen with alarm. Good Lord, surely he didn"t have the temerity to come seeking her father"s permission to ask for her hand? Not after he"d been so thoroughly dismissed the last time they"d met? Then again, Peter Harte never had been one to take no for an answer.
Well, she thought rising to her feet, she thought rising to her feet, he"s going to learn his lesson once and for all. he"s going to learn his lesson once and for all. She would go downstairs all right and see to it he was sent packing! She would go downstairs all right and see to it he was sent packing!
Storming from the room, she headed for the stairs.
Her sisters followed. Down one flight they went, to the second floor, like ducks in a row.
"What about your gown?" Anna called when India didn"t turn in the direction of her bedchamber.
Her dress was an old, comfortable moss green kersey-mere she"d worn dozens of times, eminently suitable for afternoons at home. "My attire is perfectly fine."
Perfectly fine for the likes of Peter Harte, that is.
She continued on down the next flight of stairs, her sisters at her heels. When they reached the main floor, she stopped and turned. "You had all best stay here. Mama won"t approve if we all go in."
"Of course not," Anna said, cloaking herself in a mantle of dignity. "I shall take the girls into the music room."
"Where you can try listening through the wall," India observed with a knowing look.
"Exactly!" Janey piped.
India couldn"t help but grin. "Do not let Mama catch you."
But as she walked toward her father"s study, her smile fell away, her affront returning full force.
She met her mother in front of the closed study doors.
"There you are," her mother said in a quiet voice, her gaze sweeping down. "What is that you have on? Did the girls not tell you to change your gown?"
"I can go back up if you like-"
"No, no there"s no time. He"s been in with your father for fifteen minutes now as it is. I can"t imagine they have much more to discuss."
Fifteen minutes? What could Peter the Pest have had to talk to her father about for fifteen minutes What could Peter the Pest have had to talk to her father about for fifteen minutes?
"Go on. Go in," her mother encouraged with a wide smile, her blue eyes twinkling with antic.i.p.ation.
Does Mama approve his suit? She"d never thought her mother much cared for Peter, nor that her father had a good opinion of him either, come to think. But maybe a formal declaration made all the difference. She"d never thought her mother much cared for Peter, nor that her father had a good opinion of him either, come to think. But maybe a formal declaration made all the difference.
Well, I shall put a stop to his overtures. Now and for good!
Giving a brief knock, she opened the door and stepped inside.
The room was large, with her father"s desk positioned so that he faced anyone who entered. A pair of upholstered armchairs was set in front of it, their high backs angled in a way that concealed the occupants.
Without making any real attempt to identify the visitor-of whom all she could make out was a pair of booted feet-she marched up to her father. "Papa, I understand you wish to see me?"
Gazing her way, he smiled and stood. "Ah, India. Good, you are here. We have a guest who has come all this way for a visit. He informs me he is acquainted with you."
"Well, yes, of course, he is. But there has been some mistake and whatever he has told you, I trust you will disregard it."
Her father"s thick salt-and-pepper brows rose on his forehead. "What"s that now?"
"This gentleman is here under an erroneous a.s.sumption. And I would have you ask him to-"
"Ask me to what?" remarked a well-remembered voice.
From out of the chair he rose, large and dark and so exceptionally magnificent that for a moment she forgot how to draw her next breath. Her lips parted. "Quentin."
She stared, her senses alive as she drank in the sight of his beloved face. Then abruptly she remembered herself and the fact that they were not alone. "I m-mean, Your Grace. How do you do?" Lowering her gaze to the carpet, she sank into a deep curtsy.
Quentin returned the gesture with a bow. "Miss Byron. A pleasure as always."
A silence fell, her father looking between them, as he crossed his arms over his stocky chest. "So, what is this you were saying, India?"
Her gaze darted his way, as she inwardly kicked herself for her impetuous a.s.sumptions. "N-nothing. Nothing of any import, that is. Pray forget I spoke."
A slight smile turned up the corners of Quentin"s mouth. Apparently choosing to withhold comment, however, he laid a hand on the back of his chair instead.
"Yes, well, if that"s the case, then let"s move along," her father stated. "His Grace and I were just discussing agriculture."
Agriculture!
"It would seem your father takes a lively interest in the latest cultivation methods for turnips," Quentin observed in an even tone.
"A good cash crop, turnips. Beneficial for both man and beast," her father a.s.serted in a speech she had heard him make many times before. "But I daresay that"s not what brought Weybridge to our doorstep." He cleared his throat. "It seems the duke would like a word with you, India, and I have agreed that he may have it."
Her heart hammered in her chest.
Casting speculative glances between her and Quentin again, her father came around from behind his desk. "Your mother said something about rounding up a tray of tea and sandwiches. I think I"ll just go see how she"s coming with those."
Sending her a rea.s.suring smile, her father left, closing the double doors at his back.
The ticking of the clock that stood in the far corner of the room seemed to increase its volume, together with that of a bird warbling a tune from its perch on a branch outside one of the windows.
Folding her hands in front of her, she waited, more awkward in Quentin"s presence than she could ever remember being. But then perhaps that was because she couldn"t decide whether she ought to run out of the room or run instead into his arms.
Of course if she did that, she might also find herself begging, and she still possessed enough pride to forgo such a pitiable display. Possible, too, was the chance that her parents were wrong and that Quentin wished to speak to her for a completely different reason than they a.s.sumed. Although what that reason might be, she couldn"t imagine. Unless he was here to apologize for leaving without a word that day.
Something inside her shriveled at the notion.
"How have you been, India?" he asked in a rich, mellow tone that made her quiver deep inside.
Been? she thought. Desolate. That"s how I"ve been Desolate. That"s how I"ve been.
Instead, she sent him what she hoped was a carefree smile. "Quite well. Excellent, in fact."
His gaze sought hers, a deep glint in his coffee-hued eyes that she couldn"t quite interpret. "You look wonderful. Even more beautiful than I remember."
She buried a hand against her skirt. "And what of you, Your Grace? How have you been these past months?"
"Less than good, actually."
"What do you mean?" she asked, lines creasing her forehead in sudden concern. "You haven"t been ill, have you?"
"No, not physically ill. Not unless you consider unhappiness a disease. Because if that"s the case, then you might say I"m in a very bad way indeed."
She stared, her pulse thudding harder in her veins.
"I thought I was doing the right thing when I left you in August," he continued. "I told myself it was for both of our good, and that a clean break was exactly what we needed. Once parted, we"d count ourselves lucky over our easy escape. After all, who bases their lives on little more than a week"s acquaintance? What kind of foundation would it provide for a relationship?"
He pulled in a ragged breath. "Since then, I"ve come to realize that I made the biggest mistake of my life. No matter how I"ve tried, I can"t get you out of my mind or my heart. You haunt me, India, and without you, I"m scarcely fit for anything."
Reaching into his pocket, he withdrew a ring. The brilliant square-cut emerald winked like a cat"s eye in the milky afternoon light.
Her heart did a flip, not quite able to believe all the things he was saying.
"I suppose I"m a selfish b.a.s.t.a.r.d to claim you before you"ve even had a chance to step out in the world and spread your wings," he went on. "But I cannot do without you. I love you, and I"ve come to understand that it"s not the length of time that matters but the depth of the devotion. Seven days or seventy years, it won"t change how I feel. Tell me it"s not too late, sweetheart. Tell me you still hold the same regard for me that you did all those months ago. Marry me, India Byron, and make me a happy man."
A full-body shiver went through her, emotions pouring over her with such force that she feared she might burst apart. Suddenly, her earlier question repeated in her head, and all at once she knew exactly where to run.
Taking three huge steps, she sprinted forward, then launched herself into his arms. He caught her safely, clutching her against his strong chest, as she wrapped her arms around him.
Her lips went to his. Or maybe his went to hers, the two of them kissing with a wild, ravenous joy. Closing her eyes, she let the rapture soar within her, knowing she would never find anything more perfect than the beauty of his touch. Kissing him harder, she felt all the past weeks" misery fall away.
At length, he broke their kiss, a bit winded as he met her gaze. "So, do I take it that"s a yes?"
"Of course it"s a yes!" she retorted. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! Did I say it enough? One time for each day we were together at the Pettigrews"?"
"I believe you managed. And you still love me, in spite of the way I left?"
"I shouldn"t," she told him with a mildly reproving look. "You were cruel, you know."
He grew solemn. "I know, and I"m sorry. From now on, I"ll do everything in my power to make it up to you."
"Well, I won"t stop you, if you insist. But right now, I"m just too happy to stay angry. I"ve been so miserable. You"ll never know just how much."
"If you"ve been anything like me, I do," he said with complete sincerity.
"Swear you"ll never leave me again."
"I swear and gladly."
He kissed her once more, neither of them coming up for air for quite some while.
"Are you sure?" he murmured against her lips.
"About what?" she asked on a dreamy sigh, almost delirious with pleasure.
"The engagement. We can postpone it if you want. The delay will probably kill me, but we can wait to make the announcement until after you"ve had your Season. So long as I know it"ll be my ring on your finger, I shall willingly suffer any deprivation on your behalf."
"I most certainly am not postponing the engagement or the wedding!" she stated with a firm shake of her head. "We shall spend the Season together where I can enjoy the delights of London as your bride. Besides, I"ll make a much bigger splash that way. Society will find the new d.u.c.h.ess of Weybridge far more impressive than plain Miss Byron." She flashed him a saucy grin.
He grinned back. "Believe me, darling, there"s nothing plain about you. There never was, and there never shall be."
"Oh, I just remembered," she said. "Where is my ring?"