Dora opened her eyes and saw him looking down at her with a strange intensity. The gold of his eyes mesmerized her in a brand new way, and she tightened her fingers in his jacket.
“I am not certain what to say,” Elias admitted. “I am sure that I had words in mind, but they suddenly escape me.” His tone was nervous now, and Dora thought that very odd indeed, for a man who had just faced down the Marquess of Hollowvale in his own realm.
“You should say whatever you like,” Dora told him. “I am happy to see you. Surely, you know that the rest does not matter.”
Elias knitted his brow. “I do feel that it matters,” he said, and there was suddenly a note of contrariness to his voice. “One does not simply say let us go and get married, if you are amenable.”
“But you did say that.” Dora beamed gently at him. “And I was amenable. I still am.”
“Would you not argue with me for once?” Elias said with a flush. “Listen here, Miss Ettings! I am in love with you. You deserve to hear that. I love your wit and cleverness. I love that you are kind but almost never nice. I love your eyes and your hair and your freckles, and the fact that you smell like some monstrous floral perfume all of the time.” He paused, now looking somewhat offended at himself. “And I love to dance with you. That is the worst of it by far.”
Dora blinked slowly. Each word heated up her heart bit by bit until it was a bewildering bonfire. That fire burned its way down into her mind, consuming all of the ugly things that still lingered beneath its surface. When she was alone or tired or uncertain, Dora knew that these would be the words that came to her now instead of all those others, and she could not help but smile in a silly, dreamy way.
“And obviously,” Elias said with a huff, “I would like to marry you. I cannot say that I recommend myself very fondly, but I make the offer all the same.”
Dora reached up to pat at his cheek. “Then I shall recommend you instead,” she told him. “I already have, you know. I told Lord Blackthorn that I thought you were the most virtuous man in all of England.” She considered for a moment. “I should rather ask if you are sure you will be pleased with me like this forever. I will never feel things quite as other people do.”
“Dora,” said Elias. “I am sure that your other half is very lovely. But I fell in love with you exactly as you are. And perhaps that is for the best—if you were suddenly twice as charming, then I should be utterly overwhelmed.” He curled his hand around hers, and she felt a pleasant tingle against her skin.
Dora looked down and saw that there was a silver ring against her finger, set with a single glimmering star.
Elias slid his fingers just beneath her chin and lifted her eyes to look at him. “You have yet to say yes, you frustrating woman,” he breathed. “Do not leave me in anticipation.”
Dora felt his breath along her cheek as he said the words. The whisper burrowed down beneath her skin, making her shiver.
Dora’s heart did a little flip. “Yes,” she whispered back softly.
Elias leaned down towards her. His lips brushed hers. The touch was so light, so painfully gentle, that Dora might not have believed it had happened at all except for the cascade of dizzying tingles it sent down her spine.
His thumb stroked down her jaw. His lips pressed just a bit harder, as though to test her reaction. Dora wound her arms around his neck in response, leaning up towards him. His body was warm; the heat of him melted through her completely, washing away any other awareness of the world around them.
For the rest of my life, Dora thought, this will be the dream in which I live. It was a blissful thought indeed.
Epilogue
Dora had the distinct pleasure of attending her cousin’s wedding brunch with her fiancé on her arm. It was everything that a proper wedding brunch ought to be—and more besides. Elias had been in an unusually pleasant mood for weeks by then, and he was feeling so whimsical that he made the swan-folded napkins get up and flutter around for everyone’s entertainment. Vanessa’s resulting smile was nearly a magic spell all on its own.
Dora’s own wedding was small, but Lady Carroway insisted on hosting a brunch at Carroway House for her as well. Albert’s mother had not forgotten her plans to open another orphanage, and much of the morning’s conversation ended up scandalously centred around those plans, rather than around the weather or the wedding. Dora thought it was the perfect sort of brunch.
Life after marriage was much different than Dora might ever have imagined. In fact, it was much better in nearly every possible way—but she suspected that had much to do with her choice of husband. As a married woman, she was far more free to spend her time as she pleased; and since she was of a mind with Elias on most things, he was only too happy to let her roll up her sleeves to help both Mrs Dun and the new orphanage. Most women of the nobility had only a few children, Dora liked to say—but she had very many, and she loved them all the same. And though it was rare for Dora to feel any sense of breathless joy, she carried with her always a soft, contented glow, rather like the star upon her finger.
The ton soon began to murmur that married life quite agreed with the Lord Sorcier; for while Elias would never be well-mannered, he was certainly distinctly happier. There were times, of course, when dark things threatened and great evils endangered his rest—but if he
