“It’s all right.”
His jaw dropped. “It is?”
Her nod was almost imperceptible. “I’m not angry.” Her brows lifted, as though she were surprised by her own words. “At least, not anymore. I probably would have run away if I’d learned the truth earlier.”
His breath hitched. “But you’re not running away now?”
She shrugged. “I-I haven’t decided.”
Unable to stop himself, he moved to kneel beside her, being careful not to touch her. His throat tight with fear, he struggled to force the words out. “What would make you decide to stay?”
She shrugged again, not meeting his eyes. “I need to know for certain that this is real.”
“That what’s real, sweetheart?”
“Us. What we are to each other. All along you’ve said we were meant to be together, and I think I always believed you, even before I knew I had feelings for you. But now I keep thinking…” Her chin lifted, her fathomless eyes searching his. “Did you truly mean it? Or did Mum tell you to say that?”
He felt as if she’d slapped him. “Of course I meant it!”
“I’m sorry if you feel I’m being unfair.” Though the sentence was an apology, her eyes remained determined. “But you have lied to me. I can forgive that lie since my mother put you in an impossible position. What I couldn’t forgive”—her voice thickened as tears flooded her eyes—“is knowing that when you made me feel seen and valued and loved, you were really just telling me what I wanted to hear.”
Her words pricked him like needles, her voice raw and vulnerable, her lips quivering with the effort to hold herself together. Kit’s insides wound tighter and tighter until he snapped and leapt up to seize her.
The instant he touched her, the air changed in the room. His hand curled around the back of her neck and dragged her mouth to his. The kiss was unlike anything they’d shared before: there was no trace of tenderness, no slow, sweet persuasion. It was a clash of desperate frustration and pure need—the need to be close, to offer comfort, to prove something.
With an effort, he pulled away. “Was that real enough?” he challenged gruffly.
She nodded, and with a grunt of satisfaction he reclaimed her lips.
His mind went blank as it always did when he touched her, his body responding to her of its own accord. She was perfect, thorns and all. She was heaven; she was everything he needed. He was lost in her enveloping warmth and her seductively feminine, flowery scent.
It seemed a long while later when Rose stilled him with firm, warm hands on his shoulders. Leaning against each other, they both sat perfectly still for some time. He listened to her heavy breathing mingling with his own for what seemed like hours but couldn’t have been more than a few minutes.
“I’m sorry,” she said at last. “Something came over me…I was afraid I’d get carried away. That cannot happen until we’re married.”
Kit shot upright and turned to look at her. “Does that mean…are we still getting married?”
Her hesitation made his heart stop. But then she nodded, and his heart soared.
And he kissed her all over again.
SIXTY-SIX
THEY HELD HANDS as Rose reluctantly let Kit walk her to her guest chamber. At the door, he gave her such a tender kiss that she felt incredibly foolish for having doubted him.
Would she someday thank Mum for doing whatever it took to bring them together? Now that was something to doubt. But she resolved to go a little easier on Mum anyway. After all, if she hadn’t been so blind and stubborn where Kit was concerned, all that sneaking around behind her back wouldn’t have been necessary.
And it didn’t matter now. She and Kit were together again, together for good. She went up on her toes to kiss him again and smiled when he wrapped his arms around her. She felt utterly safe in his embrace. Everything was right.
Well…not everything.
Still standing there outside the door, she laid her head on his chest. “Ellen will come to our wedding, won’t she?”
“You mean, now that we’re having one?” Kit teased, an undercurrent of elation in his voice. But his next words were clipped. “According to Thomas, Ellen has no wish to attend. But let’s not talk about my sister, shall we?” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “We’ve much better things to think about.”
Her sigh was half bliss, half regret. “I’ll go talk to her tomorrow morning before I leave. She’s my friend as well as your sister. I want her at our wedding.”
“I don’t.” She felt him tense. “Not if she’s going to ignore me.”
She found one of his hands and squeezed it, trying to soothe his heartache. “It’s only a disagreement. She’ll come around.”
Privately, she thought he needed to come around, too. If she could forgive Kit’s folly, shouldn’t he be able to forgive Ellen’s? Didn’t their bond mean more to him than their quarrel?
She sighed again. “If you’d just give her the dowry you saved—”
“I’m not going to give her eleven thousand pounds when she won’t even deign to speak to me.”
“Clearly her behavior doesn’t warrant it, but for you, Kit, and for me. Because we want her at our wedding.” Raising her head, she gazed up at him. “What if she promised to speak to you afterwards—”
“I am not going to bribe her to be my sister. When she’s ready to apologize, I’ll be here.”
Rose bit her tongue, realizing there was no arguing with him. She’d have to convince Ellen to make the first move. But she’d worry about that tomorrow.
Tonight she’d have sweet dreams.
SIXTY-SEVEN
THE NEXT morning, after breakfast with her sisters—who were
