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She rose to her feet, chin thrust in the air, "I think you have said enough. U-unless there is something else. Is there something else, Your Grace?"

There was so much hope in her eyes that it made him feel like the worst type of bastard. "I will give you the best life you could ever dream of."

"No, you cannot," she shook her head in denial. "Not with only a part of you. You can either give me all of you or nothing at all."

He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to take that pert mouth and devour it and her whole. It was that thought that finally broke the gate inside of him that held all of the words he felt back. The very thought of never being able to kiss her.

"I watched love destroy my mother and us by proxy after my father passed. She was not herself for months afterwards. She drew into this shell where none of us could reach her. It was Georgie that needed her the most, but I needed her too."

Lavinia stared at him wordlessly, and he continued, "I came to associate love with that dark time. It was loss and pain and isolation. It was something that turned the most vicarious soul into a husk of a person and I swore never to let it dig its claws into me. If I kept myself from love, I would be safe from feeling what my mother felt."

"Oh Victor," she whispered, staring at him with understanding instead of pity. He appreciated her for it more than she could imagine. Her pity would have made him shut down in defense.

"I must not have done all that good of a job protecting myself because here I am, on the brink of losing you and knowing thatif I do, it will hurt just as much as the loss my mother felt those years ago."

She stepped forward, "w-what are you saying?"

He took her in, the woman he loved. Every inch of her was perfect, as if she was custom made for him, "I am saying that I do not know what love is, Lavinia. But I want you close to me forever, I want to make you happy, I miss you when we are apart, and I do not want to go another moment knowing that you are not mine."

The Duke swallowed. Now that the words had begun to come out, the rest of it tumbled out, "I am saying that it feels like I have been waiting for you my entire life. I am saying that I want to grow old with you and live a full life cherishing you. I am saying that I want to go to bed every night with you in my arms and wake up like that."

"What if I snore?" she laughed through her tears.

"I do not care," he told her, "there will be no separate rooms in our future."

She rolled her eyes, "I have not even agreed to this future, or do you plan on marching me with shackles to the altar?"

He smiled, "if I must."

"You love me," she smiled. "Oh Victor, you love me."

"I love you," he said quietly and the way her eyes lit up made him feel warm on the inside. If he had known such simple words could make her so happy he would have said them a lot sooner.

"I love you too," a pause. "You are not saying this just because of the baby?"

He laughed and pulled her into his arms. "We are not even sure there is a baby. I want to have lots of children with you, Lavinia, but for now, I just want to keep you to myself."

She laughed, delighted, allowing herself to be pulled closer to him, "how selfish of you."

Lady Hartfield cleared her throat loudly at their sudden proximity but neither of them could tear their eyes away from each other long enough to pay her any attention.

"I knew you were trouble from the very first moment," he whispered to her, "I should have known I had fallen for you when I kept that stupid dog."

She gasped in mock outrage, and slapped his chest playfully, "he is not a stupid dog."

Lady Hartfield cleared her throat again, and from the corner of his eyes, the Duke saw her rise to her feet.

"How soon can we be married?" he asked.

"Say you love me again," she countered.

"I love you."

The smile that split her face was blinding, "I will never get tired of hearing those words."

"I will never get tired of saying them," he fingered one springy lock of hair escaping from her coiffeur. "You are so beautiful."

She made a face at him, but color rose up her cheeks, revealing her pleasure. "Kiss me, Your Grace."