The squire scowled. "I never said he couldn"t visit. It"s not as if I"m burying her away from mankind! I want her to have a season before she makes any decisions like that."
"Just one?" Venetia asked.
Sir Henry looked at him expectantly.
Elizabeth frowned. "But that would be months!"
"Yes," Venetia agreed. "However, it would be well worth it if your father will allow Sir Henry to visit you while you are in London." She looked at the squire. "If Elizabeth agrees to an entire season and joins in as she ought and causes no more scenes and promises not to see Sir Henry except when you approve-"
"Venetia!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "I can"t do all of that!"
"Yes, you can," Sir Henry said, looking at his beloved with a heartfelt gaze. "I would wait for you for a hundred years. What"s one season, especially if I can see you?"
"Well?" Venetia asked the squire.
"I suppose so," the squire said. "But Sir Henry is not staying at our house when in London!"
"I don"t need to," that worthy gentleman said stiffly. "I have my own house in Mayfair."
The squire looked impressed. "Do you, indeed?"
"Henry has houses in London, Brighton, Bath, and York, don"t you, Henry?" Elizabeth said.
"Actually, I have two in Bath. Both of them excellent rental properties."
The squire looked at Henry as if seeing him for the first time. "I thought you were a farmer."
Sir Henry offered a quiet smile. "I am, sir. A gentleman farmer."
Gregor grinned, his pride in Venetia swelling.
"There," Venetia said, turning now to Ravenscroft. "I believe you owe my grandmama two pence."
He huffed. "I do not! I won fairly and-"
Grandmama"s cane smacked him in the shin.
"Ow!" He hopped up and down, his face contorted in pain.
"Grandmama, stop that."
"I don"t like cheats!"
Venetia looked at Ravenscroft. "Do you have two pence on you?"
"Yes," he said sulkily. "But it"s a matter of principle!"
"It"s a matter of saving your shins. I won"t be here to stop her every time she wields her cane. And if you think she won"t follow you to London, you"re wrong. You"ll be praying for Lord Ulster to shoot you."
"She"s right," Grandmama said, shaking her cane at Ravenscroft.
He jumped back and fished in his pockets. "All I have is this guinea."
Grandmama snapped it from his fingers. "We"ll consider it interest." Cackling, she pocketed the coin.
Ravenscroft"s shoulders slumped, but he knew he"d been beaten.
"What about me?" Miss Platt stood with her bony arms crossed over her chest, her nose high.
"Mrs. Bloom has not been kind to me!" Mrs. Bloom stiffened. "Not kind? When I helped you find the money to pay your worthless brother"s debts?"
"By making me sew!"
"I didn"t make you do anything. I arranged for you to be paid very well for some specialty work, which is what I used to do before I married your uncle. There is nothing wrong with earning money, despite what my late husband might have told you."
Mrs. Bloom sighed and told Venetia, "Randolf was an excellent man in many ways, but he was never careful with his funds. I am afraid he encouraged Mr. and Miss Platt to be quite extravagant. They never learned the least economy and don"t like the thought of earning a living. I fear it"s ruined them both."
"We wouldn"t need to make a living if you hadn"t taken all of Mr. Bloom"s money when he died," Miss Platt said in a sulky voice.
"Mr. Bloom didn"t have any money when he died. I"ve told you that before, yet you insist on thinking otherwise!" Mrs. Bloom reached forward and took Miss Platt"s hand. "I know you never thought I cared for you the way your uncle did, but over the years, you"ve become important." Mrs. Bloom"s lip quivered. "When I thought you"d been misled by some hooligans, I couldn"t get here fast enough!"
Miss Platt stared at Mrs. Bloom, tears filling her eyes. "Oh, Mrs. Bloom! Y-you came to save me?"
Mrs. Bloom nodded.
Gregor watched, amazed, as Miss Platt threw herself on Mrs. Bloom"s neck and wept.
Venetia sighed happily, then glanced back at Gregor. "How much time do I have left?"
He pulled his watch from his pocket. "Thirty seconds. I"d say that"s a-"
"One moment!"
Mrs. Bloom, her arm still around Miss Platt, eyed Venetia with disfavor. "Miss West, or Miss Oglivie, or whatever your name is, I believe you owe us all an explanation. You lied to us. You and your "brother". and your "guardian." I demand an explanation."
"Yes," the squire said, blinking as if suddenly awakened. "Who are you, and why did you lie to us?"
Every eye turned on Venetia, who paled.
Her mother stepped forward. "Actually, I can explain everything."
"You don"t need to," Gregor said, snapping his watch closed and replacing it in his pocket. "I am about to take my fiancee to a quiet, private place and propose to her in a proper fashion."
"What?" Dougal said, looking as if he"d choked on something.
"Demme, if you don"t remind me more and more of your grandfather," the dowager said, cackling.
"Propose, hm?" Mrs. Bloom sent a hard look at Gregor. "I take it you are not her guardian."
"No, he"s not!" Ravenscroft cried, pointing a finger at Gregor. "He was never her guardian!"
"And you are not her brother?" Mrs. Bloom asked.
Ravenscroft reddened. "No." He stiffened. "I"m her-"
"Time"s up." Gregor scooped Venetia into his arms.
She opened her mouth to protest but then met his gaze. A slow, warm smile curved her lips, and she sighed happily.
The feel of her in his arms was too, too tempting. Gregor cleared his throat and said, "If you will all excuse us, I refuse to wait another moment. I must propose to this woman."
"Again," Venetia pointed out.
"But this time, I shall do it right."
Venetia"s eyes gleamed with pa.s.sion.
"Excellent!" Viola clapped her hands. "Oh, I just knew this would happen one day!" She looked at the squire and said in a confidential voice, "They"ve been friends forever, you know. Such a good match."
The squire smiled reluctantly. "So long as they are getting married. I suppose he does need some privacy to make a good proposal. Difficult thing to do in front of an audience."
Ravenscroft hurried forward. "Over my dead bod-"
Grandmama neatly hooked his leg with her cane, and Ravenscroft went flying to the floor.
He struggled to rise, but Viola was quicker. She rushed to his side.
"My hand," he groaned.
She stooped so her skirts covered where her slipper was firmly planted on his hand and looked at Gregor. "The sitting room is available. It"s right there." She pointed.
"Perfect." Holding Venetia closer, he glanced at his brother. "Dougal, would you mind opening the door?"
"Of course."
Beside him, Alexander growled, "Gregor, I don"t approve of any of this." He looked at the a.s.sembled company with disapproval. "It"s very messy and chaotic."
Gregor shrugged. "It"s a good thing, then, that it"s not your life but mine." He looked into Venetia" s face and grinned. "Personally, I am discovering that a little chaos can be a good thing."
Hugh chuckled and said to Alexander, "I fear you"ve been dismissed, brother. Come, let"s find some port and let the happy couple have their moment."
Dougal threw open the door. "I shall stand guard." He waited for them to walk through, and closed it firmly behind them.
As the door shut, Gregor heard Dougal say, "Mrs. Oglivie, I hate to be a demanding guest, but is there any port in this house? All of this has made me quite thirsty."
"Of course," Viola said. "Perhaps we should all remove to the dining room. Mother, do you think we might serve some refreshments to our guests?"
The dowager"s answer was lost in the murmur of voices that arose as the guests moved away.
Against Gregor"s shoulder, Venetia giggled. "I am going to like being related to your brothers."
"And I gain your mother and grandmother, both of whom I now find perfectly delightful." He set her on her feet but held her close, cupping her intimately against him as he kissed her.
When they were both breathless, he raised his head, then rubbed his thumb over her full bottom lip. Eyes bright, he dropped to one knee, her hand held between his. "Venetia, I love you. I want to marry you. Will you have me?"
"Yes," she said breathlessly, tears shimmering in her eyes. "I love you, too."
Until that moment, he hadn"t realized how closely he"d been guarding his heart. At her words, happiness, raw and pure, exploded through him, and he stood and swooped her back into his arms, swinging her around and around.
Life with Venetia would never be simple; there would be many messes to untangle. But with her at his side, it would all be worthwhile. After kissing her once more, he set her back on her feet.
She kept her arms around his neck. "I think we should celebrate properly upstairs."
He laughed softly and lifted her again. "Anything you want, dear heart. Anything you want."
end.