"And what do you feel?" he asked her, hoping to hear the words she had yet to speak.
"That I love you, too. That I want you and no other in the world."
Albert leaned down, taking her lips in a slow dance of seduction. He'd dreamed for so long to have her beside him, warming his bed. Now she would be there for the rest of their lives. His wife. His heart.
"I love you, Victoria," he replied, holding her close. "I want to have adventures with you. Whatever makes you happy is agreeable to me."
She bit her lip, her eyes overly bright. "How have I come to deserve you? A man who is willing to forgo so much to love my quirks and ideals."
He shrugged, taking her lips in a short, soft embrace. "I've wanted you for so long. If that means to win your heart, I step away from what is expected of myself as well. I am willing to do that. With you as my wife, the sacrifice is no hardship."
"Thank you." She leaned up, kissing him again, and he deepened the embrace, needing her with a hunger starved these many months.
He walked her backward until her back came up against the ivy-clad wall of the house. She murmured acquiescence, and he kissed her deeply. The embrace turned lascivious, and they hurled caution and decency aside, dismissing their location or the ball that was in full swing nearby.
He shucked up her gown, lifting her to straddle his hips. Albert ripped at his front falls, needing to have her.
She helped him, guiding herself onto his cock with an assurance that left him breathless. He took her hard up against the ivy with little care. Victoria clutched at his neck, moving her hips to increase her pleasure.
Her breathless sighs and murmured words of praise pushed him on, continued them along the path to pleasure. It did not take long before the first contractions of her release pulled at his cock.
Albert did not draw out and find his release until she was spent. Soon she would be his, and they would not need to sneak about and grasp interludes such as the one they just had.
"I shall have the first banns called on Sunday, and four weeks from now, you shall be Marchioness Melvin."
He helped her regain her feet, ensuring her dress was back in place to return indoors. "Shall we go and speak to Josh now? He will be pleased I think that I'm to marry his friend."
Albert smiled. "I think the duke shall be pleased too." The sooner Victoria was declared his, the better he would sleep. The anxiety of losing her sometimes too hard to bear over the past months. "Let us go. A champagne toast to celebrate our forthcoming marriage is required before the night is over."
"Albert." She pulled him to a stop as he went to move away. "Thank you for being so modern in thinking. I do not think I could have married a man more suited to me."
He grinned down at her. "I'm an author of gothic romance, my dear. Are you sure you are not modern thinking toward me instead?"
Her smile warmed his soul. "We are a good pair then, are we not?"
Albert wrenched her back into his arms, kissing her soundly. "We are the very best, and I will spend every day for the remainder of our lives proving it to you. You have no fear of ever having your heart broken again. I shall guard it with mine."
"I cannot wait." She laughed as he took her hand and pulled her back toward the ball. An announcement was needed to declare his intent. Lady Victoria Worthingham, sister to the Duke of Penworth, was no longer a coveted widow in town for she had said yes.
The future Marchioness Melvin.
How well that sounded.
Epilogue
The Grand Canal, Venice 1817
Victoria leaned out over the balcony on the house Albert had leased for them during the summer months in Venice. She breathed in the salty, fresh air of the Adriatic Sea. Still unable to quite comprehend that this would be her home for the time being or how very beautiful the city was—one of the finest she'd seen during their many years of travel.
She looked up and down the canal, observing tourists and locals alike on gondolas, hanging out their washing or shopping for their night's dinner at local food stalls.
They were to stay here for several weeks before returning to England to review Albert’s estates, having traveled from Rome. Another city that she could not wait to return to and explore more.
Victoria let out a contented sigh. How very fortunate she was. Not just in her situation in life, but how blessed she had been to marry Albert. To have found her greatest love within her second marriage.
As promised, he had showered her with love and devotion and never asked for her to change her mind and give him children.
She often worried that she was selfish. Fortunately, Albert's cousin had a male child, and so should the worst happen, the lineage was secure first through Albert's cousin and then his son.
"What are you doing out here, my love?" he said, coming up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He leaned his chin on her shoulder, rocking her slightly.
Victoria clasped his arms to her stomach. "Watching people and remembering how wonderful our time has been abroad. Not just here in Venice, but each year since our marriage. I do not think I tell you often enough how much I adore and love you," she said, glancing over her shoulder at him.
She could feel the smile on his face. "It is no hardship to be married to you, my darling. There are no thanks necessary."
Victoria turned
