Page 55 of A Match of Misfortune (Bachelors of Blackstone’s #7)

Mrs. Markham looked as though she wished to protest, but she stood, placed a kiss on the top of Cecily’s head, and made her way out the door .

There was no mirror in the library, so she quickly made her way to a glass-front cabinet near the window that would allow her to glimpse a reflection.

After a quick sweep of her hair with her hands, re-pinning a few of the tear-dampened tendrils from where they had dislodged, she ran her hands over her cheeks several times.

She could not see her reflection clearly in the glass, but she was sure her face was not only swollen from crying, but that it was also mottled and red.

The door opened, and Cecily stilled, knowing exactly who it was, though she did not turn to look.

“There you are.” His footsteps started across the floor. “What are you doing in here by yourself?”

“I just needed a moment,” she said, still not able to meet his gaze.

He paused. “Would you prefer to be left alone?”

She shook her head, certain the tremble in her voice might betray her.

With a more cautious pace, he made his way to where she stood. She could feel his gaze upon her, and after a touch too long, she met it.

Concern etched every line of his face, and he lifted a hand to her cheek. “You’ve been crying.”

Cecily could sense her emotions rising, and the last thing she wanted was to have another fit of tears in front of Nash. Her emotions still felt a bit raw and volatile. Though just seeing him was a balm to her wearied heart. “It is no matter.”

His eyes roved across her face with such intensity that it was difficult not to look away. “Am I the cause of your tears?”

Her eyes blurred, and her throat constricted, making speech nigh impossible if she meant to keep her emotions in hand. Ensuring she did not cry, she dropped her gaze.

“Forgive me,” he said. “With all that I’ve been attempting to accomplish this past week, I’ve been … a blasted pigeon. ”

At the odd response, she risked a glance at him. Had she misheard what he’d said? “A pigeon?”

“You know, the male does a courtship dance and … well, he’s often so busy with his own presentation, he doesn’t realize the female has flown away.

He’s just flitting about looking a fool instead of doing the one thing he sought to do, which was impress her, so …

” His words trailed off when he appraised Cecily’s amused expression.

“It made more sense when Lord Blackstone explained it.”

Cecily had not quite followed his odd line of thought, but regardless, his attempts lightened her spirits. “How were your travels? I assume it all went perfectly now that you have your luck back?”

Nash’s smile was cautious. “Oh, but I never lost my luck. Not truly.”

Cecily narrowed her eyes slightly. There was clearly more to what he was saying than the words he spoke, but with the bit of mischief in his eyes, she knew he wished to be questioned on the matter.

And how could she not appease him? She had missed their teasing one another most intensely.

“I don’t know. Even if you remove Mr. Steele’s interferences from the equation, you truly seemed a magnet for misfortune.

Think of your fall at the Darlingtons’ ball. ”

“It seems I was tripped.”

Cecily smiled, amazed at how much brighter the world felt with him near. “Even the second time, when you pulled Lady Darlington down on top of you?”

He shook his head. “No, that time I most certainly slipped on the punch.”

“There was also the axle breaking. The black cat and the rain. The menagerie being closed. Not to mention our game of chess.”

“See, but that is exactly what I’m trying to say.

Each of those might appear to be bad luck to the untrained eye, but on closer inspection, they are not at all.

Had the axle not broken, we never would have taken that delightful walk home together.

The black cat may or may not have had something to do with the onslaught of rain we experienced, but I would not change that experience for anything.

Particularly not the moments we spent beneath the portico.

And, in hindsight, I much preferred our adventure to Vauxhall.

Especially our time together on the Dark Walk. ”

A flutter moved through her at his words.

“As for the game of chess,” he continued. “Well … let’s just say I would allow you to win every time if I received the same consolation prize.”

Cecily’s cheeks burned at the memory of their kiss. “So you mean to pretend that you allowed me to win?”

He chuckled. “A man must keep his pride where he can, and heaven knows I have very little I’ve been holding onto.”

“What of your hand?” Cecily asked, realizing Nash no longer wore a bandage.

She reached out, unable to resist the overpowering urge.

Warmth flooded through her at the feel of his skin against hers.

He turned his hand over in hers, revealing the cut on his palm that was still visible but appeared to be healing well.

“Happenstance. When you have hands and feet the size of a giant’s, things like this occur.”

Cecily laughed for the first time in days. “And to think I once saw them as an advantage.”

“How mistaken you were.”

It turned out Cecily had been mistaken about a lot of things regarding Nash.

Nash drew a step closer, causing her whole body to go on alert. “So you see, without all the bad that happened, I would not be here, unequivocally and wholly in love with the single greatest fortune in my life. I don’t know how I ever got so lucky. ”

Tears brimmed in Cecily’s eyes, but this time, uncertainty and disappointment did not cause them, but relief. And joy.

His fingers brushed the skin on her arm, sending a burst of pleasure through her. “I’m not exactly sure how?—”

“I shall come to India with you,” Cecily said. She felt as certain of her decision now as when she’d first come to it. More so even. Nash was worth any sacrifice.

He did not blink but stared at her, slack jawed. “You would come with me to India?”

She swallowed down the last bit of her trepidation, squaring her shoulders. “If that’s where you are, then that is where I shall be.”

“I …” His eyes seemed to drink her in. “I hardly know what to say. That means more to me than you could ever know.” He drew in a breath, his chest broadening, before he released it. “But I shall not be the reason you give up your life here. The reason you leave your sister.”

Cecily’s heart trembled to a stop. “I cannot bear to be apart from you. Not again.”

“Nor I you.” He gave a knowing smile, his hands taking hold of hers.

“Do you know how often you would come to my mind in those years I was gone? How vividly I recalled everything about you? Your intoxicating scent—like jasmine and rose water. The exact shade of your velvet-brown eyes. Your golden-brown hair …” He ran a finger down one of Cecily’s curls, letting his hand come to rest near her collarbone.

Then his gaze lowered to her lips. “And your lips. You cannot know how often I thought of them. How intensely I regretted not having kissed you that day all those years ago. But even in the stupidity of youth, it was as though I recognized how that one kiss would have had the potential to change everything.”

He shook his head. “I had so many plans, and I could not risk them. But what I didn’t foresee was that, even without that kiss, you had already taken your hold on my heart.

That the thought of you would preoccupy me relentlessly.

There was not a day that passed where something would not remind me of you.

Where the image of you would not come to my mind. ”

There was no use in attempting to hold back her tears. It could not be done. Cecily’s heart was too full, her soul too content.

Nash smiled, wiping tears from Cecily’s cheek. “So, if you think for one moment that I shall suffer through that again, you are sorely mistaken.”

“But how …”

“As I started to say before your most welcome interruption, I don’t know exactly how it will all work yet, but I’m going to start my shipping company here, out of London.

That is what I’ve been doing this past week, trying to get everything sorted.

I wanted to make certain it was possible before I spoke to you about it.

And I’m nearly there … almost. But even if it can’t be done, then so be it.

What good is any of it if I’m half a world away from you? ”

She stared at him, a stuttered breath escaping her. “You are not returning to India, then?”

“No. Though I suppose that should depend upon if you will marry me, because otherwise?—”

“I will.” Without another moment’s delay, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

It took him but an instant to compensate for his surprise before his lips softened beneath hers, and when Nash’s arms settled around her, enveloping her fully, it stole her breath.

There was no hesitancy in the kiss. No questions as to what it meant or where it might lead.

It was sure. It was certain. And after years of resisting the undeniable pull between them, of pretending it did not exist, Cecily knew without a doubt this irrational connection to another—to Nash—truly was the most incredible thing.

Nothing made more sense to her than this .

“I love you,” she whispered against his lips, her breath mingling with his.

“And I you.” He rested his forehead against hers, his chest rising and falling. “Perhaps we should share the happy news with the others?”

“Considering most of the others know us to already be betrothed, how do you intend to go about it?”

Nash chuckled. “That’s a fair point. Perhaps we could share with them that we have decided upon a wedding date?”

“And when is it to be?”

“I feel as though I’ve been waiting six years, so I prefer as soon as possible.”